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Error at work while Hypo :(

Lauren

Lauren

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
I've made a silly error at work which has resulted in a complaint from a parent - I let a Year 6 child (ten years old) take out a copy of Heartstopper Volume 1, which is inappropriate due to swearing and talk of relationships. I remember the day this book was added to her account I had been struggling with hypos and was finding it so difficult to concentrate. Not an excuse as I should have removed myself from the room and treated the hypo rather than continue to issue books out to students - but it does explain why this has happened. The parent is not happy, which I can understand. Oh well, good opportunity to reflect on my practice and move forward with better procedures. Obviously I have profusely apologised to this child's parents. Gahhh. I'm so cross with myself.
 
You didn't deliberately make yourself hypo, good God woman, you're pregnant, why on earth would you? Well - you just wouldn't. Forgive yourself this very instant, you really are 200% unlikely to do any such thing again. Being very cross with yourself is OK, as long as you do forgive yourself after.
 
Ah @Lauren! I’m so sorry!

Hopefully your employer will be supportive and will back you up, and the parent will behave like a rational human being and understand that you make an error while your brain was literally malfunctioning :(

Sounds like you have handled the situation well, and hopefully your genuine apology will be accepted, and as you say you’ll review your practices/ processes and hopefully be able to avoid any similar mistakes errors of judgment in the future.
 
Perhaps it was inappropriate but I doubt it would be the worst thing a 10 year old will have heard in everyday life. It could provide a good opportunity for discussion with the child on what is appropriate for them to read/watch.
You apologised and hopefully that was accepted as being a genuine mistake when you were unwell.
 
Leadinglights said:
Perhaps it was inappropriate but I doubt it would be the worst thing a 10 year old will have heard in everyday life. It could provide a good opportunity for discussion with the child on what is appropriate for them to read/watch.
You apologised and hopefully that was accepted as being a genuine mistake when you were unwell.
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Well yes I confess I was slightly confused, as year 6 would have been the top of any school I was used to, so if the book isn’t suitable for them - I’m not quite sure who it would be for!

But I’m aware there are other school-structures, like ‘middle school’ which bridges different age ranges / year groups
 
As a child my reading wasn't monitored, I was reading my dad's collection of serial killer biographies by the time I was 9 or 10 :rofl: and I seem to have come out OK!
 
Lisa65 said:
As a child my reading wasn't monitored, I was reading my dad's collection of serial killer biographies by the time I was 9 or 10 :rofl: and I seem to have come out OK!
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Lisa65 said:
As a child my reading wasn't monitored, I was reading my dad's collection of serial killer biographies by the time I was 9 or 10 :rofl: and I seem to have come out OK!
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That's young! I started reading Agatha Christie books at about age 12 and progressed on to getting books on real-life murder cases from the (adult section of the) local library when I was 13 or 14.

I started buying a weekly magazine called 'Crimes and Punishment' : I became more interested in what made the killers tick than in the detail of the investigations and that's what led ultimately to me becoming a Psychologist!

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CliffH said:
That's young! I started reading Agatha Christie books at about age 12 and progressed on to getting books on real-life murder cases from the (adult section of the) local library when I was 13 or 14.

I started buying a weekly magazine called 'Crimes and Punishment' : I became more interested in what made the killers tick than in the detail of the investigations and that's what led ultimately to me becoming a Psychologist!

View attachment 35789
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I considered becoming a forensic psychiatrist for a while, unfortunately my science subjects weren't up to scratch.
 
Thank you all for your kind replies. My school have been very supportive and the suggestion has been that perhaps the parent was offended by the portrayal of a same sex relationship rather than the bad language, sadly.
 
CliffH said:
That's young! I started reading Agatha Christie books at about age 12 and progressed on to getting books on real-life murder cases from the (adult section of the) local library when I was 13 or 14.

I started buying a weekly magazine called 'Crimes and Punishment' : I became more interested in what made the killers tick than in the detail of the investigations and that's what led ultimately to me becoming a Psychologist!

View attachment 35789
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I used to read my aunt's collection of these when I was about 11! They were fascinating.
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Well yes I confess I was slightly confused, as year 6 would have been the top of any school I was used to, so if the book isn’t suitable for them - I’m not quite sure who it would be for!

But I’m aware there are other school-structures, like ‘middle school’ which bridges different age ranges / year groups
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I should explain we are an all-through school aged 2-18. There is a junior library but in year 6 the children are allowed to start using the senior library in preparation for year 7.
I have questioned whether this is still appropriate, as I had another incident this week where a Year 6 took a copy (of Heartstopper again - clearly popular!) without my knowledge. The thing is we have a lot of young adult fiction, some of it a lot worse in content, and so I need to have a think about how I can prevent incidents like this as well.
 
I’m guessing the complaint is more about same sex relationships in Heartstopper and while it’s cosy queer lit and the format makes it feel young it’s got a big storyline about mental health and eating disorders too. None of it is ‘bad’ but it can get quite heavy. The popularity of the Netflix show means it’s a name that’s recognised and the pastel books make it look childish. It’s in that borderline territory for 10 year olds. We as parents never restricted our kids’ reading but as a school librarian I can imagine it’s a hard line to navigate.

Is there a policy at school for kids to be able to access queer lit without parental knowledge? It can become a safeguarding issue if a kid is exploring their sexuality and the family aren’t supportive.
 
At my school, I was jealous of some of the kids in the lower level English classes because they got to read ghost stories. Then one of the parents found out and complained because they were occultist or something. The books then got banned and the kids who were struggling to read lost the chance to read something that interested them.
 
I had read “adult” books before my teens. I was always an advanced reader and moved on from sci-fi into horror bulefire high school.
Hugely into vampire books and horror, definitely not aimed at children full of sex and violence. And sometimes the librarian gave me disapproving looks.
It depends on the child but it won’t do them any harm more than likely so I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
I know some people don’t even swear or like swear words as adults so again that depends on the person, family. Swearing is part of language in my opinion and suitable in the right circumstances.
And if it’s based on same sex couples then these people need to give their heads a wobble.
 
helli said:
At my school, I was jealous of some of the kids in the lower level English classes because they got to read ghost stories. Then one of the parents found out and complained because they were occultist or something. The books then got banned and the kids who were struggling to read lost the chance to read something that interested them.
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Remember when some people wanted to ban Harry Potter cos witches ?
 
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