Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2015 13:46:34 GMT
I'm sure you've all seen the feeding frenzy in the media over this story/non-story the last three freaking days. linkHere's the real story. This family is from my town. I don't know them, but I know their neighbor and good friend. This family is completely devestated by this incident. The mother did not "Dangle" her child over the railing. She was holding her twin 2 year olds, so they could see the cheetahs. How many of us have done that same thing - held a small child up so they could see something, maybe set them on a railing while holding on to them, thinking we had a good grip? One of them squirmed suddenly, as 2 yr olds are prone to do. He slipped over the rail, and she couldn't keep hold of him, with the other child in her arms. It happened so fast, and the boy fell. A terrible accident that could have been tragic, but an accident, nonetheless. How many of us can say "There but for the grace of God, go I?" The media frenzy has completely wrecked this poor family. The media found out where she works, a child care facility, and now she is being attacked on that front and may lose her job. Its despicable and a sad reflection on our society and our need to jump to conclusions and judgment.
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raindancer
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,095
Jun 26, 2014 20:10:29 GMT
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Post by raindancer on Apr 15, 2015 13:51:47 GMT
I agree. It's really unfortunate that people rush to judge based on a media story.
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conchita
Pearl Clutcher
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Jul 1, 2014 11:25:58 GMT
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Post by conchita on Apr 15, 2015 14:01:36 GMT
The article states:
"The boy's mother was holding him and another child when the boy slipped and fell into the pit Saturday, said spokesman Larry Gray of the Cleveland Fire Department."
Even another article I read yesterday stated the child slipped and fell. I don't understand how this compares to "dangling" the child over the railing? It's definitely an attention grabbing headline. It immediately brought to mind images of when Michael Jackson dangled his child over a balcony for his fans to see.
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Deleted
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Oct 7, 2024 13:42:13 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2015 14:04:45 GMT
The article states: "The boy's mother was holding him and another child when the boy slipped and fell into the pit Saturday, said spokesman Larry Gray of the Cleveland Fire Department." Even another article I read yesterday stated the child slipped and fell. I don't understand how this compares to "dangling" the child over the railing? It's definitely an attention grabbing headline. It immediately brought to mind images of when Michael Jackson dangled his child over a balcony for his fans to see. Exactly. Fox and Friends even had Dr Ablow weighing in on the story this morning. I can imagine it this way - as the child slipped, she tried to hold on to him, and he briefly "dangled" before she lost her grip. That's what people saw. I'm sure the mother started screaming, they looked, saw him "dangle" and jumped to the stupid conclusion that she was doing it on purpose. People suck.
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Post by annabella on Apr 15, 2015 14:07:36 GMT
The article states: "The boy's mother was holding him and another child when the boy slipped and fell into the pit Saturday, said spokesman Larry Gray of the Cleveland Fire Department." Even another article I read yesterday stated the child slipped and fell. I don't understand how this compares to "dangling" the child over the railing? It's definitely an attention grabbing headline. It immediately brought to mind images of when Michael Jackson dangled his child over a balcony for his fans to see. I heard this on the Today show this week and they only said she "dangled him". In the video in the linked article the police officer said she dangled him and they were going to file charges against the mother. Frankly I think in a case like this, the fact that the mother jumped into the cheetah pit to save her child's life and escaped unharmed should be punishment enough.
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tincin
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,378
Jul 25, 2014 4:55:32 GMT
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Post by tincin on Apr 15, 2015 14:07:37 GMT
I'm sure you've all seen the feeding frenzy in the media over this story/non-story the last three freaking days. linkHere's the real story. This family is from my town. I don't know them, but I know their neighbor and good friend. This family is completely devestated by this incident. The mother did not "Dangle" her child over the railing. She was holding her twin 2 year olds, so they could see the cheetahs. How many of us have done that same thing - held a small child up so they could see something, maybe set them on a railing while holding on to them, thinking we had a good grip? One of them squirmed suddenly, as 2 yr olds are prone to do. He slipped over the rail, and she couldn't keep hold of him, with the other child in her arms. It happened so fast, and the boy fell. A terrible accident that could have been tragic, but an accident, nonetheless. How many of us can say "There but for the grace of God, go I?" The media frenzy has completely wrecked this poor family. The media found out where she works, a child care facility, and now she is being attacked on that front and may lose her job. Its despicable and a sad reflection on our society and our need to jump to conclusions and judgment. That's all well and good but those fences and railings are there for a reason and it isn't to set your child on.
