Parents who only take children to hospital when the child looks okay.

I believe as parents we've all been there - you know the time I'm talking about - when your child goes ages without an accident and then along come a couple within a short space of time. The child walks into the stairpost and has a huge lump on the forehead the size of an egg, then a couple of hours later manages to fall off the swing in the garden or goes over the handlebars of a bike and ends up black and blue all over.

And going to the hospital turns into a nightmare because of the fear of explaining how the accidents could have happened and wondering if the hospital staff will believe you.

Its fine though when the child has a bad headache/cough/high temperature. So long as there is no visible physical injury to the child, then no problem going to hospital.

If the fear of going to hospital with a child who is cut and bruised for entirely innocent reasons isn't bad enough though, imagine going to hospital late at night, smelling strongly of alcohol, with a child who appears to be not breathing and covered in bruises?

Is honesty the best policy? - oh she fell off the slide at the hotel/she tripped on the cobbles in the old town/she ran into a lampost to get to the ice cream parlour. Well those reasons might be believed if the child is holding mommy and daddy 's hand and able to say hello to the doctor with a bit of a smile.

But if she's physically hurt AND stopped breathing AND whilst she's been left alone? It would take a very brave parent to explain that away to a hospital doctor. AND facing the paramedics with alcohol on the breath?

I think this would bring about enormous panic, imo.