A mother who posted a picture of her two-year-old son inside a washing machine has been reported to the police.
The Daily Mail reports:
Courtney Stewart, 21, says the boy, two, had climbed into the machine of his own accord because he has a 'washing obsession', and she had shared the photograph 'as a laugh'.
But her neighbours in Erskine, Renfrewshire, have not seen the funny side of the photo, which shows the boy inside the machine, with an adult's hand on the door, and reported her to the police.
The little boy, who has Down's Syndrome, reportedly climbed into the washing machine which was unplugged whilst his mother was waiting for delivery of a new machine. She said the door of the washing machine was not closed, and that she posted the picture online 'for a laugh'.
Mrs Stewart removed the photograph after it was reported to the police, but says she has been called names and physically assaulted by another mother because of the image.
What's your view on this? I'm pretty dismayed by it because I dread the thought of my children climbing into the washing machine or tumble drier while my back is turned, so I tend to lecture them endlessly about the dangers of doing so.
And at two years old, how is a child to understand that it's ok to do this 'for a laugh' when the machine is unplugged, but not at other times? I'd be afraid that a child that young would repeat the experience when the machine was plugged in.
Do you think people were right to report this picture to the police? And have you ever taken a similar picture, only to face a backlash from people who failed to see the funny side?
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