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Deleted
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Oct 7, 2024 13:42:13 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2015 14:12:31 GMT
I'm sure you've all seen the feeding frenzy in the media over this story/non-story the last three freaking days. linkHere's the real story. This family is from my town. I don't know them, but I know their neighbor and good friend. This family is completely devestated by this incident. The mother did not "Dangle" her child over the railing. She was holding her twin 2 year olds, so they could see the cheetahs. How many of us have done that same thing - held a small child up so they could see something, maybe set them on a railing while holding on to them, thinking we had a good grip? One of them squirmed suddenly, as 2 yr olds are prone to do. He slipped over the rail, and she couldn't keep hold of him, with the other child in her arms. It happened so fast, and the boy fell. A terrible accident that could have been tragic, but an accident, nonetheless. How many of us can say "There but for the grace of God, go I?" The media frenzy has completely wrecked this poor family. The media found out where she works, a child care facility, and now she is being attacked on that front and may lose her job. Its despicable and a sad reflection on our society and our need to jump to conclusions and judgment. That's all well and good but those fences and railings are there for a reason and it isn't to set your child on. In addition, you KNOW 2yo's are wiggly, squirmy...why on earth would you attempt to hold TWO 2yo's?
Fences and railings are placed where they are and designed how they are for a reason. It was risky to hold one child above any railing but making the conscious decision to hold two children above railing was negligent and stupid. This mother needs some critical thinking skills training so that she doesn't do anything this reckless and stupid again that endanger one or both of her children.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2015 14:14:54 GMT
I'm sure you've all seen the feeding frenzy in the media over this story/non-story the last three freaking days. linkHere's the real story. This family is from my town. I don't know them, but I know their neighbor and good friend. This family is completely devestated by this incident. The mother did not "Dangle" her child over the railing. She was holding her twin 2 year olds, so they could see the cheetahs. How many of us have done that same thing - held a small child up so they could see something, maybe set them on a railing while holding on to them, thinking we had a good grip? One of them squirmed suddenly, as 2 yr olds are prone to do. He slipped over the rail, and she couldn't keep hold of him, with the other child in her arms. It happened so fast, and the boy fell. A terrible accident that could have been tragic, but an accident, nonetheless. How many of us can say "There but for the grace of God, go I?" The media frenzy has completely wrecked this poor family. The media found out where she works, a child care facility, and now she is being attacked on that front and may lose her job. Its despicable and a sad reflection on our society and our need to jump to conclusions and judgment. That's all well and good but those fences and railings are there for a reason and it isn't to set your child on. Well no sh*t. Thanks for that insight. She didn't plop him up there and let go of him. She had her arm around him the whole time. But toddlers are slippery creatures, aren't they? But I doubt that there is a mother among us that hasn't done something similar at a zoo/aquarium/theme park/museum etc. You walk up to an exhibt with a railing that your child can't see over. You hold them up. Maybe you sit their tush on the railing, never imagining that something bad could happen in the blink of an eye. I know I have done it. The question should also be, why did the zoo not have the exhibit more protected, with netting below the railing to catch anything that might be dropped over the railing?
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freebird
Drama Llama
'cause I'm free as a bird now
Posts: 6,927
Jun 25, 2014 20:06:48 GMT
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Post by freebird on Apr 15, 2015 14:16:13 GMT
Might we remember this example in the future when we decide to pile on to something that the media tells us is news? There was a story here recently that made national news. It was pretty nasty for a while. I spent an hour poking around the internet doing a little "investigating" on my own and found enough to make me go "hmmm" on the story. Why can't the media do that too? Why? Because it's not a sensational story to tell the truth.
