I understand that this was neglectful activity but I don't know why it's "criminal." I also think that it is horrible that the father doesn't get to see the kid for 14 days. It sounds like this was a case of bitterness between the parents that escalated into the mother having the father arrested. Then again, I'm probably reading too much into this.

Regardless, I'm sure that the father will take better precautions in the future.

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Forgetting to put sunscreen on your child one time is a mistake. Not putting it on and allowing the child to get a sunburn repeatedly is abuse. The court was wrong IMO and it is likely MORE harmful to be away from his son for 14 days than for him to have a sunburn.

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Bethany, make sure you put that stick in a ziploc baggie...hate to have it melt all over the innards of your purse!

This isn't abuse...like you said, could be neglect. Stupid to keep the kid away from the father. It seems that their investigation thus far is pointing to "good father, really bad mistake".

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I've ended up with blisters and horrible burns when I have forgotten to put sunscreen on myself, I hope they don't get wind of that; they might lock me up for self abuse! Man, we have such a reactionary system.

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So now every time a parent makes a mistake, the court rips a child from the family, traumatizing everyone and especially the innocent child? What kind of world do we live in? The dad already knows not to ever let his kid go that long in the sun with no protection and has a lifetime's worth of guilt. The child will heal. How does a stupid ruling like this help anything or anyone? All it does is treat adults like children. But they are not taking away a toy for 2 weeks - they are keeping children from parents who love them.

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probably not parental in-fighting- more likely the ER reported him to the cops- but more than that is the instances of plain simple human frailty becoming a law enforcement issue- of normal teenage behaviour, normal new parent behaviour , becoming a case of an innocent human being gaining a criminal record, and his life being scrutinized for the rest of his life and worse, CPS being involved in the rest of the kid's life.

we are a nanny state/police state and the state owns your children

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I just can not believe what our country has become, 3/4 of this reported child abuse crap is just that crap. I grew up with a hell of a lot worse and I am a respected 50 year old adult, that did not allow my children to throw fits in stores, or threaten they were going to report me to any one! That is what is wrong with our children! Wake up People! When we started to let others tell us how to raise our Children is when they all started to disrespect every one and everything! Maybe the authorities should spend our tax money investigating things like The Mexican Gangs that are killing our Children, or better yet all the lives that have suffered and have been lost due to Bush's and Chaney's war that has killed thousands of our children! Talk about child abuse, that war has abused us all, left babies with out parents, left our young unable to function mentally and physicaly! There is the abusers some one lock them up and don't allow them to visit thier check books for a long long time.

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To really understand this story, I think we need an explanation with it of what second- and third-degree burns are: "Second-degree" means the skin is blistered. I'm a very pale person, and I've done this (once!) to myself when I failed to reapply sunscreen often enough. It hurts a lot, and it's dangerous (skin cancer-wise), but one recovers from it. This would be an understandable one-time mistake. However, *"third-degree"* means that the skin is charred black, and that the deepest layer of the skin is damaged. This does not hurt, because the nerves have been destroyed. Third-degree burns are horrible, and cause scarring and lasting damage. *That child will not heal.* That child is scarred for life.

As I've said, I'm very pale, but I have never seen or experienced third-degree burns, and I cannot imagine how any normal, healthy person could get them from the sun. I hope that poor, poor kid has been tested for those rare skin disorders ("sun allergies") that make one burn immediately in the sun. If he doesn't have one of those diseases, his father is amazingly, criminally (thankfully highly unusually) stupid. With a fuller understanding of what the kid suffered, I think the charges are fair.

And, as Bethany said, let this remind all parents to be extra careful with their kids in the sun. Even a first-degree sunburn (the kind that's just red) hurts!

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EVERT PARENT MAKES A MISTAKE WHEN IT COMES TO CHILDREN IT IS CALLED LEARNING. THERE IS COMMEN SENSE TO THINGS ALSO. MY COUNTY OF BEDFORD, PA. MY HUSBANDS OLDEST DAUGHTER WAS ASKED TO GO TO A TEMP. FOSTER PROGRAM TO SEE WHY SHE WAS LYING ABOUT THE LOCAL SCHOOL AND ALSO THE CHILDREN AND YOUTH SERVICES. ALL THE PROGRAM DOES IS LIE TO THE JUDGE AND PARENTS. THERE ARE REAL CASES IN THE COUNTY THAT NEEDS TO BE DELT WITH BUT WHY DO THAT WHEN THEY HAVE AN EASY ONE LIKE THIS TO HAVE AND COLLECT MONEY OFF OF ALSO. I MEAN HEY IT HAS BEEN ALMOST TWO YEARS THIS DEC. THEY HAVE BEEN TRYINT TO SEE WHY SHE LIES. I CAN TELL YOU WHY. SHE LIES BECAUSE SHE WASN'T TAUGHT BETTER BY HER MOM FOR I KNOW WE HAVE THE OTHER TWO AND THEY TRY BUT DON'T SUCCEED. I KNOW ONE FAMILY THAT ALLOWS THEIR 18 MONTH OLD TO RUN UP AND DOWN THE ROAD BUT HEY NOTHING IS DONE BECAUSE IT ISN'T A BIG DEAL. COMING FROM THEIR OWN MOUTH. FAR AS I CAN SEE ANY CHILDREN AND YOUTH SERVICE IS A WASTE AND NOT VERY WELL RELIABLE TO THE REAL ABUSED CHILDREN THAT NEED THEM. ASK THE LOCAL SCHOOLS THEY HATE THEM WITH A PASSION IN OUR COUNTY. OTHER THEN THIS THEY WILL BE SHOWED WRONG IN THE END. ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.

