@partyof5 Who said the father is being “blamed”? Haven’t seen that.
If you are referring to the junk dredged up by the gossip/rag sheet “The Daily Mail”, they do that to everyone they report on. Take that piece of junk “newspaper” (and I use the term lightly) with a grain of salt.
I think you are overstating the issue with the hot car deaths. Regardless, there are many more of those cases (sadly) than this one (this article says there are 37 cases a year http://www.parenting.com/article/tragedy-in-the-backseat-hot-car-deaths), and currently this gorilla incident is being sensationalized, in part perhaps because there is video for the media to run with. Here is a hot car death report from 2 days ago. http://www.wltx.com/news/sheriff-warns-parents-after-hot-car-death/223031553 (its says there are almost 40/year) More of these reports are local, rather than national news, but again, perhaps, as awful as it sounds, if there was video that the news media could run with, perhaps they would. As they say re: the media, “if it bleeds, it leads”.
Ultimately, decisions about bringing criminal charges are made after investigations (which take some time to gather necessary facts). But often, in the 24/7 news coverage, social media, other instant communication forms, etc., judgements are made with little in the way of facts (and sometimes “facts” that are wrong). Then when actual investigation is conducted, many complain of selective prosecution, coverups, bias, etc.
For this case (and others tried in the media), I am fine with waiting for all of the facts to come in before making a determination.
@jym626 this story is local for me, and yes, the father is being blamed. The parents are receiving death threats.
Im not sure how you figure Im “overstating” the car deaths. They happen every year, and depending on the SES and/or race of the parents, it seems some parents are charged, and some are not. Let me be clear, I have no problem if the mom is charged with child endangerment or something of that nature. It just boggles my mind that she is being portrayed as this horrible parent, when dozens of parents every year leave kids in the car that die, and there is never this much outrage, nor are most of them even charged.
Not necessary for the public to hound those parents because those parents are already suffering; they have lost their child. I can’t imagine a worst hell than living with that kind of guilt…
In this zoo incident, the parents didn’t lose their child. They caused tragedy to a third party, and then the mom posted a tactless FB statement.
Kids are little Houdinis sometimes. I’m sorry to see so much blame being leveled at the mother.
One day when my daughter was about 4, we were at the checkout at Walgreen’s. She was standing next to me and I reached into my wallet for a $5 bill. It was just a few seconds but when I looked up, she was gone. I yelled her name, and when there was no reply, I bolted out the door into the parking lot. There she was 50 feet away hurrying after a man. His hair looked similar to mine from the back and when he had suddenly left the store, she had thought it was me and had followed. He had no clue a child was following him.
No parent can have eyes glued on a child at all times.
What I think you are overstating, @partyof5 is that
. Not a peep? That is overstated, IMO, as it simply is not true. Just because it didn’t hit your news does not mean that there was not “a peep” said. As others pointed out, some families have been charged, some (probably most?) have been found to be tragic accidents and the grieving family member (parent/grandparent) was not charged. That does not mean the situations were not investigated.
It’s not necessary for people to be hounding any parents, making death threats, harassing their work places, contacting CPS about events they have no first hand knowledge of, etc
Let’s put the blame on the one who really caused it - the 3-year old.
He made the decision to enter the exhibit of his own free will, against the stated wishes of his mother. He exhibited wanton disregard for the posted warnings to keep out. He did not consider the possible consequences of his actions. He should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law & should probably spend time in jail.
On the other hand, maybe sometimes bad things just happen.
Absolutely agree. Sure that mother is beating herself up worse than those Facebook hounds are.
How about the Japanese parents who on Saturday left their 7 year old son in the forest as punishment? When they went back to get him he was no where to be found. The search is still underway for this child. The area is known to be inhabited by bears. Now I could place some blame there.
