![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
conuly
So I picked up this link over on the FRK blog. I wish she'd crosspost it properly, I like the commenters there better.
Whether you should leave your child in the children's room for three minutes while you check out a book depends, of course, on your child, your librarian, your library, and your own sense. (Duh.) There are libraries that are little havens of defense, and libraries that aren't even remotely safe, and most fall somewhere in the middle. If it happens that children are molested at your local library every other week, you might not want to leave them alone there. I'm just sayin'. But if they aren't, use your best judgment, like always.
Some of these comments, now, are so wildly off as to be hysterical. A sampling:
When we have children leading other children out of stores and killing them, why would a mother leave a child for three minutes in a public place. WHY?
I heard about that case. Wasn't it, like, a decade and a half ago? In Canada? What have those kids done recently?
All the stories you hear about children being molested, abducted, sold into slavery in other countries etc. begin "I only took my eyes off him for a minute" Truthfully it only takes a second.
Sold into slavery in other countries? SOLD INTO SLAVERY IN OTHER COUNTRIES??? LOL! OMG that's the most messed-up shit I've ever heard.
Now, there was that little girl who died after being sold into prostitution... by her mother. But that hardly counts as "stranger danger". She'd've been safer with the librarian than her mom! As for being sold into slavery specifically in other countries, why? There's enough child slaves in the world (and street children and runaways all over the place) to realize that other places don't need to be importing spoiled Americans as slave labor. They have a big enough supply in their own countries. (And many of these kids aren't abducted either, but given up by their parents. It's tragic, but, again, "strangers" aren't the problem.)
Think of the poor Delaware parents who left their children alone for mere minutes with their pediatrician who turned out to be a monster!
Which goes to show what we've all been saying and saying. Strangers in the library? Not a risk. People in a position of power whom the children know and are expected to trust? Possibly risky. (Pediatricians are less likely to molest kids than the kid's own parents, though it's not common among parents either.)
I'm with you! Ask John Walsh of America's Most Wanted what he thinks about the dangers that do actually lurk around the corner and could get your child in 15 seconds flat.
Well, that's an interesting question. Let's ask John Walsh! (Whose son was kidnapped before I was even born, so, you know, while I feel for him I don't exactly think that says anything about modern crime rates.)
Well, I can't talk to him... but I can find a quote from the head of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which he founded. That's almost as good, right? Let's see... "Our message to parents is you don't have to live in fear, you don't have to lock your children in a room." Gosh, I don't think that's "OMG! BAD PARENTS!" at all!
ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN IN 3 MINUTES. WHAT IF A PERV WALKED IN OFF THE STREET TOLD THE LIBRARIAN HE WAS AN UNCLE BROTHER OR EVEN FATHER HOW IS THE LIBRARIAN TO KNOW IF HE IS LYING OR TELLING THE TRUTH AND IN THE TIME IT WOULD TAKE TO FIND THE MOTHER AND ASK THE KID COULD BE GONE.
Well, she could use the method employed by the niece's school: "Honey, who is this person? Do you know him?" Or she could just refuse to hand over the kid until Mom shows up to confirm it.
But there was a case in Fall River, MA , in which a loving mother left her 4yr old child alone in a library for 3 minutes. When she found him he was being molested by a registered sex offender.
Let's go google this, why don't we?
Ah. It appears something actually happened. It also seems that the mother was gone for well more than three minutes, and that... the staff is *well* overreacting. But there we go.
What if your child got up and started to wander around? What if your child swallowed something? What if your child had a seizure? What is your child had to use the restroom?
I should hope that this woman knows her own child well enough to know that he doesn't wander. Swallowed something? He's five. Some kids are like that, most aren't, and again, I bet his mom knows the difference. Had a seizure? Would having his mother here really have made a huge difference if he had a random seizure? Had to use the bathroom? He'd go to the bathroom, I assume - I'm guessing the bathroom isn't three floors away down a dark hallway, but then, I'm still assuming this mother knew what she was doing.
Open your eyes,, children are taken from there homes in their beds,, there parents cars when they go in to pay for gas..
From their beds? Who? WHEN? The only one I can think of was Elizabeth Smart, and that wasn't a random incident with a stranger. (Moral message? If they're that determined to get YOUR kid, it's not your fault.)