In situations like this, my response is always the same: Walter Cronkite is dead.
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Post by pjaye on Apr 15, 2015 14:17:48 GMT
This isn't "a tragic accident" This is a case of extremely poor judgment and bad parenting and that mother should be charged. The kids are two, if they aren't tall enough to see into the enclosure, then so be it, they don't get to see cheetahs that day. They're two, they'll get over it. The fences and railings are there for a reason and the point isn't to lift children up to see over the top of them, particularly not to a point where they can fall in. Then you post that she's lifting both at the same time? Yeah, I'd be taking my kids out of that childcare where she works too, she hasn't got any common sense at all and I wouldn't trust someone who is OK with lifting two 2 years over the fence at a cheetah enclosure, if she makes decisions like that with her own kids, I can't imagine what sort of stupid risks she'd take with other people's. No, normal sensible parents don't.
I've been to zoos & wild life sanctuaries with plenty of my friends and their kids and I have *never* seen one of then do anything even close to this where a child could fall into a restricted area or come into contact with an animal. If anything they are telling their kids no, not to climb on things or to step back. That's what normal parents do. They understand the purpose of a guard, railing or fence.
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Post by myshelly on Apr 15, 2015 14:18:48 GMT
The law holds people responsible for things done on purpose, but it also holds people resonsible for poor decisions.
The fact of the matter is she caused her child harm. She caused the zoo harm. Charges are being pressed.
From looking at the pictures of the railings I really don't see how this could have happened unless she was doing something REALLY stupid.
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Post by myshelly on Apr 15, 2015 14:20:04 GMT
That's all well and good but those fences and railings are there for a reason and it isn't to set your child on. Well no sh*t. Thanks for that insight. She didn't plop him up there and let go of him. She had her arm around him the whole time. But toddlers are slippery creatures, aren't they? But I doubt that there is a mother among us that hasn't done something similar at a zoo/aquarium/theme park/museum etc. You walk up to an exhibt with a railing that your child can't see over. You hold them up. Maybe you sit their tush on the railing, never imagining that something bad could happen in the blink of an eye. I know I have done it. The question should also be, why did the zoo not have the exhibit more protected, with netting below the railing to catch anything that might be dropped over the railing? Careful there Lyman, you sound like a law suit happy, nanny state wanting liberal here.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2015 14:22:02 GMT
That's all well and good but those fences and railings are there for a reason and it isn't to set your child on. Well no sh*t. Thanks for that insight. She didn't plop him up there and let go of him. She had her arm around him the whole time. But toddlers are slippery creatures, aren't they?
But I doubt that there is a mother among us that hasn't done something similar at a zoo/aquarium/theme park/museum etc. You walk up to an exhibt with a railing that your child can't see over. You hold them up. Maybe you sit their tush on the railing, never imagining that something bad could happen in the blink of an eye. I know I have done it. The question should also be, why did the zoo not have the exhibit more protected, with netting below the railing to catch anything that might be dropped over the railing? Which is why I said that it was sheer stupidity to not just hold ONE child over the edge but a second "slippery creature" over the edge as well.
The zoo’s executive director, Chris Kuhar, said the mother appeared to be at fault.
“Unfortunately, we have a number of eyewitness accounts that point to the strong likelihood that the child was dangled over the railing,” Kuhar said.
Eyewitnesses were there. Eyewitnesses are the ones that first mentioned the child being "dangled".
Again, we've all done it...we've all held our kids up to see. Perhaps had she only held one at a time to see she would've had a better hold. Because again, toddlers are slippery creatures.
If this is the kind of decision making skills this woman has (not necessarily holding one child...but her choice to hold two "slippery creatures" over the railing) then perhaps she should not be responsible for the safety of other people's children.
