baby sitter feeling the internet wrath for this photo

[Liberal_in_LA]

mom snaps photo of 2-year-old with Down syndrome inside washing machine for ‘a laugh

Courtney Stewart, 21, said local vigilantes have verbally and physically assaulted her since she posted the photo to her Facebook Thursday.

Stewart, who has children of her own, said she was babysitting the toddler when he climbed into the washer on his own. The machine was unplugged since Stewart was about to replace it with a newer model, she told the Daily Record.

“He’s got a bit of a washing obsession. Anyone who knows him would know he’s got a washing obsession,” she said.

Stewart snapped the shot inside her Erskine, Scotland, home and posted it to Facebook for "a laugh,” she said. The door was never fully closed or locked.

Rather, it was held shut by an adult's hand, visible in the photo, Stewart said.

“He is clearly laughing in the pictures,” she said.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/mom-snaps-photo-toddler-syndrome-washer-article-1.2300074

[riderinthestorm]

1. My one daughter liked to go "nap" in the dog crate

My other daughter would curl up with a book in the back of her closet with a flashlight.

kids do whacky things. It's clear the child isn't in danger.

Geez...

[darkangel218]

12. Locking up todlers in washing machines is not same with them napping in the dog bed

You do understand that, right?

[riderinthestorm]

17. You do understand the toddler isn't locked in? Hence the human hand

in the photo holding the door semi-closed.



Kids love to nap in weird spots. Like car seats and dog crates and apparently unplugged washing machines. I have a snapshot of my toddler daughter napping in a muck basket at a horse show (typically used for cleaning horse stalls but this one was new and was being used to ice horse legs).

Relax.

This isn't a tragedy. She loved the "cozy" roundness. So we went with it. I presume washing machine child was the same.

[darkangel218]

20. I would never agree with placing anyone, child or otherwise in unsafe places only for having a laug

Sorry, a child does not belong in a washer. I get it why a cat or dog might crawl in on their own, and the owner might take a funny pic. But putting your own child IN THE DRIER, without his/her consent ( for obvious reasons ) is messed up.

No thanks.

[Kali]

21. ahhhh

didn't even read the excerpt. that explains it.

[riderinthestorm]

22. The child is autistic with a fixation on washing machines

did you read the OP?

Please. Read the OP. You're looking foolish.

This is an autistic child whose whimsy is being HELPED, not foiled here.

[darkangel218]

24. Oh .. I am "looking foolish".

That's even worse, ridiculing your child's disability.

Sickening.

[tammywammy]

29. You do look a bit foolish.

You seem to think the babysitter out the child in there and closed the door all the way. The excerpt in the OP states the child for in there by themselves and the picture shows the door wasn't closed. More so, the washing machine wasn't even plugged in, so it couldn't have been accidentally stated either.

[cyberswede]

41. Yes.

[Kali]

45. ...

[zappaman]

59. Yes, you are.

I would suggest reading the article.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

93. you sound like you didn't bother to read the article, instead you are delighting

in backseat parenting

[ladyVet]

98. Reading comprehension is a beautiful thing.

Too bad some folks miss out.

My oldest son liked to climb inside our gas oven and look around. He was fascinated by odd stuff like that (I suspect he has some level of Auspergers (sp?), but he certainly had ADD).

[B2G]

25. The child has Downs

Not autism.

[riderinthestorm]

30. Thanks. Typing too fast nt

[Logical]

69. Oh FFS, lighten the hell up! nt

[NCTraveler]

80. This link will clear up your questions.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/mom-snaps-photo-toddler-syndrome-washer-article-1.2300074

[gollygee]

2. I would have taken a photo of one of mine if they'd done it.

It's hilarious. I would have made a joke about them taking a bath or something.

[darkangel218]

3. I don't think this is funny

What if the washer door malfunctioned/locked up?? What if some idiot sees the pic, and think its "OK" to spin their babies in it?? Sorry, its not funny!

[tammywammy]

4. The door was never fully closed or latched.

[zappaman]

5. What if an alligator broke into the house, pushed the babysitter away...

Closed the door with a tractor beam, turned it on, then went and had a Coors Light with mayonnaise?
It could have happened!

[Major Nikon]

6. Think of the children!

[zappaman]

7. Save the mayonnaise!

[SwissTony]

50. No self-respecting alligator would ever drink Coors Light!! n/t

[zappaman]

60. NOBODY should drink Coors Light.

[Arugula Latte]

66. Don't be ridiculous.

It would have made cookies. Also, gators live in the USA. Crocodiles are the ones breaking and entering in bonnie Scotland.

[Jamastiene]

96. Mmmm....mayonnaise....

We need more firefighters and hydrants on DU. There are so many posters with their hair on fire around here.

It's a cute pic, harmless. It's not like a pit bull is in there with the kid. Pfft.

[Kali]

15. you should start a new thread about it!

the outrage!

[gollygee]

52. That's pretty far fetched

I started doing my own clothes at 11 or 12, so that's over 30 years of doing clothes with no door ever failing to open, on tons of machines at houses, apartments, and laundromats.

