parents put kid into washing machine. joke gone fucked up wrong.

[PepperElf]

WARNING - Video is exactly what the title says. If you're sensitive to seeing kids endangered then do not read this, do not watch the video. I will be as bold as to tell you that the kid only had minor injuries but ... if you read the rest of this you're on your own.








http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coYoIHj91HA
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/847...ashing-machine

I'm mixed on this. I feel bad for the parents going through this nightmare, but at the same time I feel a bit of "well what the fuck did you THINK would happen?"

The dad was going to do what all dads do sometimes - play at scaring the kid. Only problem was this dad's idea involved tossing junior into a side-loading public washing machine and closing the door.

What he didn't plan on was the door locking and the machine starting up. (and I think the water started on too, right before the mom raced to the back for help i think)


Kudos on the attendant for such fast response. At least I think it was the attendant. He pulled the tables away from the side of the machine and slammed the power off to the unit and then struggled to get the front door open. (at this point mom and dad dancing around him in frantic fear was probably doing more to delay him than good but ... they're terrified).


I can only wonder... how much shit she gave her husband after that was over. AFAIK it went viral on the internet somewhat since the 11th when it was posted, but I haven't seen any news reports of them being charged with endangerment yet. or lack of charges etc.


The only thing I don't like in the article version is this comment:

Despite there being several other people in the shop, nobody comes to their aid, and the couple is forced to leave their child spinning in the machine to find someone to turn it off.

That's a bit biased right there in my opinion

Most normal people don't put their kids in the washing machine. But we're suppose to condemn the other customers for not jumping up and running - from the other side of the laundromat - when some random woman starts screaming and clapping her hands for 2 seconds? And ... not condemn the parents who put him there in the first place?


Chances are the other customers had no idea why she was screaming. Even the customer near the front didn't register "that's a kid in the washer" at first either. Once he did, you can see him signaling for help though.

And once the employee hears what's going on he runs his ass right back and turns off the machine. At this point the kid's been inside for LESS THAN ONE MINUTE.

But the employee still struggles to open the machine, causing the father to jump up and down in the distress as the mother storms away and hits a table.

How is this the employee's fault? He didn't put the kid in the machine. And most likely the jumping around looks more like it's getting in his way.



Maybe it's me but sure... very scary, no parent should have to go through that.
But no parent should do that in the first place either. And if they do - now's not the time to blame others for not responding "fast enough". The situation wouldn't even exist if they'd been smart about shit in the first place

[crashhelmet]

What the video doesn't show is money being put in, a cycle being selected, or anything done by the parents to start the machine.

Every laundromat machine I've ever used (yes, i realize there could be different models with different operating procedures) required you to press a button to start it up. Was this a malfunction?

[crashhelmet]

The only thing I don't like in the article version is this comment:

Quote:
Despite there being several other people in the shop, nobody comes to their aid, and the couple is forced to leave their child spinning in the machine to find someone to turn it off.

That's a bit biased right there in my opinion

How is this biased? It sounds like undisputable fact. People were there, no one came to help, they had to run and get someone.

[anakhouri]

Putting your kid in a washing machine is a joke? That's a sick joke right there. I spend much of my time trying to keep my child from climbing into the washing machine. Poor kid. My dad's idea of a scary joke would be to put a daddy-long-legs on my arm. Not put me in a washing machine.

Honestly, if I was there I would have looked up, trying to ascertain if something was wrong or if she was just crazy or screaming at someone on her phone or something. I don't blame the customers a bit either, as they probably didn't realize what was happening. It seems everything took place very quickly.

So. I'm glad the kid is OK, I'm happy the attendant acted so quickly and seriously...but I don't feel bad for the parents. Maybe they didn't mean to harm their child, but it was still a stupid-ass thing to do.

[PepperElf]

How is this biased? It sounds like undisputable fact. People were there, no one came to help, they had to run and get someone.

Did you watch the video?


The laundromat looks pretty big. Most of the people were on the other side. Outside of the original family only ONE man was on their side.

If you watch that one man you'll see him stop and look at them as they struggle to open the door. From his angle he really can't see what's INSIDE. It takes him a good 5 seconds at least to realize there's a kid in the machine. And then he starts trying to signal for help. Not as frantically as the parents but he IS signaling for help.


Everyone else is on the other side of the laundromat. Can't even see if they're facing the mom as she's clapping for attention. Or if they can even hear it cos it looks like a pretty big laundromat. I don't blame them for not responding instantly ... not if they can't even hear a single woman - clapping for two seconds - on the other side.

Near the end, you see the other customers, now aware that there's an emergency happening. They follow the racing employee, but still look a bit shell-shocked.

My dad's idea of a scary joke would be to put a daddy-long-legs on my arm. Not put me in a washing machine.

My dad's idea would be to chase me and tickle me - which was more funny than scary.

Although I did have an uncle who pretended he was going to pull my teeth out with pliers. Mom was not amused. Especially since he had the pliers in his hands and I was pretty scared. We didn't visit them as much after that.

[Andara Bledin]

Every laundromat machine I've ever used (yes, i realize there could be different models with different operating procedures) required you to press a button to start it up. Was this a malfunction?