Harsh? I suppose. We all make mistakes. We're all fortunate that most of our parenting mistakes don't cause injury to our children or end up on the news. But this woman's poor choice to attempt to hold twins over a railing is stupid and I'm glad the zoo is pressing charges. Perhaps others will consider the safety measures the zoos have more carefully and reconsider ways to get around them.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2015 14:22:04 GMT
That's all well and good but those fences and railings are there for a reason and it isn't to set your child on. In addition, you KNOW 2yo's are wiggly, squirmy...why on earth would you attempt to hold TWO 2yo's?
Fences and railings are placed where they are and designed how they are for a reason. It was risky to hold one child above any railing but making the conscious decision to hold two children above railing was negligent and stupid. This mother needs some critical thinking skills training so that she doesn't do anything this reckless and stupid again that endanger one or both of her children.
Jenny, really? Have you never done anything that might have gone wrong, but thankfully didn't? Does that mean you need critical thinking skills training? How absurd! She never intended to endanger her children. She made a poor decision, yes. But we have all done such things as parents of young kids, haven't we? Have you ever looked at your phone while driving with your kid in the car, for just a split second? That's a Poor decision that could have had a bad outcome. If the unthinkable happened, and you were in a wreck and your child broke his arm, would you want the media frenzy and scrutiny for days, and the judgement and the condemnation, lose your job, be embarrassed and scared to leave your house, know that your decision would haunt you for the rest of time, thanks to the internet? Dont' you think she feels horrible enough? Do you think she needs the judgment of the rest of the nation as well? Can't anyone ever put themselves in another persons shoes for half a second? Is this where we are as a society?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2015 14:26:08 GMT
She made a poor choice that led to this incident. But she needs to own that choice. Like it or not she lifted two children up and over the railing. Every single zoo I've been to clearly states don't do that. It really is that simple. Did she harm them on purpose? Of course not. But it was still a choice she made. I'm glad the media is reporting it the way they are. Maybe more moms will think first.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2015 14:26:53 GMT
Well no sh*t. Thanks for that insight. She didn't plop him up there and let go of him. She had her arm around him the whole time. But toddlers are slippery creatures, aren't they?
But I doubt that there is a mother among us that hasn't done something similar at a zoo/aquarium/theme park/museum etc. You walk up to an exhibt with a railing that your child can't see over. You hold them up. Maybe you sit their tush on the railing, never imagining that something bad could happen in the blink of an eye. I know I have done it. The question should also be, why did the zoo not have the exhibit more protected, with netting below the railing to catch anything that might be dropped over the railing? Which is why I said that it was sheer stupidity to not just hold ONE child over the edge but a second "slippery creature" over the edge as well.
The zoo’s executive director, Chris Kuhar, said the mother appeared to be at fault.
“Unfortunately, we have a number of eyewitness accounts that point to the strong likelihood that the child was dangled over the railing,” Kuhar said.
Eyewitnesses were there. Eyewitnesses are the ones that first mentioned the child being "dangled".
Again, we've all done it...we've all held our kids up to see. Perhaps had she only held one at a time to see she would've had a better hold. Because again, toddlers are slippery creatures.
If this is the kind of decision making skills this woman has (not necessarily holding one child...but her choice to hold two "slippery creatures" over the railing) then perhaps she should not be responsible for the safety of other people's children.
Harsh? I suppose. We all make mistakes. We're all fortunate that most of our parenting mistakes don't cause injury to our children or end up on the news. But this woman's poor choice to attempt to hold twins over a railing is stupid and I'm glad the zoo is pressing charges. Perhaps others will consider the safety measures the zoos have more carefully and reconsider ways to get around them.
I never said anything about the charges. I'm talking about the media coverage of a total non-story. Why on earth is this national news for days on end? It shouldn't have been anything more than a blurb on the local. I didn't say that she didn't make a poor decision. She did. But we have all done such things. Empathy is dead, it seems. Everything is black and white I guess now. And we all think we are the perfect parent/citizen/human being with all the moral authority to sit in judgement of others, despite the fact that we never have all the facts. This family is a good family, and the mother is a good mother. A poor decision does not make one a bad parent. If it did, we'd all be screwed.