You know. I had two sons that I lost in a fire 12 years ago. I left my sons with my sister for no more than a 10 minute window to run to the gas station to get a few items. When I returned my home was on fire and I ran into it. The fire was deemed an accident as to what happened, which it was. I was badly burned in the fire and almost lost my life. I was in a coma for about a month and barely made it out. My 2 year old son and my 1 year old son perished in the fire of smoke inhalation. The point of my whole explanation is this. You can never take your eye off of your child for one minute because in that fraction of a moment anything can happen.
1. I don't think this commenter is being honest.
2. If he is - he left his kids with his SISTER. If that fire had started when he was in the home instead of her, his kids would still have died.
Aside from the obviouse, sick people, a 5 year old has a boundless imagination. What's stopping this kid from climbing up bookshelves and falling or having it topple over on them.
Good manners and discipline? If this were likely, again I say it, the mother would probably have not trusted her kid to say "yes" or "no" but would have just brought her with to begin with.
Safeguarding children is not part of many job descriptions and employees even in children's library rooms refuse to stop pediophiles while mom is in the rest room.
Wait, wait, wait... so, like, she thinks the guy is raping a little kid, employees see it, and they go "Well, Mom will be out of the bathroom soon, I'll go do my cataloging"?
Where will I go when it becomes my fault... when she's shoved an unattended pencil into her ear?
THE KID IS FIVE!
Your child can be taken in an instant, even WITH you there. I know, I had my son litterally stolen from my hand. We were walking down the lane, this car slows down, the door opens and the next thing I know, he is snatched from my hand and the car sped off.
Seriously?
At any rate, if being there makes no difference you might as well go to the check-out while your kid stays in the kid's room. Why not?
And one last thing: To the dozens of people whose comment runs "BUT ADAM WALSH!" - Adam Walsh died some 30 years ago. Find something more recent.
Incidentally, I think it's perfectly in the librarian's rights to say "If you think your kid needs supervision, I'm not going to provide it." I just think these comments are wrong.
Whether you should leave your child in the children's room for three minutes while you check out a book depends, of course, on your child, your librarian, your library, and your own sense. (Duh.) There are libraries that are little havens of defense, and libraries that aren't even remotely safe, and most fall somewhere in the middle. If it happens that children are molested at your local library every other week, you might not want to leave them alone there. I'm just sayin'. But if they aren't, use your best judgment, like always.
Some of these comments, now, are so wildly off as to be hysterical. A sampling:
When we have children leading other children out of stores and killing them, why would a mother leave a child for three minutes in a public place. WHY?
I heard about that case. Wasn't it, like, a decade and a half ago? In Canada? What have those kids done recently?
All the stories you hear about children being molested, abducted, sold into slavery in other countries etc. begin "I only took my eyes off him for a minute" Truthfully it only takes a second.
Sold into slavery in other countries? SOLD INTO SLAVERY IN OTHER COUNTRIES??? LOL! OMG that's the most messed-up shit I've ever heard.
Now, there was that little girl who died after being sold into prostitution... by her mother. But that hardly counts as "stranger danger". She'd've been safer with the librarian than her mom! As for being sold into slavery specifically in other countries, why? There's enough child slaves in the world (and street children and runaways all over the place) to realize that other places don't need to be importing spoiled Americans as slave labor. They have a big enough supply in their own countries. (And many of these kids aren't abducted either, but given up by their parents. It's tragic, but, again, "strangers" aren't the problem.)
Think of the poor Delaware parents who left their children alone for mere minutes with their pediatrician who turned out to be a monster!
Which goes to show what we've all been saying and saying. Strangers in the library? Not a risk. People in a position of power whom the children know and are expected to trust? Possibly risky. (Pediatricians are less likely to molest kids than the kid's own parents, though it's not common among parents either.)
I'm with you! Ask John Walsh of America's Most Wanted what he thinks about the dangers that do actually lurk around the corner and could get your child in 15 seconds flat.
Well, that's an interesting question. Let's ask John Walsh! (Whose son was kidnapped before I was even born, so, you know, while I feel for him I don't exactly think that says anything about modern crime rates.)
