is it child abuse if you do not take your sick child to the emergency room?

Question

My cousin is 19 yrs. old and has a daughter that is 3yrs. old and she is overweight, she has trouble breathing when she sleeps there are even times when sh estops breathing at night when sleeping. She also has i believe acid reflux for after she eats she is usually gagging herself because of the discomfort. Her mother is said to have a little bit of a slow mind and i believe it. How could u not care for your child enough to take her to the ER when she is sick. she did take her to the emergency room for an earache but when given the medicine she never gave it to her daughter. so who knows the baby could still have an earache on top of everything else. i need to nknow if this is child neglect or not for if it is I will take legal action and call the proper authorities on her black *** because this is unreal! thanks again for any answers i recieve u all will be a big help!

ino for a fact that she never gave her daughter the medicine because she said she was allergic, and that she would get her a different kind but that was two weeks ago and she never got a new kind. Ino all this because we live rite next door to eachother. i have tried talking to her but she dosen't want to listen to any one because she believes she knows everything she is very very hard to talk to.

Answer 1

i think this is a bit tricky, because as soon as you get authorities involved that is a whole other type of mess.

i do think this is neglect.

for one the child is overweight, that in itself tells you that she doesn't even care to feed her baby healthy food, which will in turn make the child grow up with a whole host of problems.

if the child can't breathe because of her weight this is endangering her life this should be dealt with immediately.

if the poor child has an earache this can turn into a serious condition which may also end up causing the poor child to temporarily go deaf if left too long.

i am a mother of 1 and i would never let any of these issues get to the extent they are. i believe children are innocent and they should be given the best possibilities they can get to grow into the best they can be.

maybe the best thing for this child is to stay with another family member while the mom takes some parenting classes or counseling while being able to see her daughter.

hope this helps....

Answer 2

Does she take her daughter to regular doctor appointments? Perhaps she's already talked to the doctor about her weight and breathing problems. If not, then I do believe it is neglect.

How are you so sure that she never gave her daughter the medication for her ear problems? She may have given it to her but the earache just wouldn't go away.

If you've already given her the benefit of doubt and she still neglects her child's health I'd see what I could do. Is she insured? This may be another reason she's so nervous about taking her child to the doctor.

I do believe this is abuse. I'm not too sure what CPS would say but it's probably not considered that. Talk with your cousin about the problems. Maybe she just needs a reality check. Explain to her that what she's doing is neglect. If it still persists I'd give a call to child protective services just to see what they say. You'd have to have proof and it can't be "Well, I 'think' she's doing ____." You have to know for sure that she's not taking care of her daughter. Best of Luck!

Answer 3

First of all when your baby is born all your worries about this and that will go away. If your baby needs to be taken care of and there is no one to take care of your baby because you are hurt and your husband isn't there then call 911 *if you have that in Canada I have no idea*. Talk to your neighbors and try to meet some moms around your area. There are people out there you will meet once but in an emergency situation are always willing to help. About the part where you are burnt out and need a sitter..well you will quickly get over that one. I have been there and done that so many times with my kids but because they need you you just adjust to it for their sake. You can't take a nap when you feel like it because the baby needs you and you will just have to adjust to that. Now if you can't do that then there is adoption. But for a mother to sit there and ignore their baby because they need a nap that is just insane. I think when your baby is born you will realize that too. Also a good idea is to put your baby in day care. They normally start at like 6 weeks. If you can't afford it just think for part time and in the US we get subsidized child care which is what I am applying for now. So there are options to help you out.

Answer 4

My daughter used to get ear infections a lot. Her fever would get really high (like more than 103) at night, and I would take her to the ER even though I knew what caused it. However, the doctors told me it's not necessary to take her to the emergency room if you know what is causing it and it's something like an ear infection. However, do take them to the doc, but the ER isn't necessary. Now, if she gets a high fever and you don't know why or can't get her fever to break, go to the ER. As far as her weight, they're not going to fix that in the ER. Overweight people are prone to sleep apnea (I learned this when I was diagnosed with sleep apnea even though I am underweight), which causes airway obstructions while sleeping. This is probably why she sometimes stops breathing at night. She needs to get to a doctor and have that fixed. They'll probably have her to a sleep study and put her on CPAP (a machine with a mask she'll have to wear which forces air through her airway and keeps the airway open while asleep). They look scary, but I love mine. It has to be fixed. People with untreated sleep apnea are more likely to develop diabetes (as are overweight people), high bloos pressure, and cardiovascular disease. They are more likely to suffer heart attacks, stroke, and depression. It sometimes gets worse as you get older, and it can even be fatal. She may also breathe heavily while she's awake because she has to work harder to carry her extra weight around and gets "winded" more easily. She's horribly out of shape. She needs to get to the doc, but I wouldn't worry about the ER unless she gets an uncontrolable fever. If your cousin continues to neglect her daughter by not providing medical care, contact your local child protection agency (or ask police if you don't know who to call. They can at least tell you who to call). If money is an issue, make sure she knows that doctors will allow people to get on payment plans for bills, so you don't have to pay them all at once.

Answer 5

no, its not child abuse unless there so sick it puts theres or other lives in danger or if theres a chance of death. I used to get sickvery often when i was a kid, i even broke toes and ankles and never did i go to the hospital because my parents took care of me...i am as good today as i was when i was born...sometimes the hospital can't help you any more than parents can. i couldn't breathe one time and my parents decided to actually take me to the hospital and they didn't do anything except watch me...i could have died from not breathing but luckily my mom gave me some store bought medicine and after sitting in the hospita room for several worthless hours i was able to fully breathe again with no problems...it was my moms help that helped me not the hospital...its not neglect or any type of abuse...take it easy...parents know when things get bad enough to go to the hospital.not going all the time saves a huge hospital bill every year...!!

Answer 6

I would just go have a chat with the authorities, just to get a file opened, especially if this becomes a pattern, to have it documented. They may have harsher cases of abuse as priorities, but sometimes cases like this can lead to these harsher cases of abuse - and then we wonder why no one was brave enough to speak up.

Answer 7

Its called neglect, no doctor can refuse a sick patient. You have to make your cousin see that her daughter can be taken away if she isnt getting the propper care.

Answer 8

It is considered neglect of a dependant if you know your child is sick and don't do anything about it. Also, in Indiana where I live, if someone knows of child abuse and does not report it, it is a felony.

Answer 9

It's definitely neglect. My son has suffered 23 ear infections and each time I took him to the doctor.

Answer 10

Maybe the mother has a mental illness and should be treated as meybe this will help her care for her child better.