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Post by melanell on Apr 15, 2015 14:27:51 GMT
This is why I see signs at places asking that visitors do not sit or climb on or lean over railings.
Because there are enough people out there who don't automatically see the inherent danger in doing things like that.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2015 14:28:32 GMT
Which is why I said that it was sheer stupidity to not just hold ONE child over the edge but a second "slippery creature" over the edge as well.
The zoo’s executive director, Chris Kuhar, said the mother appeared to be at fault.
“Unfortunately, we have a number of eyewitness accounts that point to the strong likelihood that the child was dangled over the railing,” Kuhar said.
Eyewitnesses were there. Eyewitnesses are the ones that first mentioned the child being "dangled".
Again, we've all done it...we've all held our kids up to see. Perhaps had she only held one at a time to see she would've had a better hold. Because again, toddlers are slippery creatures.
If this is the kind of decision making skills this woman has (not necessarily holding one child...but her choice to hold two "slippery creatures" over the railing) then perhaps she should not be responsible for the safety of other people's children.
Harsh? I suppose. We all make mistakes. We're all fortunate that most of our parenting mistakes don't cause injury to our children or end up on the news. But this woman's poor choice to attempt to hold twins over a railing is stupid and I'm glad the zoo is pressing charges. Perhaps others will consider the safety measures the zoos have more carefully and reconsider ways to get around them.
I never said anything about the charges. I'm talking about the media coverage of a total non-story. Why on earth is this national news for days on end? It shouldn't have been anything more than a blurb on the local. I didn't say that she didn't make a poor decision. She did. But we have all done such things. Empathy is dead, it seems. Everything is black and white I guess now. And we all think we are the perfect parent/citizen/human being with all the moral authority to sit in judgement of others, despite the fact that we never have all the facts. This family is a good family, and the mother is a good mother. A poor decision does not make one a bad parent. If it did, we'd all be screwed. Who here said she doesn't deserve empathy? I don't see one. But it's good that this is getting national attention (once again I might add this has happened numerous times). Parents need to know that those railings are there for a reason.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2015 14:30:36 GMT
Here's an image from said cheetah pit. In order for them to fall into the enclosure, she would've had to have been dangling them quite a ways over the railing.
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Post by pjaye on Apr 15, 2015 14:31:35 GMT
Obviously she does, because she doesn't have enough common sense of her own. Hopefully this teaches her some important lessons.
I can put myself in her shoes: 2yo: "mummy I can't see the cheetahs...pick me up" Me: "no, honey you're to little and it's not safe, we'll come back another time when you are bigger, let's go and look at ...(animals where there is easier viewing for 2yos to see them)" Not rocket science. Adults are meant to be smarter than 2yos.
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Post by rainangel on Apr 15, 2015 14:32:07 GMT
The public 'lynching' and shaming of this woman is uncalled for. And I can't see how her arms would be long enough to DANGLE anything across that railing. I have held my kids up to let them have a better view of something, sure! I would probably hoist my own children up a bit to let them see the cheetas.
But I do, however, see why charges need to be made. I strongly doubt anyone thinks this mother did this purposefully. But there is no way an incident involving a 2-year old in a cheetah enclosure does NOT bring up charges. If someone had left a gate open and the 2- year old walked in on his own, charges would also be made against someone.
I hope the mother gets some understanding from the court and gets off.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2015 14:33:43 GMT
Which is why I said that it was sheer stupidity to not just hold ONE child over the edge but a second "slippery creature" over the edge as well.
The zoo’s executive director, Chris Kuhar, said the mother appeared to be at fault.
“Unfortunately, we have a number of eyewitness accounts that point to the strong likelihood that the child was dangled over the railing,” Kuhar said.
Eyewitnesses were there. Eyewitnesses are the ones that first mentioned the child being "dangled".
Again, we've all done it...we've all held our kids up to see. Perhaps had she only held one at a time to see she would've had a better hold. Because again, toddlers are slippery creatures.
If this is the kind of decision making skills this woman has (not necessarily holding one child...but her choice to hold two "slippery creatures" over the railing) then perhaps she should not be responsible for the safety of other people's children.
