Word for Word/Child Abuse; A Glimpse Into a Hell For Helpless Infant... http://www.nytimes.com/1997/11/02/weekinreview/word-for-word-chi...

1 of 3

HOME PAGE

TODAY'S PAPER

VIDEO

MOST POPULAR

TIMES TOPICS

Login Register Now Help

MOST RECENT

Health

Search All NYTimes.com

COLLECTIONS > INFANT

ADS BY GOOGLE

Word for Word/Child Abuse; A Glimpse Into a Hell For Helpless Infants
By TOM KUNTZ
Published: November 02, 1997

CHILD abuse typically occurs behind a veil of family privacy and deceit. In the current issue of
the journal Pediatrics, British researchers part that veil a bit. And the picture they present is
harrowing.

SIGN IN TO E-MAIL
PRINT

The researchers got the permission of the British child-welfare authorities to clandestinely
videotape parents visiting their children hospitalized after suspected incidents of abuse. From
1986 to 1994, hidden cameras at two hospitals filmed 39 children, aged 2 months to 4 years,
alone with their parents. In all but 6 of the cases, the cameras caught either mother or father
kicking, slapping, trying to suffocate or otherwise physically abusing his or her child in the
hospital. One mother broke her baby's left arm. Many of the abusers adopted affectionate
behavior toward their children as soon as nurses walked into the room. Most had serious
personality disorders.
The videotaping was set up to gather enough evidence to prosecute abusers but permit nearby
hospital staff to intervene when a child's life was in danger. Citing privacy and legal issues, the
authorities have declined to make the tapes or names public. But transcripts of written logs kept
by those who monitored the videotaping were published in Pediatrics along with the researchers'
findings. The logs are excerpted here. TOM KUNTZ
ADS BY GOOGLE

More Like This

TV Notes; Child Abuse on Tape
Japan Admitting, and Fighting,
Child Abuse
Files Show Bronx Baby Died
From Child Abuse

Find More Stories

Infant

The case: a 6-week-old boy taken to the hospital after three unexplained episodes of
near-suffocation. The infant is visited by his father, who three years earlier had been present at
the death of his infant stepson, which was classified at the time as sudden infant death
syndrome. The videotaping begins:
Day 1, 10:51 P.M.: The father said to the infant, ''I will bounce you off the canteen roof.''
10:52 P.M.: The father said to the infant that when the infant became older he ''will beat, whip,
remove fingernails, and amputate his limbs.''
Day 2, 2:04 P.M.: The father deliberately wakes [the baby] up.
2:11 P.M.: The father wakes him by tweaking his ear.
2:13 P.M.: Repeated.
2:15 P.M.: Repeated.
2:17 P.M.: Repeated.
2:19 P.M.: The father flicks [the baby's] eyelids while asleep.
2:22 P.M.: The father obstructs his nasal orifices for 20 seconds before a nurse enters.
9:41 P.M.: The father places his hand over the mouth; the infant struggles for 25 seconds. The
father hears a noise outside and stops.
Day 3, 9:51 P.M.: The father puts his finger into the infant's throat.
9:53 P.M.: As above; the infant gags and cries, and the mother appears.
10:29 P.M.: The father pinches his hands. Infant wakes from sleep, cries, and then sobs. The

12/03/2013 14:20

Word for Word/Child Abuse; A Glimpse Into a Hell For Helpless Infant... http://www.nytimes.com/1997/11/02/weekinreview/word-for-word-chi...

