I dont blame the onlookers for not knowing that their conduct would agitate Harambe. I gasped loudly just watching the video of him violently dragging the kid in the water. Social media takes everyone from zero to ten within minutes, and common sense is thrown out the window. If she catches a negligence charge so be it, but my stance has always been then punish all of the other parents who have lost their kids at the zoo, at the mall, whose kids have gotten hit by cars, etc. The only differnce is her negligence(if there was.any) got an animal killed, but that doesnt make her a worse parent than any other parent who has lost track of his child.
This is where I would disagree. If one’s negligence resulted in the death of a living being, that makes the negligence morally/ethically worse IMO than in situations where there was no injuries/deaths to others…especially animals who weren’t acting aggressively…but were provoked by human actions arising from that negligence.
Four year olds move very fast. You really have to have two eyes in the back of your head when you take them to a crowded public place and be even more on guard when you are managing more than one child. Hold their hand, carry them, put them in a stroller, or on a leash. The parents know their child’s personality best. It is better to take extra steps to be a bit careful. Still even after taking all these precautions things can happen but I feel the risk is a bit lower. They need to understand what behavior will not be tolerated and if things are getting out of hand sometimes it is just best to stop and take a break or go home. The parents need to make the kids understand tantrums won’t be tolerated and that there are rules of behavior when they are out in a crowded, public place. The phone calls, texts, and photographs can wait, just focus on making sure your kids are safe. I just read about a four year old that knocked down a 15,000 piece Lego display that had been put on display only an hour beforehand. If you don’t reprimand the kids and let them run around then they are not going to learn any self control. This is what I’m saying in my head when I go to a public place and almost get knocked over by a kid running all over the place and the parent is ignoring the issue. If the kid gets hurt due to bad behavior then don’t blame others because the child is your responsibility. This kid is lucky to be alive first surviving that 15 foot fall and then coming out of there safe with a 400 lb. gorilla by his side. Sometimes you just don’t get 2nd chances like that. If the parents sue the zoo I will be upset. Over the years thousands of kids have gone through that zoo without an incidence like this. My intuition says this couple already has lawyers coaching them on their communications.
One account says people were shouting, “Whose kid is that,?” after he went over or under the first barricade. At least one man went over the barricade to try to grab the boy.
Would you try to locate the mother first and assume he couldn’t access the moat under any conditions, or would you grab another person’s child?
I still want some facts. How many kids did this woman have with her? Is she running a day care program? I ask because I’ve seen groups of toddlers at museums and parks, with the kids tied to a rope. If a child is rambunctious , I would definitely use a leash.
The man who went over the barricade to try to grab him absolutely did the right thing. Grab the kid and ask questions later.
According to the NYT, the police report states the boy is 3 years old.
"The phone calls, texts, and photographs can wait, just focus on making sure your kids are safe… If you don’t reprimand the kids and let them run around then they are not going to learn any self control. This is what I’m saying in my head when I go to a public place and almost get knocked over by a kid running all over the place and the parent is ignoring the issue. "
^I so agree with this! How frequently do we see kids running around unchecked at a restaurant while the waitstaff tries to navigate around them while carrying trays of hot food? Or parents on their smart phones or taking photos while junior is running amok? It’s not uncommon in my experience.
Why would you want facts??!! Isn’t internet speculation and hearsay much more reliable? 
We took a leash for our wild one to Busch Gardens Williamsburg but by some stroke of great luck, the crowds were very light that day and we were able to not use it. It was an actual little vest style with the tether in the back. I knew he’d just pull one of those wrist things right off.
How did the boy survive the fall in the first place without injury??
I actually lost my senior Dad at Busch Gardens Willamsburg. We went to the lost child area for lack of a better thing to do and luckily ran into him on the way.
It was just very crowded and he got stuck behind a large person and swallowed up by the crowd.
@greenwitch Yeah, we lost my father in law once at a crowded outdoor event. We just keep fanning out and eventually ran into him. He was not that old at the time in the scheme of things (in his 70’s) but it was still stressful.
I lost my daughter at Disney World. I saw her walking behind her Dad and assumed he knew she was there. He had no idea and was baffled when he reappeared and I asked where she was. A very panicky few moments (Disney did not appear to have any sort of announcement system for lost children which surprised us) till she reappeared crying and accompanied by an elderly couple who were looking for a park worker. We we pretty vigilant with our kids (never let them run around in restaurants). It only takes a second.
When my older two boys were maybe 8 and 4, they got separated from us in a Target. We found them at the fine jewelry counter, because (per the older, my DS16):
“We stuck together and held hands. We knew we should go to a uniformed Target worker who could help us. We worried that we would be fooled by a fake worker who was actually a kidnapper, but figured that if we went to the most expensive category of stuff, if there were any fake workers there, the store itself would have a strong incentive to get involved.”
^^^I have experienced this too. I used to tell my daughter walk in front of me or beside me not behind me.
Once we were in Georgetown with family going to a restaurant. We were crossing on the walk sign and there was about 3 seconds left. I told my sister did you realize your daughter is walking behind you. I immediately grabbed her hand as we crossed. Even with the right of way there were cars trying to make a turn.
The issue also comes of is it the job of those around you to babysit your child? It was nice of that man to cross the barricade but how many would hesitate to say well this is not my child, I don’t want to be involved or get into trouble.
@raclut , Just today I saw a dad with two kids in a grocery store parking lot walking in front of them as they exited the store and entered the parking lot. Two active boys, about 4 and 6. The dad was not even looking back at them. I guess that is pretty typical but I did notice . I never liked to have my kids behind me either but I guess that is not universal.
“how many would hesitate” “don’t want to be involved or get into trouble.” I’d take a tongue lashing any day from a parent who thought I should mind my own business if I thought a kid was truly in a potentially dangerous situation. I’d rather deal with that than any guilt from not making any attempt to intervene, should something terrible happen. The parking lot situation I mentioned does not rise to that kind of level but a young kid getting ready to jump in with a gorilla sure as heck does. I applaud the guy for trying to grab the kid and stop him from going in there.
Growing up, I remember my mom at 5 foot 1 inch walked very fast because she was always in a rush to go to the next task. In the mall she would be so ahead at times we would lose her because we would be walking with our grandmother who walked slow. One of us had to really keep an eye out to see how far ahead she was. Anyway back to the topic at hand.
I have a girlfriend who was the victim of an attempted kidnapping at a mall when she was, oh, probably 5 or thereabouts. I think she was at a Sears (or similar store) with her mother and sister, the mother turned around for a moment, and she was scooped up – thankfully they caught the would-be kidnapper at the door and she was returned unharmed. I have no doubt that if this were today, this would be all over social media and her mother would have been pilloried for having turned around for a split second.
@Pizzagirl , Yes, I’m actually a little surprised that anyone who has actually been a parent would not get how quickly some of these kinds of things can happen. Guess some people are either perfect or have never let a kid out of their sight for even one second.
I was just lucky, I guess. I had twins. They followed me around like little ducklings. I took them to parks, zoos, museums, lots of places by myself. I never had to chase after one of them running away. But children are very different.