Take a look around your kitchen. There’s a sink to wash dishes in. A microwave to zap burritos in. A refrigerator/freezer that is doing a great job of keeping your edibles at the right temperature. The countertops (or island, if you’re among the lucky ones) hold memories of the various vegetables, meats, or dough that you’ve chopped up with that trusty, sharp kitchen knife.
But what if these appliances are considered weapons?
The microwave that zapped your cheesy burritos was responsible for the death of a month and half old baby in Dayton, Ohio. Apparently, the infant had “high-heat internal injuries and the absence of external burn marks on the baby were consistent with a microwave oven.” The mother has been accused of this horrific murder.
Quick way to cool off something that’s too hot? Some people like to use the freezer as a time-saver, depending on the situation. How about a sick, feverish 10 month old baby? That was the case in Canada, where a man put his girlfriend’s baby daughter in the freezer to bring her temperature down. She suffered first and second degree freezer burns.
Quite a few of us have been guilty of grabbing what’s close at hand and throwing it at our significant others in a fit of rage during an argument. Shoes, knives, or remote controls (when s/he have been accused of being too absorbed in a game or show on TV) have been used. But a 4 week old baby shouldn’t be on the list. During a domestic dispute, an Erie, PA woman grabbed her newborn by the ankles and swung him at her boyfriend, fracturing her baby’s skull on impact.
In these three cases, the alleged perpetrators have been arrested, indicted, and/or charged.
I am a parent. There is no such thing as a perfect parent. If there is, I got some swampland in Florida to sell you. I can fully understand how sometimes (well MOST of the time), kids can drive their parents up the wall. They can get on your last nerve, and gleefully jump on it without abandon.
Being a parent means you are going to make mistakes like occasionally losing your cool and making bad judgment calls. Regardless, it is the parent’s number one job to ensure their kids’ well-being and safety. If parenting is too overwhelming for whatever reasons, the child should be placed in better care, either temporarily or permanently. Just because you brought them in this world doesn’t give you a right to take them out. Or hurt them.
Normal (note: I didn’t say perfect!) parents don’t place their babies in microwaves and freezers. The next time I approach the microwave to warm up the baby’s milk (10 seconds), or open the freezer to put his teething ring in (1 and half hours), I will be thankful that my last nerve that is being jumped on has not snapped. Because losing your cool in that way just isn’t cool at all.
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7 Comments
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As a mother of a 2 year old who has absolutely mastered the art of testing one’s patience limits and going beyond - not once - not twice - not thrice a day, I cannot imagine hurting my child in any manner mentioned above… however I am shocked and appalled at the actions people take nowadays. Some just simply dont have any common sense - some are just cruel and vicious - and others simply have no concern for anyone else but themselves - why god made these people parents in the first place I’ll never understand. Yesterday at dinner my family and I were disccussing the trial of a woman who left her 2 year old child (nearly the same age as my toddler) wandering around the interstate. A truck swerved to avoid hitting the toddler. After the police had been notified and the mother was tracked down… she was found at home stoned out of her mind - with two other children running around the house.. feces running down the walls - one of the children’s diapers was so loaded that it was apparent it had not been changed in days - maybe a week’s time - it was actually running down the child’s legs. I dont think its just a matter of Kitchen appliances - or loosing your cool - I dont even know what to call it… my number one concern as a parent is how can I keep my child safe… when he is sick or hurt I wish I could be sick for him or carry the pain for him instead. Its just baffling how these people can even do such a thing.
Links - for more info on the 3 yr old found on the interstate ( sorry I thought the age was 2 - I appologize… )
http://www.theindychannel.com/.....etail.html
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/12/.....index.html
Today parents are not educated how to behave right. The children do not deserve to be suffered. I have two grown children and two grandchildren. I can’t image how could today parents want to hurt their children.
It made me cringe when hearing how babies were used as an object making them victims. As for adults to grab an object that can hurt someone when throwing in rage is still just plain wrong. Just refrain from violence even considered mild in any form especially when children are watching how their parents react as they will do the same when growing up. It is time to break the cycle.
This reminds me of a point Angelina Jolie made in which she said, “Adoptive parents are more fit to raise a child than biological parents, because their background and personality is thoroughly scrutinized to see if they’re suitable for the challenge.” It goes to show that just anyone, biologically wise, can have their own baby and be irresponsible whereas it’s hard to be when trying to adopt.
If I could have it my way, I would like to follow her footstep and adopt orphan deaf babies from each continent plus my own.
I would not mind about us going back to the pre-modern kitchen appilances which discourage people to over-glutton themselves. Making and cooking foods would take real time than just popping food into microwave or take out food of fridge.
We would be more healthy and less obese like walking up to the tree and grab apple or other natural foods or pull any fresh vegetables out of the backyard garden with minerals still on them.
The past studies show that many adopted youngsters feel disconnected to their adoptive parents than natural parents.
We need less human population in our nowaday world which the Mother Earth could not support us much longer.
I am opposed to oversea adoption. What’s wrong with children in our backyard entity?? The U.S. government ought to ban the oversea adoption. Too many U.S. children are without adopted parents. How sad!
Adopting the oversea child is much like the shopping errand to scout around and pick up product.
If the U.S. government ban the oversea child adoption within Americans. The costly operation of foster homes and orphanages would be very minimal due to increasingly adoptive rate among Americans.
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
My heart aches not only for these children and others alike involved in no longer unspeakable crimes but also for the parents themselves. I believe there’s a much larger issue at stake and that begins with the parents (and family dynamics in some cases). We, parents or not, may be so quick to view them as so-called monsters but let’s keep in mind that they probably weren’t literally born as monsters. I very much advocate your quote, Vikki: If parenting is too overwhelming for whatever reasons, the child should be placed in better care, either temporarily or permanently. Just because you brought them in this world doesn’t give you a right to take them out. Or hurt them. Parents without a support system or circle is an unfortunate and apparently common fact of life nowadays. Parents without a true, honest awareness of themselves as individuals before parenthood also frighten me.