Follow-up to puppy kills baby: beware of infant swings/bouncy seats

[mnhtnbb]

I get pretty distressed by careless/uninformed parenting--and I did--on the thread relating the tragic death of a two month old baby in Tulsa OK which seems to have been caused by a six week old puppy in the same household.

The baby was left unattended in a swing, according to the article.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3695732&mesg_id=3695732

This was a tragedy that did not need to happen.

There are lots of devices marketed to parents these days to help with fussy babies. Parents
need to use some sense and minimize the time babies spend on their backs in car seats, bouncy seats,
infant rockers/swings. Bouncy seats should NEVER be placed on counters or tables; the motion
of the infant can cause the seat to fall--and babies are likely to land on their heads because
of the size/weight of a baby's head in proportion to its body. A baby that spends too much time on its back is at risk of developmental problems as well as misshapen skull.

Babies need intimacy. They need love and attention. They need to be held. They need tummy time.
They do not need to be left alone in swings or bouncy seats. If you have to leave infants alone, they should be in a crib or playpen, and they should NEVER be left alone where dogs or cats can reach them.

For an interesting discussion of the developmental risks of swings/bouncy seats, please see the link.


http://greenthc.blogspot.com/2008/02/bad-bad-bouncy-seat.html

[scheming daemons]

1. A newborn in a bouncy seat will look like a "toy" to a puppy...

...and puppies have razor-sharp teeth.


The puppy acted like a puppy.


The parents acted with EXTREME negligence.

[ColbertWatcher]

4. They probably didn't clean food off baby's mouth. n/t

[mnhtnbb]

5. I agree. Babies are not toys or playthings. Unfortunately, too many

parents discover this after a couple of weeks of sleepless nights with newborns. You can't just
stick a two month old infant in a swing and leave it alone while you go back to sleep!

[lonestarnot]

2. I couldn't read the thread. I didn't read this one completely.

:grr: WTF is wrong with people?

[mnhtnbb]

6. I believe too many parents simply aren't informed and don't think.

[lonestarnot]

8. I never took my eyes off my kid. Unless one has a whole passal

of kids, why wouldn't they rather be holding the 2 year old or put the swing where they are doing whatever for a minute. I just don't get it.

[mnhtnbb]

11. The families with lots of kids always have older ones looking after younger ones.

Apparently no one in this family felt the need to look after a two month old baby. I do think it's criminal. It doesn't sound from the reports as though law enforcement is going to press charges.

[lonestarnot]

15. And that is wrong! Kids should not be responsible for kids.

[mnhtnbb]

19. Lots of kids from big families grow up and decide to have no kids of their own.

Parenting is a huge responsibility. Not everyone is up to the task and simply giving birth
doesn't qualify you to do a good job of taking care of an infant.

[lonestarnot]

23. Robbing kids of their childhood by forcing them to take care of brothers and sisters

seems wrong to me too. And they really have no choice do they.

[My Good Babushka]

25. I never thought about it too much

but I think I disagree.
There is a weird glorification and protection of childhood going on in this country. And responsibility-free living that seems endless. Thirty year olds still act like adolescents. I think if children begin to understand what being responsible for another person entails, caring for siblings, and how everyone must look out for one another, families would be more cohesive and much better off. It might result in a better crop of parents. That's the two cents I just came up with.

[mnhtnbb]

20. Dup self delete

[ScreamingMeemie]

12. I did, because I wasn't perfect. One time, with WannaB at Disney World,

I took my eyes off her for a second and she was gone. I was frantic and it took 30 minutes to find her. I never thought I was a bad parent until I logged into DU today.

Another time, I left her in the care of my brother and went to take a shower. She was 9 months old and it was Christmas. I came out to the sound of my brother screaming. My baby girl had eaten a glass ornament. It could have been prevented but my brother was not negligent...again, or so I thought until I showed up today on DU. I suppose he was on meth.

[scheming daemons]

13. Losing track of a toddler is not on the same scale as leaving a 2-mo-old with an animal...

...an animal that, despite being a newborn itself, has a built-in instinct to play with things that move... and by "play" I mean, use its teeth on them.


Losing your child at the zoo is not gross negligence.

Leaving your child in the polar bear exhibit at the zoo is.


The Omaha couple did something much closer to the latter. You did something closer to the former.

[ScreamingMeemie]

14. Okay...then...One time I put my baby girl in her swing and fell asleep on the

couch for an hour. Horrible, horrible stuff happens, and this family will have to live with that for the rest of their lives. The attitudes of some, calling them meth heads etal (without knowing the entire situation) is a horrible thing to do. Again, but for the Grace of God go I... I was once 19, a mom, and a mess. Guess what? I sometimes still am and am just grateful that I don't (or haven't yet) paid dearly for my mistakes with my children.

[lonestarnot]

16. No one is saying one must be perfect to be a parent.

I arranged my stuff around him. Shit happens but most of the stories like this one can be prevented. I think it has something to do with bonding. I think I am part bear when it comes to my kid.

[ScreamingMeemie]

17. Me too, but yes, quite a few are ready to hang these kids.

I am very sad, and disturbed that this has happened. Even more sad and disturbed that, instead of learning a lesson on childcare-as pointed out by the very informed words of the OP of this thread, most will choose to sling even more hatred at the parents. Parents, who from the looks of the video I have seen are already paying a heavy price.

It does have to do with bonding. Something I admit I had a bit of trouble with at 19, when my daughter was born. Some of us are naturals. Some of learn...hopefully not through loss. That's my point.

[lonestarnot]

18. I know how you feel.

I am so disturbed by it that I can't read it or look at it. If charges are filed, that is one jury on which I would not want to be seated.

[ScreamingMeemie]

21. Me either.

Have a good night. I must get off to bed or I'll be even worse here tomorrow. ;)

[lonestarnot]

22. Goodnight MrsGrumpy!

:hi:

[pansypoo53219]

24. when i was about 6, granpa took the 4 of us to the zoo

and my younger tall cousin sarah got lost. no big hubbub in the 70's. call out to look for the little blond girl and she got to ride with a secuirty dude on a scooter if i remember right. grandpa lived thru WW2. no biggy. i don't remember any panic.

[elocs]

3. Numerous accidents need not happen, including the toddlers

who will drown this year in a 5 gallon bucket of water, and the ones left to die in hot cars. The only requirement to be parents is fertility. Common sense is not always common.

[uppityperson]

7. Another follow up. Make sure the person responsible for watching the infant KNOWS they are.

Make sure they are capable of the act. It sounds like there may have been some serious miscommunication with that child, or else the ones who left the baby in the swing just left unattended. In either case, be careful.

[ScreamingMeemie]

9. I feel so horrible for that baby, this family and that poor puppy.

So many times tragedies can be prevented. But for the grace of God go I... I can only hope that their irrepairable hurt will be a lesson to others, myself included.

And for those who would so harshly blame the parents, I want you to read these vicious comments on another accident. One that involved a dear friend of mine who was in the water with her baby girl that day:

http://www.topix.com/forum/source/hampton-roads-daily-press/TUF9LEKCKHRBK90A9

[Cronus Protagonist]

10. And they should never drink vodka

Or so I heard.