Peekaboo is one of those games that has plenty of opportunity to go awry. Don't pay enough attention and you get a tantrum; pretend too hard the kid is missing and they may get scared; play too intensely and you may get sued ...
OK, so that third scenario isn't likely, but for an air steward on Virgin Blue, a game of peekaboo meant his job and now the airline is being sued. Natalie Williamson claims he put her 17-month-old son Riley in the overhead locker while on a flight from Fiji to Sydney and closed the latch for "up to 10 seconds" after getting a bit overzealous during a game of peekaboo with the toddler.
Note, the child was only in the compartment for one sixth of a minute, but his mother claims he has been traumatized. The child's mother told Nine News:
He won't leave my sight now. He sleeps with me. If I'm not in the same room as him, he will scream and yell, "Mum, mum, mum."
Does anyone else think this smacks of money grubbing? I'm not suggesting that putting the child in the compartment was a good thing. Most certainly it wasn't and the air steward should have been reprimanded. I could even see a few free tickets going to the family in order to make it all better. But come on? Traumatized for life? Really?
The story makes a small note of the fact that the parents of the boy are currently estranged. Not to extrapolate too much from that, since we never really know what goes on in another family, but isn't it possible that there was fighting going on? Perhaps there were other things that the child might have been scared of?
I am no child psychologist, but I find this pretty reprehensible. In no way do I actually believe that 10 seconds in an overhead compartment traumatized this child for life. This mom wants money and she thinks this is a good way to get it. They fired the steward, which maybe he deserves (especially because those compartments are really not safe for any human, let alone a baby), but come on now. This is just ludicrous.
Do you think it's possible this child was "traumatized" by 10 seconds of peekaboo?
Image via jeremyfoo/Flickr
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Comments 63
I would be pissed if someone did that to my child, but no I would not be filing a lawsuit. That's just ridiculous.
the parents should of been with the child. the steward should not be picking up anyone elses kid and putting them any place except back with the parent. i mean really. he deserves to be fired. but the airline should not be sued. the parents should learn their lesson. i mean really take care of your kid and things like this will not happen. some people just want to put all their irresponiblity on others. she knows what she did was wrong and is guilty so she wants others to pay for it. i do not think the kid is traumaized. but who knows.
I can see what the steward was doing but to put him in the overhead was going too far because you can play peekaboo with out put\ting them in a compartment they are not familiar with. To a child it does not take much to make one afraid. Typically when I played pick aboo I put a small hanky ofer the head but the child could still see and played peekaboo or hands over the adult eyes and say peeka boo Mybe the airlines need to get a stuff toy for the child like they do in the hospitals and then they can play peekaboo with the stuff toy so the child is not affraid. You would be surprised how playing a game with the stuff animal can calm the child down. I say NEVER PUT A CHILD IN AN UNFAMILIAR PLACE like the overhead compartment. There are other ways to play the game without even taking the child from his seat or spot or parent. Mom could have held him and the steward could have covered his eyes or the parent partially covered the child and said peek aboo.
Why did the mother let the flight attendant put her child in the compartment to start with? I understand the child was probably upset but traumatized for life? Bull. She is looking for money. Crap like this is the reason why our court system is tied up.
She let him do it! Quite frankly I don't let strangers hold my child period! And she had to have seen it happening...she should have stood up and said "no, no, no...we are done with peek-a-boo and took him back! She deserves nothing and I highly think he is traumatized for life!
I don't know but when I was 4 my uncle locked me in a dark closet. It scared me but I don't think I was traumatized.
what was the mom doing when this started? that is nuts, you are going to sit there and allow somone to put their child in the over head bin. She should have stopped it before it even started.
Call me over protective, but I don't let strangers hold my kids. Where were the parents when the flight attendant picked up the child, opened the overhead compartment and placed him inside. How did it even get to the point where the bin was allowed to be closed?!? Why did they not speak up? If the flight attendant is in trouble, I think the parents should be charged with neglect or even abandonment. Crazy things happen when you don't watch your kids!!