And anyone as stupid as to see a photo of a kid in a laundry machine and then wash their kid in the laundry machine has probably already hurt their kid horribly in some other way due to ridiculously extreme stupidity and has had their kids taken away.

[yellowcanine]

61. Some front loading models can lock and be difficult to open.

Your experience notwithstanding, I have had it happen on the washer we currently have.

And even completely mechanical latches can break and be difficult to open - whether the latch is on a washer or some other appliance.

Anyway, allowing a child to crawl into any appliance is a bad idea, whether or not the appliance is plugged in. Taking a picture of it just compounds it because people will imitate it and might not take the same precautions.

[Logical]

70. Lol, and sitting on ponys is dangerous, and giving then a bath if i pass out.....

And what if they are sleeping and i die? They could starve! Damn!!!!!

[Arkana]

83. Then the person who does that is stupid as hell.

But it doesn't make the poster of the picture guilty of anything.

[Warpy]

86. The door was never closed. The washer was unplugged.

The kid has Down's and a washer fixation and crawled in there on his own. He was laughing, something you can't see in the blurry photo.

Most of all, YOU are not the person this photo was for, it was for his Mom and his family and people who knew about his "wash!" fixation.

And a good time was had by all but the busybodies.

[cwydro]

89. The washer was not plugged in.

READ ffs!

[darkangel218]

11. This is ridiculous.

Do you think the baby would have agreed to this, if he/she would have been able to communicate?
Should we do the same thing to the elderly suffering of dementia?? I'm sorry, I don't see the "funny" aspect in this situation. The door could have malfunctioned and locked. I know I've had (dish) washers lock up on me. Why take the chance???

[darkangel218]

14. I disagree.

Placing your child in an unsafe environment only for s##ts and giggles is abuse. Would you do that with an elderly person who is confused/unaware of what's going on??

[Kali]

19. "Do you think the baby would have agreed to this,...?

Stewart, who has children of her own, said she was babysitting the toddler when he climbed into the washer on his own.

[mythology]

49. You just have to learn to read around the actual words to get the real meaning

Obviously Cruella De Vil was just cleaning the kid before she skinned him to make a coat. I mean otherwise this would be a harmless amusing picture and then there would be nothing to get outraged about.

[Ms. Toad]

31. I'd say crawling in on his own is pretty clear communication.

that he disagrees with your assessment that he wouldn't have agreed to it.

Stewart, who has children of her own, said she was babysitting the toddler when he climbed into the washer on his own. The machine was unplugged since Stewart was about to replace it with a newer model, she told the Daily Record.

[darkangel218]

35. The child is disabled

You seriously are going to stay there and say that was his/her cognitive choice???

[tammywammy]

37. Do you think no one with Downs Syndrome can make their own decisions or lack cognitive abilities? n/

[Ms. Toad]

39. Are you seriously saying that people with Down's syndrome

cannot make cognitive choices?

That's pretty offensive.

[darkangel218]

40. At his age + Down syndrome, , you think he could make "cognitive choices????

You should rethink your statement. It's actually the other way around.

[Ms. Toad]

44. I stand by my statement.

You have insisted numerous times he was placed there against his will, without his consent, and that he would have consented had he been able to communicate. Those statements are ludicrous, given that he crawled in himself.

When you combine that with your assertion that a child with Down's syndrome cannot make a cognitive choice, it becomes offensive.

Understanding the potential consequences of his actions is an entirely different question. No two year old understands the potential consequences of crawling into a washing machine (and having Down's syndrome has nothing to do with that).

It is worth exploring whether the babysitter should have discouraged the behavior rather than egging him on. But that question is not what you have been ranting about - you have been ranting that the child was there against his will. And, when called on it, you compounded the error of apparently not reading the excerpt by insisting that the child could not have chosen to crawl inside the washing machine because he has Downs Syndrome.

[gollygee]

54. Yes.

Not to purchase a firearm, but yes to this.

[COLGATE4]

43. My daughter's fully functional 2.5 year old got into her

front loading washer just last week - thought it was great. So yes, it was his cognitive choice.

[yellowcanine]

63. So if a child wants to climb on a hot stove it is okay? So you have children?

I hope not.

[Ms. Toad]

72. Do you understand the difference

between a child's ability to communicate and whether a caregiver should permit the child to do what the child is communicating it wants to do? They are two entirely different questions.

The poster I was responding to repeatedly insisted the child was not a willing participant, couldn't communicate, etc. Then she compounded her failure to read the excerpt by making a highly offensive statement that a 2 year old child with Down's syndrome is incapable of cognitive communication.

The issue of whether the babysitter should have encouraged the child-initiated behavior is a completely separate question from whether the babysitter stuffed the child in the washing machine against his will, or even the question you pose which is whether the babysitter should let the child do everything it communicates that it wants to do.

[gollygee]

53. Yes, the baby would have agreed

Mine would have begged to have a photo taken.

[darkangel218]

55. Its bad parenting what they did.

[cyberswede]

56. No it isn't.

Have you been a parent? Kids do silly shit all the time.

