The incident went viral this week after one of the two women involved posted a video on Chinese social media, which showed them inside a locked lavatory with the wailing girl, who appeared to be about a year old.
“We won’t let you out unless you stop crying,” a woman sitting on the toilet told the toddler as she struggled out of the adult’s lap and reached for the door, according to the video posted on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok.
I am going to assume the reporting is accurate. We cannot view the video.
A parent or other trusted adult taking a child to a separate and quiet room to comfort and calm is a very different situation from strangers taking an extremely young child into an airplane bathroom, which are very loud, and forcefully keeping her there until she stops crying. That was deeply wrong and damaging to the child. Then the woman posted a video of it online. A video of her causing additional distress to a child who isn’t even her child.
I’m sure everyone on the flight was miserable. But a child that young is not responsible for their actions and shouldn’t be punished and purposefully frightened. It is damaging to their minds and emotional growth to do something like this.
The grandparents are to blame as well. The lack of judgement in permitting strangers to take a child in their care anywhere at all is profound. They could have done anything to that poor kid in the bathroom, in addition to this emotional abuse. Women sexually and physically abuse children too. I hope the grandparents are not the guardians of this child and her guardians make sure the grandparents are never responsible for the child’s well being ever again.
