I don't normally indulge in RO, but DAMN...Daycare workers tape infant's mouth shut

The BBQ Pit
1

I have long been aware that the world is frequently a shitty place–shit happens, assholery abounds, people behave with unbelievable stupidity. And generally speaking, I’m, like, meh, that’s life, and go on to the next bookmark.

But this just touches me on a raw place, for some reason.

Who is the WORLD thought it was a good idea to stick a pacifier in a 4-month-old baby’s mouth, then tape it in there with a couple pieces of of box-sealing tape, and then go off and leave the baby in a darkened bathroom all by himself?

Angela and Kim, that’s who.

Some unsung hero (I hope to God it was a co-worker, because that would mean that at least there was one reasonably intelligent human being working at this place) phoned in an anonymous tip to Tennessee DHS that “someone was taping babies’ mouths shut at Noah’s Ark Nursery and Preschool”. DHS investigator showed up unannounced, heard a “whining noise” from the bathroom, went in there, and found the baby. Not dead, thank God, just probably pretty pissed off, because not only did he have his original upset that had resulted in Angela and Kim taping a pacifier in his mouth, but also he had a secondary upset in that someone taped a pacifier in his mouth, and he was probably, like, “DAMN, people!”

Angela sez it was a “mutual idea” between herself and Kim, but that Kim was the one who actually taped the baby’s mouth shut. Whatever, it doesn’t really matter, because they’re both obviously brain-dead.

For some reason I can handle stories of babies being raped and tortured, but this…it’s the well-meaning bright ‘n’ cheerful “hey, we think we solved our problem here” overall ignorance of it. Baby fussing? Hey, stick a pacifier in his mouth. Baby spits it out? Hey, tape it in there. Sweet.

And if the baby spits up, and aspirates it, and chokes to death? Stand there crying in wide-eyed innocence, I suppose, and insist that you had no idea something like that could ever happen. That’s what other ignorant people in similar situations have done. “Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain…”

I find myself, once again, being heartily thankful for my Sugar Daddy, who carried mail uncomplainingly for 20 years so I could be a SAHM and not have to find daycare.

And I find myself wondering, once again, how DO people manage to find safe, dependable daycare not staffed by total ignoramuses?

2

There was a story recently in the news about a baby who did die from having his pacifier taped to his mouth. It must have been around 5-6 months ago, because I remember it was right after my son was born.

Scary.

3

That is disgusting. And this place had received the highest rating previously for daycares? Jesus Christ.

They also mentioned that a kit had died of SIDS earlier there - I wonder if they taped his mouth shut, too?

4

This, of course, is one of those cases where most people’s outrage is sincere, but secretly alloyed, on some deep, dark level, with, "Damn, I wish I could get away with that!"

5

The Ayn Rand School for Tots. But that presents other problems.

6

Fuck.

As someone who had surgery so that he could actually breath through his nose, that scares the shit out of me. I could not, for the first 20 years of my life, actually get a full lungful of breath through my nose.

A pacifier taped to my mouth would have killed me.

My kids HATED pacifiers, and did not use them. We didn’t force it, we just gave up on that aspect and moved on.

WHAT THE FUCK!!!

7

:dubious:
Speak for yourself. I don’t think I know ANYBODY who secretly wishes such a thing.

Oh wait, I forgot … you live in Florida! :stuck_out_tongue:

8

I give up. Someone please tell me WTF “RO” stands for. I can’t search for it because it’s two letters long. Help. Please.

9

Recreational Outrage. A recently coined term to describe Pitting of the unusual, maddening, yet distressingly commonplace acts of WTFassholery that humanity commits on a daily basis. Generally only bizarre, tabloid-worthy bits get the RO tag.

10

Yeeeeah, not so much.

11

Well, I said “on some deep, dark level.” Remember, an infant’s wail is genetically patterned to be the most irritating sound human vocal apparatus can make (which is what saved our ancestors from starving). Sometimes, when I’m in a public place, I find myself wishing (on some deep, dark level) I had some duct tape with me . . .

12

Do you have any kids of your own? No matter how annoyed I may have become with my own babies crying, the thought of taping their mouths shut is still inherently loathesome, repellant, unnatural and horrific to me. Finding out someone else had done that to one of my children would have made me insane with rage.

13

Yup.

One of the changes I noticed on attaining parenthood: an inability to find violence or sadism directed at the very young funny, even when obviously meant in jest. Too many protective instincts kick in.

14

Kids crying distresses me. It makes me very uncomfortable, if there is nothing I can do to alleviate the cause of the infant’s distress. Punishing the infant is never on my mind. Silencing the infant is not on my mind. Changing the nature of the sounds the infant is making is what I want. On every deep down level of my mind, is the urgent message: “Baby is crying, something is wrong. Fix it.”

Sorry to disabuse you of your smug assurance that others share your desire to physically restrain infants for being infants.

Tris

15

BrainGlutton, this is going to turn bad on you. I think I’d advise you to apologize for an ill-timed joke, and back away slowly. It’s all you can do at this point. :wink:

16

I once read an interview with Stephen King where he said, “I write a scene where a character bashes his kid’s head against a wall, and the reader thinks, ‘I never did that, but I had the impulse once or twice.’ That’s where the horror comes in.”

King has kids, BTW, and did before he wrote his first novel. He never did them any harm that I heard of.

17

What the heck does that have to do with anything?! Florida is known for voting problems, hurricanes and bad Canadian drivers, not baby torture.

18

…Or, dig yourself in deeper, that’s good, too.

19

I can honestly say I’ve never had the impulse to bash my baby’s head in. I guess I wouldn’t ‘get’ the horror of Mr. King’s story. :dubious:

Perhaps that level of annoyance refers to kids old enough to lie and do bad stuff?

20

I’m not going to chew you out - I would have thought what you said earlier before I had children. However, having had my son, whenever he cried when he was tiny, my first instinct was to find what’s making him cry and destroy it. My reaction to his tears was violent, but only insomuch as I wanted to make it better immediately at whatever cost. My reaction to him crying during the first few months was the most truly visceral, physical and consistent reaction I had ever had. It didn’t help that I would let down everytime he peeped (and even sometimes when he didn’t).

Now, of course, he’s slightly older and has his whiny, “Pay-attention-to-me” cry which, while grating, still doesn’t incite me to any thoughts of violence toward him. Mostly just mild frustration. I also still want to make it better, but making it better now mostly amounts to improving communication - he’s still learning to talk and it can be frustrating on both sides when he can’t voice what’s on his mind.