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helenlc
17-11-2009, 04:42 PM
I know there has been a discussion before about LOs wearing earrings in our setting.

Well, I have an 18 mth old who comes with big stone like studs in. Never had a problem with them but noticed about half an hour ago, she only has one in.:eek:

Have checked the travel cot where she sleeps but its not in there. It could be anywhere and we have been to toddler group this morning too.

She may well have only had one in when she came this morning - I am so used to her having them, I dont check they are in each day.

But if I take her back to mum and she says that she had it in, where does that leave me? I dont know if they are real stones or how expensive/special the earrings are. Am I responsible for replacing them?

Thanks

wendywu
17-11-2009, 04:53 PM
No i dont think that you can be held responsible for a baby wearing earrings. Shoes you have to wear, earrings you do not. If mum wants her to wear them then she has to realise that - A. They could come out. B. They could cause an accident if they get caught in another childs or adults clothing. :mad:

helenlc
17-11-2009, 05:19 PM
Well, my daughter has found the back to it, so just got to find the main part!!

Might ask mum if she doesnt mind if LO DOESNT wear earrings anymore.

The 10 mth old could have picked it up and swallowed it without me knowing or choked on it. I might make an amendment to my policies.

claireodon
17-11-2009, 05:23 PM
I had this exact same situation about 2 weeks ago and they were really expensive earrings bought from Thailand (for a 2 yr old - I ask you!!). We found the back but have never ever found the earring. I have a Personal Possession Policy though which asks people not to bring valuable items into my setting cos I will not be liable for them. I classed it as that and just told mum I would keep an eye out for it. She was a bit miffed about losing it but apparently dad got it in the neck that night for buying her the expensive earrings in the first place :laughing:

claireodon
17-11-2009, 05:26 PM
Oh, just wanted to add that I can't ask mine not to wear earrings cos its a cultural issue for my mindees. :)

dobby
17-11-2009, 06:15 PM
but it is also a safety issue for your setting. some schools request that earrings are taped over during games to prevent being caught or falling out if for whatever reason they canot be removed - might be a way of managing.

helenlc
17-11-2009, 06:23 PM
Mum was fine. I said I would keep an eye out for the actual earring but she said they are always coming out of that ear. She was surprised it had stayed in this long.

Didnt say about not wearing them, but might do if it happens again.

Blackhorse
17-11-2009, 07:04 PM
Oh, just wanted to add that I can't ask mine not to wear earrings cos its a cultural issue for my mindees. :)


so does cultural count more than safety then? I am confused? I am all for being cultural aware, but I dont think it should be done at the expense of safety. I wonder what the official guidance on these things is...
I would be worried about a baby swallowing a dropped ear ring...

I dont mean to critisise you claireodeon, I am actually wondering what you would do...are you ok to ask a parent to remove ear rings for safety reasons even if they are worn for cultural reasons...
and how on the other side would you explain to a parent that you are sorry that their child had an accident because of an earring but there is nothing you can do about it as it is in someone's culture..iyswim???

claireodon
17-11-2009, 07:36 PM
It is a good point about the safety issue...I did consider h&s implications when my mindee lost her earring. However, I only have a small number of children, none of whom put things in their mouths, and my thinking was that I needed to try and balance the risk against the cultural importance of wearing earrings. The idea about putting plasters over the earrings is a good one though dobby - dressing up is the activity likely to cause my mindee to lose her earrings - so it might be an idea to get her to put plasters over on if she's doing that activity.

Got me thinking now, what do other people do if they're minding children for whom it is culturally important to wear earrings?

nannymcflea
17-11-2009, 07:43 PM
What about if a child stood on a an earing that had fallen out? Do people do RA's for children wearing earrings?

helenlc
17-11-2009, 08:04 PM
I hadnt thought much about this, even when my mindee started with me with her earrings in.

My daughter had her ears pierced when she was little and taking tops on and off, including dressing up ones, used to make me nervous.

I am now considering asking parents not to send their children in with earrings.

Or I wonder if we could get them to sign some sort of disclaimer to say that we wouldnt be held responsible for any loss of the earrings or any injuries caused to the child from any accident involving their earrings?

But then what about the other children in my care? I have a 10 mth old baby who will be crawling around tomorrow, who puts nearly everything in his mouth no matter how tiny. What if he finds it before me tomorrow and swallows it?