Well, I can't talk to him... but I can find a quote from the head of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which he founded. That's almost as good, right? Let's see... "Our message to parents is you don't have to live in fear, you don't have to lock your children in a room." Gosh, I don't think that's "OMG! BAD PARENTS!" at all!
ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN IN 3 MINUTES. WHAT IF A PERV WALKED IN OFF THE STREET TOLD THE LIBRARIAN HE WAS AN UNCLE BROTHER OR EVEN FATHER HOW IS THE LIBRARIAN TO KNOW IF HE IS LYING OR TELLING THE TRUTH AND IN THE TIME IT WOULD TAKE TO FIND THE MOTHER AND ASK THE KID COULD BE GONE.
Well, she could use the method employed by the niece's school: "Honey, who is this person? Do you know him?" Or she could just refuse to hand over the kid until Mom shows up to confirm it.
But there was a case in Fall River, MA , in which a loving mother left her 4yr old child alone in a library for 3 minutes. When she found him he was being molested by a registered sex offender.
Let's go google this, why don't we?
Ah. It appears something actually happened. It also seems that the mother was gone for well more than three minutes, and that... the staff is *well* overreacting. But there we go.
What if your child got up and started to wander around? What if your child swallowed something? What if your child had a seizure? What is your child had to use the restroom?
I should hope that this woman knows her own child well enough to know that he doesn't wander. Swallowed something? He's five. Some kids are like that, most aren't, and again, I bet his mom knows the difference. Had a seizure? Would having his mother here really have made a huge difference if he had a random seizure? Had to use the bathroom? He'd go to the bathroom, I assume - I'm guessing the bathroom isn't three floors away down a dark hallway, but then, I'm still assuming this mother knew what she was doing.
Open your eyes,, children are taken from there homes in their beds,, there parents cars when they go in to pay for gas..
From their beds? Who? WHEN? The only one I can think of was Elizabeth Smart, and that wasn't a random incident with a stranger. (Moral message? If they're that determined to get YOUR kid, it's not your fault.)
You know. I had two sons that I lost in a fire 12 years ago. I left my sons with my sister for no more than a 10 minute window to run to the gas station to get a few items. When I returned my home was on fire and I ran into it. The fire was deemed an accident as to what happened, which it was. I was badly burned in the fire and almost lost my life. I was in a coma for about a month and barely made it out. My 2 year old son and my 1 year old son perished in the fire of smoke inhalation. The point of my whole explanation is this. You can never take your eye off of your child for one minute because in that fraction of a moment anything can happen.
1. I don't think this commenter is being honest.
2. If he is - he left his kids with his SISTER. If that fire had started when he was in the home instead of her, his kids would still have died.
Aside from the obviouse, sick people, a 5 year old has a boundless imagination. What's stopping this kid from climbing up bookshelves and falling or having it topple over on them.
Good manners and discipline? If this were likely, again I say it, the mother would probably have not trusted her kid to say "yes" or "no" but would have just brought her with to begin with.
Safeguarding children is not part of many job descriptions and employees even in children's library rooms refuse to stop pediophiles while mom is in the rest room.
Wait, wait, wait... so, like, she thinks the guy is raping a little kid, employees see it, and they go "Well, Mom will be out of the bathroom soon, I'll go do my cataloging"?
Where will I go when it becomes my fault... when she's shoved an unattended pencil into her ear?
THE KID IS FIVE!
Your child can be taken in an instant, even WITH you there. I know, I had my son litterally stolen from my hand. We were walking down the lane, this car slows down, the door opens and the next thing I know, he is snatched from my hand and the car sped off.
Seriously?
At any rate, if being there makes no difference you might as well go to the check-out while your kid stays in the kid's room. Why not?
And one last thing: To the dozens of people whose comment runs "BUT ADAM WALSH!" - Adam Walsh died some 30 years ago. Find something more recent.
Incidentally, I think it's perfectly in the librarian's rights to say "If you think your kid needs supervision, I'm not going to provide it." I just think these comments are wrong.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-03-31 03:50 pm (UTC)Punitive would be me punching them in the face, and laughing at them when they cry their way home. Or something.
Arg. Serious pet peeve of mine.