Most moms know the powerful pull of the Internet. Amidst negotiating sibling squabbles and cleaning up bodily fluids all day, it provides a brief escape to catch up on life elsewhere or vent on Facebook. But for some parents, the pull becomes too powerful, dangerous even, which a recent, horrific case illustrates.
Last week, 29-year-old Yumiko Takahashi was arrested in connection with the death of her 19-month-old son, Neo, who was found dead last year. Police say he was dead in their apartment for nearly 24 hours while his mother was on Internet chat rooms.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the mother knew the boy had a fever when she put him to bed on July 24, but she didn't tend to his needs or even change his diaper. Instead she was on the computer chatting away, while the boy was dying just feet from her. A childcare worker eventually found his body.
She admitted that this happened to police, according to reports, and was even quoted as saying, "Child raising is too much hassle."
It's absolutely abominable; the kind of story that makes you shake with rage and wonder what kind of a monster could do this. But further details about the case evoke as much, if not more, sadness than anger.
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It seems Takahashi had already lost two children. Reports say she lost one shortly after birth, and another in a fall from a balcony. The toll that would take on anyone is unimaginable, and she was said to be chatting in grief support rooms. So it went beyond just her wanting to catch up on the latest celebrity gossip.
"I have sought solace in chatting on the Internet to get connected to other people for three years since I got depressed for losing my son in an accident," she told station NHK.
That certainly doesn't make what she did excusable in the least, but it does seem to indicate she was not well mentally. It, of course, also brings to mind questions as to what really happened in those previous cases, but mostly it just seems so unbearably sad that this woman who clearly needed help didn't get it, and that her poor, innocent son was the victim of such a strong Internet addiction and whatever demons plagued her.
Do you feel like the Internet distracts you more than it should from your children?
Image via Baddog_/Flickr
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Comments 78
She might as well have murdered the child. I don't remember names, dates, etc., back in the 1920's or something, there was a woman who lost like 8 infants. Back then, no one knew as much as is known now. All her neighbors, etc., just felt so sorry for her, losing so many children, etc. Of course, many years later, it was discovered that she has killed all the babies by smothering them. There are some really sick people in this world and, sadly, we can't keep them from having innocent babies.
Absolutely heartbreaking for this little baby. I heard a quote recently from a detective who has to investigate these kinds of cases. To deal with it, he said he just believes that God takes these little ones quickly so they don't have to endure any more abuse. Tears for the baby! R.I.P. little one!
OMG! For real? This really happened? I'm trying to come up with the worst punishment I can think of any none of them are horrible enough. #1, tie her tubes so she can't kill another, and then...I don't know...most of the things I'm thinking can't be printed.
How was this woman not arrested BEFORE this poor child's death? Didn't anyone connect the death of the second child and the first? One baby dies a few days after birth (likely at home with his mother) and then another "falls" off a balcony? If not arrested for murder, at LEAST investigated for neglect.
it may sound cold, but I have no sympathy... this woman needs to be sterilized... by force, if necessary, so she can't have any more "hassles" with bearing children
WTF?? She needs to be sterlized because she obviously doesn't care about any of her children's deaths. If child rasing is too much of a hassle, why does she keep having them??
Correction to my previous post (sorry, my hands didn't keep up with my head and I skipped a few words)
As a "young" mother of five children I understand that parenting can be hard, and yes, at times you feel as if it can be a hassle. I'm heart broken, not just for the loss of the three children but for the mother as well. And to the comment of this being because of her race, grow up and research this issue. Unfortunately it;s becoming a common occurrence in the U.S. and people would rather criticize than help. We all have known or know that one person, whether it be a man or a woman, who silently pleas for help and we see it, but we never did anything or will continue to ignore these silent pleas. Someone, somewhere, knew she needed help and chose to do nothing about it. Am I the only person who saw that it was a CHILD CARE WORKER who found his body?? The fault does not lay on the soul of the mother alone, but the social worker who chose NOT to do their job. I'm saying her issues DO NOT excuse her actions, and I'm not saying she deserves anything less than what those poor babies got, but anger and harsh words do nothing when the event was 100% preventable.