2 of 3

father tells the mother who comes in that the infant had ''just woke up crying.''
Day 6, 9:16 P.M.: The father digs his nail into the infant's palm repeatedly. The infant cries.
9:20 P.M.: The father pinches his left hand.
9:38 P.M.: The infant is asleep. The father shouts, ''Wakey, wakey,'' and the infant wakes up.
9:41 P.M.: The father suffocates the infant by placing his right hand over the nose and mouth
and forcing the back of the infant's head into his left hand. The infant struggles for 25 seconds
before a noise outside the room causes the father to remove his hand.
Aftermath: Informed of the videotaping, the father admitted to the abuse of his son and to the
manslaughter of his stepson earlier. He was committed to a mental institution.
The case: a 3-month-old girl who suffered several episodes of near-suffocation. At the hospital
before videotaping begins, nurses find the baby choking and gray after being left alone briefly
with her mother, a 19-year-old with a history of behavioral disorders. The videotaping begins:
Day 1, 2:02 P.M.: The mother slaps the infant's head.
2:03 P.M.: Repeated.
2:09 P.M.: Repeated.
2:58 P.M.: The mother swears at the infant, accusing her of being responsible for them having to
remain in hospital. There is growing anger, with the mother repeatedly ordering the infant to
kiss her. The interaction is as follows:
* ''Give me a kiss, you little sod, give me a kiss. Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!'' . . .
* ''I'm sick of it. Bloody sick of it. All the bloody time, mummy, mummy, mummy.''
* ''Stinking mummy, mummy, mummy.'' (Bounces roughly on knee.)
* ''Rock a bye, rock, rock a bye.'' (Holds child up by her arms.)
* ''Dance, dance, dance.'' (Shakes, lifts by arms, sings.)
3:01 P.M.: The mother roughly patted the child's face 14 times and then pressed her hand
forcibly against the child's face. . . . She then started to shake the infant like a doll.
3:02 P.M.: The mother deliberately and forcefully bent back the infant's left arm at the elbow.
The force used led to the elbow going way beyond 180 degrees. The infant started screaming.
The mother pressed the nurse alarm call button. When the nurse came in, the mother stated that
the child had caught her arm in one of the toys attached to the cot as she was trying to lift her.
The child was examined by a doctor, who was unsure as to whether there was a fracture.
Unfortunately, the mother was then left alone for about 30 seconds, and again she forcibly bent
back the child's left arm at the elbow, causing her to scream.
3:06 P.M.: The surveillance ends, mother separated from child.
Aftermath: Confronted with the findings of the video surveillance, the mother became enraged
and tried to remove the infant from the ward. She was restrained and arrested. The infant,
whose arm was broken, was eventually adopted, as was her abused 17-month-old sister.
The case: an 18-month-old girl who had been in and out of the hospital since birth with episodes
of near-suffocation, cardiac arrest and other crises. Her mother had a history of behavioral
disorders and drug abuse. The log entries:
Day 2, 12:20 P.M.: The mother tells the child that if she doesn't stop making a noise, she will
smack her hard and ''I don't want to do that in the hospital.''
3:18 P.M.: The mother smacks the child with a toy hammer.
3:26 P.M.: The child calls ''mummy.'' The mother smacks her.
4:08 P.M.: The mother deliberately pinches the child, who begins to cry and develops breathholding. She reaches for comfort from her mother but is ignored. After 20 seconds, the mother
presses an alarm to call the nurses. They don't appear. . . . The mother hears the nurse coming
but the breath-holding has stopped; she slaps the child hard on the leg. The child cries and the
nurse enters the room. The mother appears to be comforting the child.
7:51 P.M.: The mother says ''lie down and sleep,'' then hits her hard on the back. She then
immediately strokes the child's back.
7:53 P.M.: The mother smacks her hard on the bottom, then on the top of the leg and says ''go to
sleep.''
8:03 P.M.: The child sits up. The mother smacks her and then pushes tissues up her nose. The

12/03/2013 14:20

Word for Word/Child Abuse; A Glimpse Into a Hell For Helpless Infant... http://www.nytimes.com/1997/11/02/weekinreview/word-for-word-chi...

3 of 3

child cries.
8:15 P.M.: The mother says, ''I'm going out. I don't love you anymore, babe.''
Day 4, 11:59 A.M.: The mother slaps the child hard.
1:28 P.M.: The mother slaps the child, the child cries.
1:30 P.M.: The mother is softly rubbing the child's forehead. Suddenly she turns and hits her on
the forehead.
3:52 P.M.: The mother is throwing toy bricks into a box past the child's head. Gradually she
increases the force of throwing and then a brick hits the child on the head. The child cries out in
pain and begins to hold her breath.
3:54 P.M.: The mother picks up the child roughly. She places her hand over the child's mouth for
1 to 2 seconds. She wipes her face hard with tissues. The child is trying to move away but is held
tight. The mother then slaps the child hard on the face. The child cries. After 1 minute of crying,
the mother cuddles and cuddles her.
4:14 P.M.: The child walks past the mother who deliberately trips her up with her leg and kicks
her in the abdomen and back on three occasions. The child cries and reaches for her mother,
who initially ignores her and then, suddenly, picks her up and cuddles her.
4:41 P.M.: The mother changes the child's nappy. The child is passive and lies on the bed quietly
for 2 minutes. She then attempts to get up. The mother takes a pillow and forces it over the
child's head. The child struggles to breathe. After 8 seconds the mother removes the pillow but
then replaces it for 3 seconds. . . . A nurse enters the room after being alerted by CVS [covert
video surveillance] observers.
Aftermath: The mother was convicted of child abuse and her child placed with a foster family.
The videotaping was done at North Staffordshire Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent and Royal
Brompton Hospital in London. The researchers, led by Dr. David P. Southall, a pediatrics
professor at Keele University in Staffordshire, say such videotaping might help save lives.
ADS BY GOOGLE

Home Times topics

Copyright 2013 The New York Times Company

Member Center

Privacy Policy Help Contact Us Work for Us Site Map Index by Keyword

12/03/2013 14:20