Nutley, NJ -- A Nutley, New Jersey, mother was arrested after taking her 6-year-old daughter to a tanning salon and allegedly causing a slight burn by allowing the child to use one of the tanning beds.
However, Patricia Krentcil, 44, tells WCBS in New York that the whole thing was a big misunderstanding.
When we posted this story, the majority of your comments fell into three question categories. First, what are the health dangers to the mom and the young daughter? Next, what are the rules, when it comes to children and teenagers and tanning beds? And, what's the real story? The mother says this never happened.
First, we wanted to learn about the health dangers for the mom, with this excessive tanning.
Susan Stinehelfer with Greensboro Dermatology Associates said, "She has obviously gone essessively. The risk of too much indoor tanning increases your risk of all types of skin cancer, but more importantly Melanoma, which is a deadly form of skin cancer."
Stinehelfer says one American dies every hour from Melanoma. And when it comes to the health dangers for a child and sun exposure, it's even more damaging because it's often not revealed until later on down the road.
Next, we looked at tanning bed rules and regulations. In New Jersey, kids under 14 are banned from tanning salons by law. Teenagers 14 to 17 can use salons, but only with parental consent.
The regulations here in North Carolina are a bit more strict because of the "Youth Skin Cancer Protection Act" that was adopted in May of last year. It says that if you're younger than 18, you cannot use tanning equipment without a written prescription from a physician. Your doctor has to specify the nature of the medical condition requiring the treatment, the number of visits and the time of exposure for each visit.
And lastly, what's the real story?
A school nurse noticed Patricia Krentcil's daughter, 6-year old Anna, had a rash.
The nurse says Aanna told her the rash came from going tanning with her mother. That's when child services was notified. But, the mom says it's all a misunderstanding.
Today in court, Patricia Krentcil pleaded not guilty to a charge of child endangerment.
Her lawyer, John Caruso said, "My client is 150 percent innocent. That child was never in that tanning booth. She loves her child more than her own life. And she would never, ever allow her child to go inside a tanning bed."
Krentcil said that while her daughter was in the room with her at the salon, she was never in the tanning booth. She says her daughter got her sunburn from being outside on a recent warm day.
The tanning salon also says the child was not in the booth.