Another child in a claw machine- where are the parents?!?

As the title says, there was another report of a child climbing into a claw machine. Two years ago there was a similar incident at an unknown location. Last year, a mom made headlines when her son climbed into one at a Walmart. This time, it was at a Godfather's Pizza franchise.

Many people see these stories, and talk about them at the water cooler. After all, they aren't political, religious, scientific, or any other topic guaranteed to get somebody's panties in a bunch. But I find these stories especially worrying. It is always presented as a light-hearted "news" story, complete with a colorful photo of the child sitting in a claw machine surrounded by bright toys. The child is always smiling- and why not? They are surrounded by fun toys, and everyone is paying attention to them. And that's exactly the problem.

Where were the parents while their little darlings were climbing up the machine? At first, this story did not cause me as much uneasiness as the last one (the one at Walmart) did. In the Walmart one, the boy was sick, so his mother decided that since she was up anyway, she'd might as well get her shopping done. So she bundles up her child and takes him out into the cold at about 2 or 3 AM. She says that he threw his cup on the ground, she reached down to pick it up, and when she stood back up, he was already inside the machine. She thought it was the funniest thing she had ever seen, so she left him there, went inside and bought a disposable camera, took his photo, and then started worrying about how to get him out. There are so many parenting problems with this story that I don't even know where to start. With the current story however, they were eating, and apparently nobody noticed because the restaurant was very busy. Ok, this is a little more understandable. But I started thinking about it. As a parent, I am much more on my guard when I'm in a crowd than when there are few people. More people mean more dangers. So, in many ways, these parents are just as neglectful as the others.

What strikes me as the oddest thing is the reaction of other parents to my "heartless" reaction. I wrote about my feelings on the Walmart version on a message board, at the time it happened. I was called "heartless" and told that I had to be lying if I said I kept that close an eye on my kids. Literally, my daughter is always holding my hand, and my son is within sight and no more than an arm's length from me at all times. And the heartless thing- well, I can only imagine that is because I had the gall to call another parent's skills into question. So, if I am going to be accused, I'd might as well be guilty. If you are so neglectful that you leave your sick child alone inside of a claw machine at Walmart, at 2 in the morning, so that you can go inside and buy a camera, and the thought that you need to get them out has not yet crossed your mind, PLEASE, do not whine to me when little Johnnie or Joanie gets an Amber Alert. If you want kids, take care of them. Otherwise, please, don't have them. I'm becoming more and more convinced that these parents need charged with neglect.

Feel free to disagree with me if you want. That's your right. But don't count on changing my mind. If you have not taken reasonable steps to protect your children, you need to be held accountable. Letting them climb into claw machines so you can eat your pizza in peace is not reasonable.