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If you are able to watch the video that is linked to this story, you can see how big the blisters got. I would be furious to find out that someone was so careless that my child got burned like that. This was a 27 year old man. He knows the danger of the sun. Besides, sunburns hurt. I am sure the child was crying to get out of the sun at some point. This was 2nd & 3rd degree burns. That is serious! How would you feel if it was your kid?

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child abuse is the excessive use of force, when looked up in the dictionary. locking you child in a room on a 95 degree day, just becuase they were whining or complaining or a parent just doesnt want them around, with no air...thats child abuse...purposely hitting your child or slapping them with excessive force...that is child abuse. leaving marks and bruises and verbally abusing your child, telling them they are no go and telling them that you wish they had never been born...that is child abuse...there is a fine line...i think sometimes tooo fine to where people lose track of what abuse really means and is....i was raised with a strick up bringing...i didnt like my parents at the time and i did tell them that i hated them...my fathers belt came off plenty and my mother had a paddle...i graduated high school, i have a full time job, i have a home in the country, i have 2 children of my own....that i might say are absolutly spoiled rotten at times and treat me that way as well....they get my hand on their rear ends when they want to talk back and tell me i am stupid, or lash out at me or disrespect myself or any other grown ups in their life...in my day, if i talked back...i got my face slapped...i learned real quick that when my mom or dad spoke... they meant it....there is nothing wrong with that...what is wrong is our children being disrespectfull ALL THE TIME TO NO MATTER WHO, what is wrong is children wearing their pants down below their rear ends, what is wrong is as a parent being treated or even physically and verbally abused and feeling that you cant do anything about it, because your child will run and tell, because that is what society teaches them now....we all make mistakes as parents...i will be the first to admit i have done my share....but i really wish that the word abuse would be put back to the meaning that it is meant for.....this world is crazy and my parents tell me that you could not pay them enough to raise kids these days...and they are right..it is a tough job as it is without having someone hang some bull%$## over your head for making a mistake, that i know was probably just as painful for the dad as it was for that poor child...i bet it was a lesson learned though, that that dad will never forget...come on people..nobody is perfect...lets all get a grip and look in our own back yards before we go casting stones....some times i feel a bunch of people just need to get together and bring some real order back to this country..and stop with the bull$#@%!!!! i want my 2 girls to be good, productive, morals/values having, respectful, fair, people....therefore, i will be the first and only one to be sure that they are taught the lessons they need to be taught at home...and it does not take abuse to raise those kinds of kids(people)...it takes more than that...abuse is just a cowards way out, a bully...it takes a real person who is not only in touch with themselves, but also with society and keeping the faith, showing respect, teaching morals, and values, showing and doing all that they will take each day from you and learn. positive...is not always an option...but being open and honest always is. i have given my oldest hot sauce on her tongue before, and told her therapist about it and i got a look and she said to me...yeah, i probably wouldnt do that...i said..no i will, there will be no days where my child is going to tell me what to do, or call me an idiot, or tell me what they are going to do or be disrespectful at all..not when i treat them with respect and love all the time...i refuse to have either of my girls think that they can walk on me past a point..kids will be kids, but to a point do you let them think that they are the boss....i feel bad for that dad...1 mistake could cost him his child, but what about all these other cases that deserve attention and get none/or little and some body ends up sexually abused or dead or both??? that is abuse by the state, when a repeat sex offender gets out on good behavior or because he/she met all the requirements...and that abuser goes out and does it again...who is holding the state responisble for such issues, and when do they step up and say they screwed up??? i hope that at some point for our childrens sake we as a country can bring back what it means to be a good, law abiding, respectful, productive, working, goal accomplishing/achieving, life having, free american. we are always so caught up in the world around us, that we dont pay enough attention to what is right in front of us..i love my girls more than anything/anyone...that is why i teach them as i do and show them as i do..i like people telling me i have the best behaved kids, i like that...i like my girls using their pleases and thank yous and your welcomes when the time is right..i like my girls helping the elderly with their grocery carts or holding the door for somebody..i like my kids sitting at the dining room table with me every night for dinner...i like my kids telling me i am mean when i tell them they cant have something in a store just because...that to me is good parenting...mistakes will happen and it takes alot of practice to the point where i dont believe anyone ever has or will perfect parenting...oh this crazy world!!!

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