Mum Advises Other Parents About Safety after Toddler Daughter Scalds Herself With Hot Tea

Emma Patterson, 24, who is her mom, is warning parents to keep hot drinks away from children, after her 16-month-old daughter, Libbie Patterson, suffered severe burns after mistakenly poring her mom’s cup of tea all over herself.  The toddler was subsequently rushed to hospital by her mum, and doctors’ spent three nights treating her for burns.

Describing the incident, her mom said:

“The cup was close to the edge of the work surface and she reached up and grabbed it. It went over her face, shoulders, stomach and back.She screamed and started to cry.

I stripped her off and doused her in cold towels after I called for an ambulance and she was still screaming. Libbie’s face was starting to peel and blister and it wasn’t a nice sight. They had to shave her head and she was in a bad way.”

Research has revealed that scalds from hot drinks are the most common cause of burn injury for children aged under five and it takes only a second to cause a deep burn from hot water at 70 degrees celsius.

Medics are hopeful that Libbie’s face which has been left disfigured following the incident will not be permanently scarred.

Stokesentinel reports that, Emma, has been feeling ‘guilty’ after the incident. She shared a picture of Libbie, to warn other parents, adding that they should be extra cautious when they have toddlers at home. She said:

“The doctors have said that she will scar on her shoulders but nowhere else and that’s quite lucky. The doctors said that it could have blinded her and scarred all of her face.

She is being herself now and her skin just needs to heal a bit more. If I hadn’t made that cup of tea, It wouldn’t have happened. It is amazing how making a cup of tea can have such devastating consequences.

I want to make parents aware of how easily things like this can happen. We didn’t have a child gate on the kitchen but I do now. I’ve learned all the lessons.

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Parents need to watch where their children are when making hot drinks. I am horrified by the situation. I pour water from a kettle now and it’s all I can think about.”

Photo Credit: Stoke Sentinel