Oh dear!!:panic:

claireodon
17-11-2009, 08:32 PM
Out of interest, what are the implications of a child swallowing an earring? I think the problem with trying to risk assess for me is that I'm unclear about what would happen if a child did swallow an earring. Same with a child standing on an earring - surely it would just squash it? I am interested to hear peoples experiences of these situations because I would have thought they were too small and not sharp enough to cause any real damage? I imagined the greatest risk was of the child having the earrings ripped out of their own ears (which is why they have to have plasters on them for PE).

Blackhorse
17-11-2009, 09:01 PM
I think it depends on the type of earring you are wearing..
I guess anything can be a choking hazard...I only now that things that fit through a toilet role hole (hope that makes sense) are choking hazards..what I dont know is how small is too small to be a hazard..
if they manage to get into your stomach and onto your intestines and out again I would be worried about any scraches they might do if the end is sharp enough to cause pain and or minor internal injuries...

another thing to consider is that small objects can ge stuck up your nose ...by clever toddler hands...and then that could be hard to get back out too...or poke into someones eye out of curiosity maybe?? or try and get them onto their own ears and insert them to far and cause damage to their ears..??
I am not sure if I am taking this all too far now..I am just thinking of possible scenarios....I am not saying they are likely to actually happen

if you stood on one again if it is made from good material you probably poke it right into your foot. I for one I am allergic against a lot of earrings too...
most of the cheaper ones you are right you would probably squash them especially if wearing shoes...

sending brain to sleep now...as it went abit overdrive I think

nokidshere
17-11-2009, 09:42 PM
Is it a cultural thing to have the ears peirced? or to actually wear the earrings? I can't think of any religion or specific culture that says earrings must be worn.......?

However, I would initially ask for them to be removed. If that was going to be a huge issue and cause you problems then I would absolutely insist that they are taped over.

Health & Safety would almost always win over culture! Even Sikhs who used to be exempt from wearing hard hats on building sites and helmets on motorbikes are no longer exempt, although special hard headwear which they can wear in conjuction with the turban has been designed.

Blackhorse
17-11-2009, 09:45 PM
Is it a cultural thing to have the ears peirced? or to actually wear the earrings? I can't think of any religion or specific culture that says earrings must be worn.......?

However, I would initially ask for them to be removed. If that was going to be a huge issue and cause you problems then I would absolutely insist that they are taped over.

Health & Safety would almost always win over culture! Even Siks who used to be exempt from wearing hard hats on building sites and helmets on motorbikes are no longer exempt, although special hard headwear which they can wear in conjuction with the turban has been designed.

some cultures have the tradition that girls ears are pierced at 2 months of age and to wear the earrings...so although it might not be religious it is still part of their heritage.. and there might be others
but I agree with what you are saying!

nokidshere
17-11-2009, 09:52 PM
I found this when I googled .....

Padmini Natarajan (9 comments.) on April 17th, 2009 at 08:48
The custom of piercing the ears has a twofold significance in India. One it denotes your Hindu background. Second the point of the lobe vwhere a hole is pierced has acupressure/health implications. There is a ceremony performed for the ear piercing of a child. The child sits on the lap of the maternal uncle and the goldsmith ceremoniously pierces the ears of the ear old child. Nowadays, for girls many families are piercing the ears by the end of the first month or two. My daughter’s was done by RR when she was two months old.

Winnie
17-11-2009, 10:19 PM
I have a policy on jewellery and a form 'Waiver of liability' (i found it on the net)

Jewellery
For safety reasons I have a policy of asking that children do not wear jewellery*, with the exception of stud earrings. Cultural/religious requirements will be respected, but please discuss these with me. In this case the parent/carer must provide a signed waiver of liability. This will state that (my name) will not be held responsible for loss or injury caused to or by the jewellery.
* see Working in Partnership with Parents and carers Policy

Waiver of liability.

I………………………………..(parents name) understand that (my name), Registered Childminder, will not be held responsible in anyway for loss or injury caused to or by jewellery being worn by………………………….(childs name).

Parent signature…………………………………†¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦..

Childminder signature…………………………………†¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦â€¦

Date:…………………………


I have a child here who wears earrings, it is part of the family's culture. I thought long & hard about this issue and decided that me getting worked up about children swallowing other childrens jewellery was silly- any child might swallow a stone or hairclip or piece of fluff....i'm there to supervise, that is my job.