Pregnancy Info HOME

I dont have any experience with this, but have heard of it. It does sound like your friend has some issues that should be addressed by someone or else that child will suffer. Can you speak to a family member like her Mom or sibling. It sounds to me like she needs some help. What about her husband?

I don't mean to scare you, but this is serious. The girl could be suffering from malnutrition and at such an important time in her growth (and brain development) she could potentially have a lifetime of issues. If speaking to any relative doesn't get a quick (I wouldn't wait more than a few days) response, you may need to contact child services, anonymously if you want.The mom could get couselling too but someone needs to open the door and she isn't getting the help she needs. It may sound extreme but time is REALLY of the essence here. My son is 2.2 and weighs 30 pounds and is only in the 25-50%ile. Please keep us updated...

You need to skip talking to any family and protect that child. Call child services and report this. Call 911 if you need to. Get someone in to that home to see that child. Who cares about any friendship you have with her, that is not what is important here. Get something done and don't stop until you are successful. That little girl is all that is important.

If by some chance it turned out that you were wrong, then so be it. It is always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to a childs health and welfare.

Thanks for your reponses. She is really not a "good friend". I have maintained contact due to her dd and my concern for her. I live in Switzerland so things are different here. I spoke to my dd daycare and they gave me some contact info at the childrens hospital where I can get advice of how to handle the situation plus her dd was there for the 2 weeks observation. I will call today and will keep you posted. If you google this Munchausen by Proxy....it is so terrible I just can't imagine that it exists.

I spoke with child services at the hospital where the girl was observed for 2 weeks. The man said he would bring up this "case" to his group next week and call me back next Wednesday. He wasn't able to give me any info due to privacy law. He did sound concerned so let's hope something good happens.

I totally think you did the right thing. Let us know how it turns out.

I am so happy you did that. Please keep us posted as to what happens next. You did a wonderful thing for that little girl.

Skyeblue- sorry to just jump in here, however it is a really really difficult thing to prove, infact (this sounds so horrible) but their has to be proof she is hurting her dd before they can terminate her rights...i say terminate and not help get her therapy because i have studied this exact condition and most psychologists agree that it is NOT curable, therefore the best possible thing for this child is to be seperated from her mother and put into a safer environment. This woman isn't doing this to her daughter just out of spite to be mean, she is mentally ill, I truly hope that some how the judge who ends up overseeing this case decides that this child is NOT safe and goes ahead and terminates rights, however don't get your hopes to high for this poor little girl- since social services main goal is to keep families together, if you can try to remain close enough to this person to make sure it doesn't get worse. Once this lady runs out of drs to get attention from she may go down the darker road and try to "prove" that there is something wrong with her dd and that is when this little girl is in the MOST danger, the good thing is though when social services go to see the child they will see she is malnurished and make note of that which can make temporary custody of her easy to rally for. Sorry again to jump on here, but i am licensed through social services to provide foster and respite care for children and i have seen several battles between the court system and social services...and most time the children end up going home several times until something really bad happens,,,, and i know that sounds horrible but social services still has a lot of problems and therefore things are more difficult than they should be...but please for this little girls sake, keep close, and don't stop reporting everything you see! you can call social services ANY time you see a child being neglected or abused... document what happened, time and witnesses, and remember these children cant help themselves so take it upon yourself to try to help them.. i really hope this little girl gets out of that situation and it is great that you reported this... (BTW most 2 year olds cannot be diagnosed with ADHD so that is a sure sign she is making up illnesses to try to make her dd seem sicker)

Hi Tish, Well I will call the dr at the hospital tomorrow and he will have an update as to what I can do...The mom is a very depressed woman and it seems to get worse. I know I was absolutely shocked when she said that now her dd can walk she runs all over the place and must have Autism or ADHD. I myself am a preschool teacher, so I know that saying such things is just way over the top! Again, it shows her need to just search and search for something wrong with her dd. Will keep you posted