The one I use requires that you put money in (in this case, you just slot a card and pull it out) and if the door's closed, it gives a countdown, then locks the door and starts up. I've never done the card until I'm ready to start the washer, so I have no idea what happens if the door is still open.

^-.-^

[bara]

Lets be honest folks, if you suddenly heard that there was a kid stuck in the washing machine, and thats assuming you even understood what a terribly frightened woman was saying, there is very likely a serious WHAT THE FUCK moment your brain would have to get by before you could react.

So lets not judge the other people in the laundromat.

[Rageaholic]

Add me to the "no sympathy" list. There are some things that you should know not to do.

Glad the kid is okay.

[Ree]

Some people just don't think.

I know it's easy to judge and condemn, and it was a pretty stupid joke to play, but I really don't think the father even considered the child could get hurt.

People do silly things all the time without even thinking.

I am a really worrier when it comes to my granddaughter, and my friend will do so many stupid things without even thinking, and I freak out.
He got into a habit of letting her hide in the truck when her Mom goes into the store so she can poke through the divider in the seats and "scare" her Mom when she gets back.

I went ballistic because I worry that she will climb in when nobody is around and get trapped.
He just laughed it off and told me I was being ridiculous.

Not everybody considers the worst case scenarios when they do silly things with children.

[anakhouri]

I understand your point Ree, but as a parent I consider it my job to always think of the worst-case scenario, especially since my child is around the age of the one in the video. Every job I have ever had, I have taken seriously, and this one is no exception. I always think before I do anything with Khan.

I can see forgetting you left that heavy vase on the table... I can see looking away for a second and not seeing your kid falling off the swing... I can even understand accidentally leaving your kid in a hot car.

I cannot understand deliberately putting a kid in a situation that we have all been warned since our own childhoods is dangerous.

We don't know if the people in this video are the kids' parents though, but even then if you are caring for someone else's kid you should take it as seriously as if it was your own child.

[Ree]

I understand your point Ree, but as a parent I consider it my job to always think of the worst-case scenario, especially since my child is around the age of the one in the video. Every job I have ever had, I have taken seriously, and this one is no exception. I always think before I do anything with Khan.

But not every parent does.

Some people just have an attitude that they are untouchable and nothing bad will happen.
Yeah, we warn children not to go into washing machine or dryers, but the father probably just figured it was OK because he was there to let the kid out, but it all went horribly wrong. (Perhaps, had the situation not turned so dangerous, his warning to the child would be, "Never, ever do this unless Mommy or Daddy is here to open the door." And, yes, that's still pretty damn stupid, but maybe he felt he had the situation covered.)

Don't get me wrong.
I think it was an incredibly stupid thing to do, but I'm not ready to hand out the nails to crucify the parents either.

We're human and we make mistakes. Sometimes, it turns tragic, and we have to live with it.

[Jaden]

I'm with Ree on this one. A dad was goofing around with his kid. He had no reason to believe the thing would start, he had no malicious intent, and while it wasn't a smart thing to do, come on, guys..."no sympathy"? As soon as things went wrong, they jumped up and started panicking, like any reasonable people would, and tried to get help. He made a mistake, but God, the parents have suffered enough from the torment of fearing for their child's life. Just leave them be and hope they've learned to be more careful. We all make mistakes.

[anakhouri]

http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/mom...150600329.html

Just an update for the interested: the people who did this were actually the child's babysitter and her male friend. The mother did not know of the incident until she saw the security cam footage on the news (another article claimed the child had been taken to the ER, which must be false since they would have required the mom's presence there) as the babysitter lied to her. She is rightfully incensed and hopes to press charges. I would too, if I was her.

[siead_lietrathua]

ya, but the mom is pressing charges on the male friend and babysitter, not the laundromat. as she should be. the laundromat can't control stupid people.

as to the no sympathy, i have every ounce of sympathy for the kid. but for an adult to think it is remotly appropriate to toss a kid into an unfamiliar machine involving hot water and fast rotation is really friggan dumb.

next time some adult gets the idea to shove a toddler in a machine, may they instead climb in themselves.

[PepperElf]

http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/mom...150600329.html

Just an update for the interested: the people who did this were actually the child's babysitter and her male friend. The mother did not know of the incident until she saw the security cam footage on the news (another article claimed the child had been taken to the ER, which must be false since they would have required the mom's presence there) as the babysitter lied to her. She is rightfully incensed and hopes to press charges. I would too, if I was her.

thanks for the update. haven't clicked on the link yet but... (update, reading it now)

this if anything makes what they did even worse. As a sitter you pledge to keep the child safe. Clearly she did not. I won't say she was wrong for letting her BF near the child but... the fact that she allowed him to do this to the child under her watch does not bode well for her.



Update: oh FUCK THEM The sitter LIED to the mother about what happened to the child??? Told the mom that "He fell down the stairs."

The mother explained that she only learned of the incident on Tuesday night at about midnight when she saw the video on the local news. "I was, like, I know that ain't my child, oh, oh my god…I didn't know until the next morning until the police came knocking on my door." David says Sandra, the babysitter, had told her he had fallen down two stairs. The boy still has a visible mark on his forehead and mom claims he needs more medical tests.

That's fucked up.