Dead bird and babbysitter, am I over reacting?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WTH?? I would have lost my mind. What in god's name is wrong with most of you people? "Most likely your kid isn't infected??" Uh, no, not good enough. You don't stand by while a kid picks up bloody road kill and call yourself a nanny.

This! Why did the nanny allow the kid to pick it up in the first place? This is completely unsanitary! As for the "listen to authority" posters- yes, the parent needs to have a talk with the child. But the kid was 5 or 6? He probably thought he was being a hero trying to save the bird or something ridiculous and didn't want to leave it to die. It was a new nanny he wasn't used to. You people make it sound like your 5 year old has never not listened to an authority figure ever. It is the nanny's job to keep the kid safe, and that includes not picking up bloody dead animals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If I were babysitting yes I would have knocked it out of the kids hands by shaking his elbow as I would not want to touch it either. And said we are not taking one step more until you drop that thing. And I would have a photo on hand to text to mom. I don't understand how anyone can think a bloody dead animal is no big deal! Just go have a snack after??!!! Omg! And if the mom had a problem with me I'd say nice knowing you. Who would work for people that lax?

I am the OP. Yes, if we were walking, and my child saw a dead animal, I would never allow them to touch it, much less carry it home. The nanny not only allowed him to pick it up, carry it, and then gave him a dish to put it in. Then wanted him to sit at the table without any concern for handwashing!

I agree with everyone that my son was completely in the wrong for not obeying/listening. He should not have to be told three times not to do something. But if it had been me with him, picking up the bird would not even have been an option. He should not have been allowed to do that. And she sure as hell shouldn't have given him something to put it in!

[Anonymous]

I really don't think this is a big deal. It's the kind of thing that kids who play outside do all of the time IME.

[Anonymous]

Anyone sort of moved by the kid who wanted to help the bird? Honestly I'd forget the nanny, give my kid a hug and thank him for being an empathetic human, and remind him that sometimes sick animals can be dangerous for humans to handle and that it's important that he listen to the adult in charge next time. Done. Trying to get this lady in trouble is ridiculous. I imagine she would have stepped in had he been hurting the bird, which to me is more important.

Ps. I have one of those kids who would have LICKED the injured bird so count your blessings that all he did was carry it home!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone sort of moved by the kid who wanted to help the bird? Honestly I'd forget the nanny, give my kid a hug and thank him for being an empathetic human, and remind him that sometimes sick animals can be dangerous for humans to handle and that it's important that he listen to the adult in charge next time. Done. Trying to get this lady in trouble is ridiculous. I imagine she would have stepped in had he been hurting the bird, which to me is more important.

Ps. I have one of those kids who would have LICKED the injured bird so count your blessings that all he did was carry it home!!

This made me smile. Yes, he thought he could resurrect the bird. We had a long talk about it tonight before bed. Apologies to all for the drama this thread created (those who saw all the deleted posts), and for me overreacting to the situation. I have more perspective now on a lot of things besides a concern about a babysitter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I want to work at a place like that

Me too ! Could you give us more info about your company? I love this perk!

[Anonymous]

you really can't win. Problem is, in this area, parents cater to every whim of their child. They make excuses for everything that little johnny does, etc.

So, if she had disciplined him in a way that you didn't find appropriate, she would have been screwed. And if she didn't, she was screwed.

She told your son not to pick it up, he disobeyed her. In my world, that blame is solely on your son. He's 5. He knows how to listen to an adult.

[Anonymous]

Also, not everyone is a germaphobe or whatever. I may be in the minority, but picking up an animal wouldn't cause me major distress, so maybe she is like that as well.



