Hypothetical question, parents answer as if the child was your, rest answer what you would do.?

Question

Here is the situation:

You are in a public setting, lets say near a park. You notice a child crying. Your not sure of the age but you are certain they are in single digit ages. You notice the child is bleeding. The child says they are unable to locate their parents. There are other adults around, however none seem to be reacting to the bleeding. Others notice the bleeding, but have noticed as you have that the source of the wound is in the pelvic area. The other adults present seem to be avoiding the fact of the source of the blood. While not certified, you do understand principals of first aid. Now, what do you do...:

Treat the wound and worry about any misconceptions later.

Put a sense of urgency in locating the child's parents

Call 911 and hope for a quick response time

Again, parents if this is your child, what would you want the person to do?

Some people have asked why I asked this question. I want to responsd to you directly but your email settings are not on. If you would like a direct response, please turn on your email settings...thanks.

ok, the reason I asked this question:

A month or so ago, a young boy asked a personal question on YA. It was related to his genitaila(sp). He was 13 and confused by what was happening. His tone showed he was afraid to talk to his parents. From the details of his question, I could see that he begun puberty and "was exploring himself". I asked some follow-up questions to see if my assumptions were correct, then explain what was happening to him. I also gave him some tips on how to talk to his parents. All of my terms were kept medically correct and all questions and responses kept on point. I have two children on my own...one on the doorstep of puberty. I used that Q/A as practice myself. However, some others felt I crossed a line (in my personal life, not on here). This hypothetical somewhat mimics that, by knowing the child needs help, but it involving "private regions"

Answer 1

Consider the following: (The responsible approach...)

(1) The child is able to communicate to you that their parents are not around -- so, they should be able to tell you when and where he/she last saw them? The child is single digits -- obviously not a responsible adult on their own... so, the child should not be left unattended. If parents are nowhere to be seen, you can assume interim responsibility to stay with them (not treat or anything) until a higher authority comes. (Assess the situation and call 911 and STAY with them until police/medical assumes control of the situation). If parents ARE in the vicinity... stay with the child and ask everyone present to look around for anyone who is missing a child.

(2) Regarding the bleeding. The hypothetical situation did not specify boy or girl. (In actuality, it doesn't matter.) Ask the child if they are in pain and perhaps how they sustained the injury. YOU WILL NOT BE SUED FOR ASKING. The child is crying... but, you want to first understand if the crying specifically relates to the bleeding. (The child could be crying out of fear for all you know.) If it is fear, assure them that help is coming (in the form of a parent search or 911 Police). If it is pain, then go to step 3.

(3) At this point, you are assuming that the parents are nowhere to be seen and the child is in pain. On their best day, 911 still takes several minutes for them to show up. What you need to assess is whether the child is in medical danger -- i.e. going to go into shock... etc. How much blood do you see? If this is significant blood loss, such as in a stabbing... you need to make sure that you reduce this until medical personnel are on the scene. The key here is if you believe that the CHILD WILL DIE as a result of inaction (or waiting) then you are morally obligated to assist. The extent of your treatment is first response --- until trained professionals arrive on the scene. (Nobody is asking you to do surgery here... just some pressure on the wound to stop blood flow if need be. Elevate the wound, etc...)

With regards to pelvic bleeding -- the implication here is menstruation or assult. The child will probably be able to tell you enough for you to figure out whether it is or not. Menstruation is not associated with acute blunt trauma pain. Therefore, you can quickly rule out whether it is necessary to call the paramedics. If it's assult, you need to communicate that in your 911 call... the police will likely tell you NOT to do disturb the evidence. But, will walk you through what you can do to help the child. HOWEVER, there is still the issue of the child being left alone. And if the parents cannot be found, you are still obligated (by concience) to make sure that child is not left alone until a higher authority comes along.

Answer 2

I think i would want the person to call 911 and console my child until they got there!! I would also hope that they would try try to locate me of course. Its scary but there are so many law suites now a days that people just don't get involved at all which is a problem as well. I mean I understand why people don't for obvious reasons but if its a young child I would do what I could to rectify the situation and get the child the help that he/she needs and then try and locate the parents! Interesting question.

Answer 3

I would call 911 right away and then talk calmly to the child and ask them questions about where they last saw their parents. I wouldn't ask about the bleeding because that is something the cops need to ask. 911 is always a quick response so I wouldn't worry about that. I wouldn't leave the child's side until help arrives. I have a 7 year old son and I would hope that someone would do the same for my child.

Answer 4

Call 911. Explain the situation. Unless they tell you it is life threatening and tell you what to do, do NOT touch the child. If you are a woman, you may pat the child's shoulder. If you are a man, no contact at all. Sorry guys, the world is just too messed up for you to take a chance. I know my husband would completely agree with this viewpoint.

After you call 911, mobilize the other parents around to find this child's parent.

Answer 5

Call 911 and hope for a quick response time, treat the wound and have someone locate the child's parents

Answer 6

I would want them to call 911, then ask all the adults in the park, if they knew this child. If that were my child, There are so many that could have happened. A kidnapping, rape, a serious injury (when a child walks off). i believe every person needs to protect children. I Would do minmal 1st aid to avoid contact with the child blood, because I don;t know anything about them. Hopefully this never happens to anyone's kid.

Answer 7

Call 911 and until they respond sit the child down on a bench and try to calm them down and tell them help is on the way.

Once the ambulance and police get there explain to them you can not locate the childs parents and they will try to talk to the child and try to find out where they live or a phone number and if the child can not help they would put the childs picture on the news.

Answer 8

well, that's tricky, i mean, is the wound gushing like a ruptured artery or have they been abused and therefore are bleeding??
were they stabbed in the abdomen??

i guess from re-reading your scenario you are insinuating that the child ahs been abused....
so, i'm going to say that they are not going to die from their wounds like a gunshot vicitm would.

i would shout out to the other adults..."are you this child's parent???" if no one came forward, then i would call 911 and hope for an immediate response.
while i waited i would tend to the child as best as i could with what i have on me. i would also try to illicit the assistance of any of the bystanders.

my reasoning:
-if i take the child to a hospital, then i could get slapped with kidnapping (sick world, but it is very possible)
-if paramedics show up, then they will tend to the child's injuries and can contact the proper authorities
-i can do more for the child while waiting for emergency response than i could do if i was driving them somewhere.
-while we are waiting for paramedics there is a greater chance of the parents showing up, than if i just took the kid to the nearest hospital.

what a tough situation. what prompted this???

take care.

Answer 9

I would call 911 and do my best to console the child in the mean time. If the parent was around and not paying attention, the appearance of an ambulance on the scene would hopefully get their attention. Also, if there is a case of abuse involved, cruel at it might sound to not treat the injury, it's best to leave the evidence as you found it so that any guilty party can be more accurately hunted and prosecuted.

Answer 10

I would want the person to call 911 and leave my childs pelvic area alone. If the person is not trained to treat injured people I dont want them to mess around and mabye make an injury potentially worse. That is what I would want them to do..Id want for them to call 911 and wait with my child until the police came. Also this is to horrible to think of but if it was a sexual assault then that area needs special care for evidence.