@mom2twogirls -
Agree that people shouldn’t hound the families or make death threats, but it also sounds like what happened to the dentist who killed Cecil the lion, what happened to the family of the boy left in the hot car in Atlanta, and to McQueary after the Sandusky abuse came to light. People do unkind things when emotions run high. The comments posted after online newspaper articles are pretty harsh too. (BTW, I am not comparing the incidents that led to death threats, just citing examples of big news items where the person or persons received death threats).
I have zero problems with the child leashes and don’t understand why people do. I took a three year old and 1 year old to Busch Gardens in Florida. The three year old REFUSED to stay buckled in a stroller ( and why is it any better to keep children restrained in a stroller). If you’ve ever struggled with a three year old who doesn’t want to be buckled in you know they are STRONG. I took him out and used a wrist leash. He was happy, he could move, run, walk and had much more freedom than in a stroller and I was able to enjoy the day also as well as get exercise. If I had to turn away for a few seconds to tend to the one year old I knew where he was or felt the Tug if he tried to get away. I really don’t understand why people think it is so bad when a stroller is much more restrictive.
I might argue that a 1 and 3 year old are probably too young to enjoy Busch Gardens.
I’ve always hated the leashes but I wish that boy had been on one that day at the zoo.
I also think it is a parent’s responsibility to leave if their children are acting up and aren’t listening to them. Not just threaten to do so, but actually leave. Kids are smart and adaptive (barring legitimate issues). Do it a few times and they will know you mean business.
“I might argue that a 1 and 3 year old are probably too young to enjoy Busch Gardens.”
Do people really have to find fault with everything. My children had a great day that day. They vaguely remember it through pictures. My husband and I had an awesome family day with our children. It was as much for us as it was for them.
Why have you hated the leashes. Strollers are much more restrictive.
I dislike leashes for a variety of reasons: I think the point is to teach the child to mind and to keep an eye on them. A leash defeats both. The second a child who is used to a leash doesn’t have one, he will escape. And the mother is much more lax with the leash on and when it’s not will not be used to having that sense that they must always be watched.
My husband refused to allow our kids to have water wings for the same reasons: parents depend on them and the child doesn’t learn not to go into water too deep for them. It only takes a while for both to appreciate the dangers of water and learn to cope.
I don’t hate that other people use them but for us it didn’t seem right.
I think my aversion to the leashes is that they are generally connected to dogs. I think dogs/cats in strollers look odd as well. I understand the practicality of the leashes but I just never got on board with it.
My point is they are not mutually exclusive. I did not stop watching him because he was on a leash. I did not stop teaching him to mind because our wrists were attached by a cord. I actually believe it helped him learn. He learned his boundaries as limited by the leash.
It’s fine if it didn’t seem right to you. It is your choice. I just wish ( and I’m not trying to say you personally) people would stop being so judge mental.
We’re expressing our own opinions and experiences and preferences, as are you. You are saying a leash worked for you. We are saying we don’t like them. You are saying you had a great day at Busch Gardens. More power to you. I’ve seen many kids flipping out at amusement parks at young ages. I think its a long and exhausting day for young children with often too much stimulation and not enough rest and I can understand why kids flip out or don’t want to be still or obedient when they are just toddlers.
This is a message board and different points of view are expressed. That is the way message boards work. Perhaps, you shouldn’t view it as being judgemental as opposed to an expression of different opinions, but maybe that’s just me being judgemental again
I agree it’s a message board and all sorts of varied opinions are expressed. I have no problem if you don’t like leashes. You get to make that choice for your children. You are fine I used one and I am fine you didn’t. I have seen young children flip out in all sorts of circumstances not just at amusement parks. Sometimes for no reason at all. Again your choice not to take them to an amusement park yet it was my choice to take my children to an amusement park. We all had a great time.
The problem is (not you) but there are many opinions thrown out on message boards (especially college confidential) that come off as high and mighty. They attack other posters for having an opinion that differs from their own.
I was expressing my own opinion and my own experience and trying to shed light on a different point of view.