Harsh? I suppose. We all make mistakes. We're all fortunate that most of our parenting mistakes don't cause injury to our children or end up on the news. But this woman's poor choice to attempt to hold twins over a railing is stupid and I'm glad the zoo is pressing charges. Perhaps others will consider the safety measures the zoos have more carefully and reconsider ways to get around them.
I never said anything about the charges. I'm talking about the media coverage of a total non-story. Why on earth is this national news for days on end? It shouldn't have been anything more than a blurb on the local. I didn't say that she didn't make a poor decision. She did. But we have all done such things. Empathy is dead, it seems. Everything is black and white I guess now. And we all think we are the perfect parent/citizen/human being with all the moral authority to sit in judgement of others, despite the fact that we never have all the facts. This family is a good family, and the mother is a good mother. A poor decision does not make one a bad parent. If it did, we'd all be screwed. I think if the news coverage this is getting makes even just one parent re-consider holding their child over any kind of safety device "so that they can see" then it's worth the coverage.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2015 14:38:28 GMT
Obviously she does, because she doesn't have enough common sense of her own. Hopefully this teaches her some important lessons. I can put myself in her shoes: 2yo: "mummy I can't see the cheetahs...pick me up" Me: "no, honey you're to little and it's not safe, we'll come back another time when you are bigger, let's go and look at ...(animals where there is easier viewing for 2yos to see them)" Not rocket science. Adults are meant to be smarter than 2yos. I would have no issue picking my 2yo up because that concrete wall would probably hinder their vision. But I'd hold them against me (like I always did) and my body wouldn't go further than the concrete wall. There's no way I'd extend them past the concrete wall...to extend them even to the wooden railing or God forbid past the wooden railing. No way.
If the eyewitnesses are the ones that first mentioned dangling, she had to have had at least one of them pretty far out there.
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Rainbow
Pearl Clutcher
Where salt is in the air and sand is at my feet...
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Jun 26, 2014 5:57:41 GMT
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Post by Rainbow on Apr 15, 2015 14:40:25 GMT
Yep.
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ComplicatedLady
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,083
Location: Valley of the Sun
Jul 26, 2014 21:02:07 GMT
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Post by ComplicatedLady on Apr 15, 2015 14:41:06 GMT
What?!? The media isn't always 100% accurate and sometimes the story is skewed towards someone's biased view? I will never see things the same...
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gina
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,305
Jun 26, 2014 1:59:16 GMT
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Post by gina on Apr 15, 2015 14:45:16 GMT
I'm sure you've all seen the feeding frenzy in the media over this story/non-story the last three freaking days. linkHere's the real story. This family is from my town. I don't know them, but I know their neighbor and good friend. This family is completely devestated by this incident. The mother did not "Dangle" her child over the railing. She was holding her twin 2 year olds, so they could see the cheetahs. How many of us have done that same thing - held a small child up so they could see something, maybe set them on a railing while holding on to them, thinking we had a good grip? One of them squirmed suddenly, as 2 yr olds are prone to do. He slipped over the rail, and she couldn't keep hold of him, with the other child in her arms. It happened so fast, and the boy fell. A terrible accident that could have been tragic, but an accident, nonetheless. How many of us can say "There but for the grace of God, go I?" The media frenzy has completely wrecked this poor family. The media found out where she works, a child care facility, and now she is being attacked on that front and may lose her job. Its despicable and a sad reflection on our society and our need to jump to conclusions and judgment. That's all well and good but those fences and railings are there for a reason and it isn't to set your child on. I do feel badly for the family but I agree with the statement above. The railings are in place for a reason. I still feel she was in the wrong.
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MsKnit
Pearl Clutcher
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Jun 26, 2014 19:06:42 GMT
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Post by MsKnit on Apr 15, 2015 14:57:12 GMT
It's things like this that make me glad we live far enough away from zoos & such that the whole family would go. At 2, my husband would carry the boy or place him on his shoulders so he could see the animals.