[darkangel218]

57. Your opinion.

[cyberswede]

58. LOL - duh.

[darkangel218]

65. Lol

[yellowcanine]

92. Kids do silly dangerous shit all of the time. And caregivers need to keep them safe.

I am a parent and a grandparent. I would not allow a child to crawl into any appliance which has a door that can latch - plugged in or not. The latch can get stuck, it could break. Yes the child could do it when your back is turned. That is why you can't turn your back on a 2 year old if you are in the vicinity of a refrigerator, oven, washer, dryer, etc.

[kcr]

73. I'm with you

It's not verbal and physical abuse to tell that woman that she was wrong to do that and she put that child in danger. The responses to those who think so are ridiculous.

[kcr]

77. Right, saying what she did is dangerous and physically beating her up are the same thing.

I stand corrected

[kcr]

85. No

The entire subthread was not about saying she deserved to be beaten up. It was pretty clear I was not agreeing to that.

[kcr]

88. Where?

I just went and checked again, including the post I directly responded to and the posts before it. Unless social media is another word for beating someone up and I missed the memo.

[NCTraveler]

81. Some additional information you seem to have missed.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/mom-snaps-photo-toddler-syndrome-washer-article-1.2300074

[Oneironaut]

9. Boohoo. So many delicious cybermob tears.

I have nothing better to do, so I'll harass people and pretend to be an activist on social media!

[closeupready]

33. Cyber-social justice tactics have gone too far, I agree.

Case in point, look at that actress who was hired by the phony-seeming anti-harassment organization, hired by them to put on a form-fitting leotard, walk about dodgier parts of Manhattan and film it? Likely devised to do little more than exploit the footage for crowdfunding appeals. Really getting tired of it, personally.

[AngryAmish]

10. When Lil AA1was a baby, I took a pic of her inside a La Cruest French oven

OMG, I was going to cook and eat her!!!!!!

[3catwoman3]

16. On my cell phone, I have what I think is...

...an absolutely adorable picture of one our cats, sound asleep in the microwave. She loves small spaces, and I had left the door open. She took advantage of the opportunity. On several occasions, when I have shown the picture to others, anticipating amusement, a frequent response is, "Oh, that could be dangerous!"

Really? Did they think I was going to put something in there with her and turn the microwave on with her in it? She is a tuxedo cat, with very vivid black and white coloring that makes her really, really easy to see. The microwave light comes on when the door is open. She took up the whole turntable, so there would have been no way I could have put something in there without seeing her.

[Orrex]

28. We have a pic of our younger son as an infant

We posed him on a cutting board next to a loaf of bread and a bread knife, to show his relative size--now that I think of it, we're lucky that we didn't accidentally slice him up and eat him!

[Liberal_in_LA]

32. lol. made me laugh

[aikoaiko]

18. I think its a bad idea to encourage that sort of play. I'm not going the get on the sitter's case..

...but I wouldn't do it.

[msongs]

23. it is the responsiblity of the adult to secure life threatening devices especially when a child show

extreme interest in such a device.

[darkangel218]

42. +1 million

[Historic NY]

26. Wasn't someone complaining the police with warrants can get FB stuff....

Hello the stupid post the shit they do, shooting fish in a barrel is hard compared to the idjits that use this social media.

[Orrex]

27. This Stewart person sounds like a real agitator.

[Liberal_in_LA]

34. she started a cycle of incrimination

[Orrex]

36. LOL! Excellent!

I fold!

[tammywammy]

38. she definitely didn't set it for a delicate cycle.

[jberryhill]

48. The backlash is likely to soften her

[Lizzie Poppet]

62. She's certainly being put through the wringer.

[jberryhill]

64. ...and hung out to dry

[Arugula Latte]

68. Well, the truth will come out in the wash.

[jberryhill]

71. Perhaps the Tide will turn and we will Gain some Cheer

[Arugula Latte]

75. That would be Fab. We'll be in a new Era. The Sun will come out. Let's give it our All!

[Kali]

46. that is one spin on the situation

[jberryhill]

47. The cyber mob is permanently pressed for someone to go after

[Arugula Latte]

67. Indeed, the wrinkle in this case is the worldwide attention this is receiving.

[arely staircase]

74. Why is the baby's face pixilated ? nt

[Liberal_in_LA]

79. privacy

[arely staircase]

91. uh, ok. not sure what that means in the context of a baby. nt

[tymorial]

78. Yet another example of America's outrage culture.

NT

[Maedhros]

90. It builds hierarchical self-esteem.

It's an easy way for us to be "better" than others, by pointing out their failings on the Internet.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

94. +1

[NCTraveler]

84. The internet has given way to a whole new set of bully's. nt.

[Oilwellian]

95. My brother and I liked to go for a spin in the dryer...

just for a few seconds out of fear of being caught by our mother and getting our butts spanked. The door of the dryer couldn't be pushed open like dryers today. You had to push a button to open it and there was glass in the door so we could see out as we were spinning. One day my brother walked away while I was spinning away, stopped at the doorway, looked back toward me and waved goodbye. I guess my blood-curdling scream brought him back rather quickly and that was the last time I got into a dryer. LOL

[Liberal_in_LA]

97. that sounds sooo dangerous