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So this one actually hits kind of close to home:

Colo. mom was on Facebook while son drowned


FORT LUPTON, Colo. -- The mother of a 13-month-old boy who drowned in a bathtub told police she was on Facebook in another room when her son died.
The woman was arrested on charges of child abuse resulting in death after the Sept. 20 incident in which, according to police records, her son died after she left him alone in the bathroom for a few minutes.
According to an arrest affidavit, when police got to her home, Facebook was still up on her laptop. She told police she was playing a game called Cafe World while her son was in the tub.
The mother told officers the toddler was playing in the tub for 10 minutes and she had checked on him once. When three minutes passed without the sound of him playing, she went to check on him and found him on his side with his face in the water.
The child was flown to The Children's Hospital in Aurora where later he died.
According to the affidavit, the mother told police her baby "wanted to be left alone" and was a very "independent baby."
She also told police she knew what it was like to be told "no," and she did not want her baby to be told "no."
The affidavit says she also did not want him to be known as a "mama's boy."
The mother told police she had been leaving her little boy in the bathtub alone for several weeks.
Court documents indicate the toddler had been treated for a seizure about a month before his death.
The mother will appear in court on Friday. She is being held at the Weld County Jail on a $100,000 bond.

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Okay so this is horrible in so many ways but honestly, it scares me for a few reasons.
I have a friend whose wife passed away due to a chronic illness. They were in the middle of adopting a kid and they had just had their first baby. Even getting passed the fact that the doctors have been telling them for years that if she got pregnant it would kill her (and it did) its still a troubling situation.
He's a full time graduate student who has a 22 year old nanny working about 80+ hours a week for minimum wage taking care of his kids, both of whom are under 2 years old. When he is at home he's generally on facebook and if the kids are screaming or crying he just puts them down for a nap. Every time, even if they just got up from a nap (We know this because we and others have been around to see it and the nanny confirms it).
The youngest, his genetic daughter, already has a serious neck problem that the doctors are trying to get him to take her in for some therapy so it doesn't plague her for the rest of her life. The reason? Well according to his sister in law, who tries to be around as much as she can, is because he leaves them in the bathtub for very long times and goes and gets on facebook.
So while clearly this woman was a grade A idiot, I'm not so sure my friend isn't one as well. Summation: I hope he doesn't kill or seriously hurt his kids while he's playing around on facebook and this news report didn't make me feel any better about it.

Report him.

As for the article. Didn't want him to be known as a mama's boy? He was fucking thirteen MONTHS old. He wanted to be left alone... Babies do not know what they want--was he even communicating yet? A very independent baby... yeah, okay. Fucking retard.

The only thing I took from this was that it was on a laptop. They are portable. She could really be in the bathroom AND on Facebook at the same time.

Must have been a good game of Cafe World.

Rule #1, you don't leave infants alone in the hub.

I don't mind stupid people doing stupid things and dying because of it. Hell, i see it as survival of the fittest.

BUT these days, it seems stupid people doing stupid things result in babies and kitten dying. This is not acceptable

escushion said:

Report him.

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Yeah... not so simple. You have to have documented proof to even get CPS out to someones house and so far everything is technically heresay. The hope is that he treats the nanny well enough that she sticks around and keeps the kids safe. I mean, I don't envy the guy, I know he's in a rough place but it doesn't mean he can just ignore his kids you know?

@Dave: I know right? Laptop??? WTH lady?

Fearing for your life there, Espy? Don't want to be left alone in the tub?

I'm with Math. When the small and cute start dying because of people's stupidity, it's time to do something about it.

What if the baby was ugly?

Jiarn said:

What if the baby was ugly?

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No. Such. Thing.

I have to respectfully disagree....

Jiarn said:

I have to respectfully disagree....

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OK, OK, we'll put a bag over the ugly baby's head. We still won't leave them in the bathtub while playing on Facebook.

Suffocation > Drowning.

Gotcha. -wink-

Jiarn said:

Suffocation > Drowning.

Gotcha. -wink-

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Arrrrgh! <slams forehead against keyboard>
Goof.

Well it obviously was a goof on the nanny's part. Still, I don't see how putting a bag over the kids face is a better death for an ugly baby.

Oh! It's so the nanny didn't have to look at its face, gotcha. Yeah that makes sense.

Jiarn said:

Well it obviously was a goof on the nanny's part. Still, I don't see how putting a bag over the kids face is a better death for an ugly baby.

Oh! It's so the nanny didn't have to look at its face, gotcha. Yeah that makes sense.

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I'm glad we got that clarified.

Couldn't have done it without your help. Thanks!

Jiarn said:

Couldn't have done it without your help. Thanks!

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Oh, it was my pleasure. If you have any other little delimmas like this, let me know. Usually my answers are "hit it with a hammer", "put a bag over it", or "kill it with fire".

Well now I know what to do when my kids ask me for scrambled eggs in the morning instead of sunny-side up! Thanks again Emrys!

Jiarn said:

Well now I know what to do when my kids ask me for scrambled eggs in the morning instead of sunny-side up! Thanks again Emrys!

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I would say that's more of a "hit it with a hammer" situation. Now, asking to borrow the car - that's definitely a "kill it with fire".

I need a better hammer then...

Too easy to break, interesting choice though. The splinters would teach them not to do it again.

Jiarn said:

Too easy to break, interesting choice though. The splinters would teach them not to do it again.

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Exactly. They would have a reminder for next time.

So which should I use to handle the "sex talk" conversation?

Oh, that is definitely "kill it with fire". As is any situation that involves some teenager wanting to date your daughter (assuming you have one).

I was thinking of combining the three for someone wanting to date her.

And then stomp on the ashes?

Display them on the mantle with a tag:

Boyfriend #1

I can see you not needing a second tag for a loooooooong time.

Came here to rant about stupid parents with short attention spans.

Happy to see that it's already been taken care of, and we have gleefully proceeded to the derailing of the thread. Carry on.

Math242 said:

... these days, it seems stupid people doing stupid things result in babies and kitten dying.

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And bunnies. No, I won't give you the link. I already got in trouble for that.

--Patrick

What the fuck is so alluring about Facebook that you neglect your kids over it? Jesus, I like communicating with my friends, but there's only so much Facebook I can handle in one day.

I can't believe she thought that a 13 month old was safe to leave in a bathtub by themselves... that... just makes me sad...

Her excuses all basically translate to "I'm lazy, like messing around on facebook and don't really want to raise a child."

She shouldn't be allowed to have more kids.
Added at: 09:46

Mathias said:

What the fuck is so alluring about Facebook that you neglect your kids over it? Jesus, I like communicating with my friends, but there's only so much Facebook I can handle in one day.

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Come on man... its Cafe World... CAFE WORLD!!!!

Mathias said:

What the fuck is so alluring about Facebook that you neglect your kids over it? Jesus, I like communicating with my friends, but there's only so much Facebook I can handle in one day.

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Facebook is just incidental. It could have (and has) happened with distractions over the centuries.

I am pretty sure when the TV hit there were similar stories...

Baby Drowns While Mother Watches Soap.

TheBrew said:

Facebook is just incidental. It could have (and has) happened with distractions over the centuries.

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Gotta agree with you there. If a person is easily distracted, anything could pull them away from something important. That said, Facebook does get kind of ridiculous. I've never seen the appeal of any of those little games or apps. That's not to say other, non-Facebook things don't suck me in in an equally powerful way.