I do feel for this mother. She had 2 little ones. And 2 years old is still little and at a stage they prefer carried most of the time. She made a bad decision by holding both children to see, instead of holding one at a time. My guess is that any 'dangling' people saw was a mother holding tight to keep her child from falling any further and losing the battle.
Seriously, people go to zoos for their children to see the animals. Excluding a little one because they are too short to see over the barrier is ridiculous. Most of the time, if they are that little they are usually carried anyway. The zoos that we have visited often have little stairs for kids to stand on to see, for the ones that are still too short, but too big to hold on a hip. Maybe zoos should have a policy that one should be so tall to enter.
We've all made mistakes. Some mistakes we pay dearly for. Others are warnings that we learn from, and thankfully nothing more.
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Post by Darcy Collins on Apr 15, 2015 15:07:08 GMT
I haven't seen the story, so I'm not sure if it's truly reached feeding frenzy status yet. Although I'm sure the family isn't enjoying the media attention. I do think that it's beneficial to remind people of the potential dangers. I think too often people DON'T consider what could happen and are complacent.
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compeateropeator
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Post by compeateropeator on Apr 15, 2015 15:08:04 GMT
Which is why I said that it was sheer stupidity to not just hold ONE child over the edge but a second "slippery creature" over the edge as well.
The zoo’s executive director, Chris Kuhar, said the mother appeared to be at fault.
“Unfortunately, we have a number of eyewitness accounts that point to the strong likelihood that the child was dangled over the railing,” Kuhar said.
Eyewitnesses were there. Eyewitnesses are the ones that first mentioned the child being "dangled".
Again, we've all done it...we've all held our kids up to see. Perhaps had she only held one at a time to see she would've had a better hold. Because again, toddlers are slippery creatures.
If this is the kind of decision making skills this woman has (not necessarily holding one child...but her choice to hold two "slippery creatures" over the railing) then perhaps she should not be responsible for the safety of other people's children.
Harsh? I suppose. We all make mistakes. We're all fortunate that most of our parenting mistakes don't cause injury to our children or end up on the news. But this woman's poor choice to attempt to hold twins over a railing is stupid and I'm glad the zoo is pressing charges. Perhaps others will consider the safety measures the zoos have more carefully and reconsider ways to get around them.
I never said anything about the charges. I'm talking about the media coverage of a total non-story. Why on earth is this national news for days on end? It shouldn't have been anything more than a blurb on the local. I didn't say that she didn't make a poor decision. She did. But we have all done such things. Empathy is dead, it seems. Everything is black and white I guess now. And we all think we are the perfect parent/citizen/human being with all the moral authority to sit in judgement of others, despite the fact that we never have all the facts. This family is a good family, and the mother is a good mother. A poor decision does not make one a bad parent. If it did, we'd all be screwed. No I don't think empathy is dead, but I do think that a lot of people can see situations near and dear to their heart a bit more black and white than other people. I have seen you very harsh with people in situations where I had a lot more empathy for the person involved. I am often criticized for seeing the other side by people who are very zealous with their opinions on certain subjects. With this situation I do feel badly for the woman involved. I know I have made questionable decisions in a variety of situations. If an unexpected accident occurred I guess I would have to live with the repercussions. My only hope/need is that those repercussions did not include anyone critically hurt or dead. The reason that it is all over the media is the same reason that the cute baby story, or the funny animal story, or the touching veteran story is all over the media. We now have an unlimited scope and venues in which to see stories. The reason that we see/hear them is because we can, and something has to take up that space on the information highway.
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Post by Zee on Apr 15, 2015 15:16:59 GMT
I feel terrible for the mother but no, I'd never lift a wiggly toddler up and set them on the rail of a cheetah pit, for just this very reason. I'd be freaking out at the thought they'd slip and fall in.
I think it's quite rich that the OP is calling for the media to back off the feeding frenzy or placing the blame on the zoo for not having netting to catch toddlers falling from stupid parents' arms. I can only imagine what she'd have to say if the mother was Michelle Obama rather than a friend of a friend or whatever.
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