Moms on the Hill, or MOTH, is an almost always wonderful, civil, and supportive listserve for parents on Capitol Hill to share information. It is not anonymous, like DCUM.

There were no details provided there other than the fact that a tragic infant death had occurred, and two MOTH moms with kids at the center provided what little information they had, while expressing their support for the center and the caregivers. No one on MOTH mentioned that a child had been found unresponsive in his/her crib, which is why the post above from 13:53 was, I believe, helpful.

Just FYI, here was the original post from last night:

MOTH,

Tragically, a baby in one of the infant rooms at my daughter's daycare facility died during the day today. No details have been provided to the parent community yet (and I don't know if they will be - I assume there are many legal issues to contend with re: disclosure of information in this type of situation), but I have been struggling all day with some pretty extreme feelings. I can't begin to imagine the horrible and sudden loss suffered by these parents (even starting to think about it sends me into a panic), and I'm guessing there are other parents with children at this center who are similarly distraught. I'm also absolutely heartbroken for the women who work at this facility, who've now had the unthinkable happen and must somehow work through it.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a website, book, support group or other resource that might be helpful in working through these emotions? I feel silly for having such strong feelings about a tragedy that I am essentially tangential to, but I really can't believe how hard this is hitting me - I'd love to have some resources to share with other parents who might be feeling the same way. And if anyone has recommendations for what to do / say / recommend to the women who work at our daycare center, please share those as well.

Many thanks,

[then she signed her name]

What followed from the MOTH community was an outpouring of shared grief, advice, and support. Novel concept, eh?

I am interested in knowing what center this is. This sort of thing is very tragic but by no means is it invading anyone's privacy nor is personal information being given out.

I'm incredibly sorry for the family that experienced this tragedy. But I don't see it as remotely disrespectful for other parents, particularly those of us who have children in daycare centers, to have an interest in knowing where this took place. It scares me that some of you think this information should not be made public.

I don't think it's ghoulish to want to know the name of the center. As a pregnant woman currently investigating centers, this sort of information is very important to me. Seems a bit odd that it's totally ok to disclose the name of a center with a roach infestation, but not one where a child just passed away.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone please explain what MOTH is?

Moms On The Hill.

Thank you.

Anonymous wrote:Can someone please explain what MOTH is?

Moms On The Hill.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you, last poster. After hearing of the death earlier today from a friend on MOTH, I am comforted by the information that you provided. I am a nervous new daycare mom, and I know these things happen.

Flamers, in my book, you are the tacky ones.

Thoughts and prayers with the bereaved family.

Oh please. This is the same thing that was posted on MOTH. There was nothing new written here. Posting this on DCUM was simply a crappy thing to do.

What exactly do you think people do here at DCUM? What do you think is the purpose of this forum? People with shared interests (parenting issues in the DC region) exchange information and ideas. News like this will travel. It was helpful to have someone with some direct knowledge post the circumstances. All of the other posters are grateful for a little clarity on the situation, and expressed their sorrow. They weren't asking names, details, etc. No one was being ghoulish about this. Really don't see why you are so worked up.

Can someone please explain what MOTH is?

SIDS?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you, last poster. After hearing of the death earlier today from a friend on MOTH, I am comforted by the information that you provided. I am a nervous new daycare mom, and I know these things happen.

Flamers, in my book, you are the tacky ones.

Thoughts and prayers with the bereaved family.

Oh please. This is the same thing that was posted on MOTH. There was nothing new written here. Posting this on DCUM was simply a crappy thing to do.

What the public doesn't deserve to know about this? So should they also never post obituaries in the newspaper, or write articles about crime? This is a real tragedy, sure, but it's no different from my other examples. It's not like anyone listed the person's name, or hell, even the name of the daycare.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child is at the affected center. An infant was found unresponsive in its crib - a real tragedy for all involved. It was an isolated and horrific tragedy. Licensing had no concerns with the quality of care and the center remains open for business today. I had no concerns whatsoever about sending my child back to school today.

[bold]Please, out of respect for the family involved, let's shut down this conversation.[/bold] There are no concerns about quality of care involved, so this really isn't a topic that needs to be discussed on DCUM.

+1

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Anonymous wrote:Thank you, last poster. After hearing of the death earlier today from a friend on MOTH, I am comforted by the information that you provided. I am a nervous new daycare mom, and I know these things happen.

Flamers, in my book, you are the tacky ones.

Thoughts and prayers with the bereaved family.

Oh please. This is the same thing that was posted on MOTH. There was nothing new written here. Posting this on DCUM was simply a crappy thing to do.

I'm an earlier poster wanting to know details, and I agree that that is all anyone needs to know. My thoughts are with the affected family.

Thank you, last poster. After hearing of the death earlier today from a friend on MOTH, I am comforted by the information that you provided. I am a nervous new daycare mom, and I know these things happen.

Flamers, in my book, you are the tacky ones.

Thoughts and prayers with the bereaved family.

Anonymous wrote:My child is at the affected center. An infant was found unresponsive in its crib - a real tragedy for all involved. It was an isolated and horrific tragedy. Licensing had no concerns with the quality of care and the center remains open for business today. I had no concerns whatsoever about sending my child back to school today.

[bold]Please, out of respect for the family involved, let's shut down this conversation.[/bold] There are no concerns about quality of care involved, so this really isn't a topic that needs to be discussed on DCUM.

+1