Although I see now that I'm late to this thread anyway, and probably irrelevant

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, not everyone is a germaphobe or whatever. I may be in the minority, but picking up an animal wouldn't cause me major distress, so maybe she is like that as well.
Although I see now that I'm late to this thread anyway, and probably irrelevant

Microbiologist here - you are an idiot.
A germophobe is someone who cannot bear a normal, non-life-threatening amount of microbes in every day life.
An idiot is a person like you who ignores that animal diseases passed to humans can have deadly consequences. Animals sometimes die from disease. There are cases every year of children (or adults) who touch dead animals or their feces and die of varying viruses. There was one particular case recently where a little girl was walking in the woods with her parents, put down her jacket next to the carcass of a small animal, did not touch this animal, was brought to the ER with symptoms of rabies, diagnosed with rabies, and saved in extremis. The jacket was contaminated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone sort of moved by the kid who wanted to help the bird? Honestly I'd forget the nanny, give my kid a hug and thank him for being an empathetic human, and remind him that sometimes sick animals can be dangerous for humans to handle and that it's important that he listen to the adult in charge next time. Done. Trying to get this lady in trouble is ridiculous. I imagine she would have stepped in had he been hurting the bird, which to me is more important.

Ps. I have one of those kids who would have LICKED the injured bird so count your blessings that all he did was carry it home!!

This made me smile. Yes, he thought he could resurrect the bird. We had a long talk about it tonight before bed. Apologies to all for the drama this thread created (those who saw all the deleted posts), and for me overreacting to the situation. I have more perspective now on a lot of things besides a concern about a babysitter.

That's the first thing I thought of. Sweet, helpful boy. Glad you had time to process and get perspective.

[Anonymous]

oh, dear lord, sweet microbiologist,

there are cases of people getting hit by cars while out walking with their babysitter, too. doesn't mean you are going to stop allowing your children to do that.

I just meant that it wasn't the end of the world for a kid to touch a dead bird. Kids that live outside of metro areas on farms do it a lot. I grew up in an area where kids play more freely than they do here and there is a lot more wildlife, etc. Stuff happens.

I know what a germaphobe is. I also tend to not overreact to situations. To each their own.

[Anonymous]

Your kid doesn't listen to a person he barely knows?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, not everyone is a germaphobe or whatever. I may be in the minority, but picking up an animal wouldn't cause me major distress, so maybe she is like that as well.
Although I see now that I'm late to this thread anyway, and probably irrelevant

Microbiologist here - you are an idiot.
A germophobe is someone who cannot bear a normal, non-life-threatening amount of microbes in every day life.
An idiot is a person like you who ignores that animal diseases passed to humans can have deadly consequences. Animals sometimes die from disease. There are cases every year of children (or adults) who touch dead animals or their feces and die of varying viruses. There was one particular case recently where a little girl was walking in the woods with her parents, put down her jacket next to the carcass of a small animal, did not touch this animal, was brought to the ER with symptoms of rabies, diagnosed with rabies, and saved in extremis. The jacket was contaminated.

Please provide a link to this story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, not everyone is a germaphobe or whatever. I may be in the minority, but picking up an animal wouldn't cause me major distress, so maybe she is like that as well.
Although I see now that I'm late to this thread anyway, and probably irrelevant

Microbiologist here - you are an idiot.
A germophobe is someone who cannot bear a normal, non-life-threatening amount of microbes in every day life.
An idiot is a person like you who ignores that animal diseases passed to humans can have deadly consequences. Animals sometimes die from disease. There are cases every year of children (or adults) who touch dead animals or their feces and die of varying viruses. There was one particular case recently where a little girl was walking in the woods with her parents, put down her jacket next to the carcass of a small animal, did not touch this animal, was brought to the ER with symptoms of rabies, diagnosed with rabies, and saved in extremis. The jacket was contaminated.

Please provide a link to this story.

+1 I highly doubt this story is true because once you become symptomatic of rabies, there is really nothing you can do to save your life. You will almost definitely die from the disease.

A rabies vaccine is a precautionary measure and that's why the recommend one if you find a dead bat in your house that tests positive for rabies.
Just in case you were bitten in your sleep, eye. Because once you get symptoms, it is almost always too late.

[Anonymous]

^^ sorry for autocorrect typos. ^^^

Regardless; I do agree that it can be very dangerous to pick up a dead animal, especially a bleeding one.