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Bathtime Photo Nightmare


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Yeah, when #1 was a baby, he got into my makeup, & was covered in lipstick, etc. We laughed, took a pic, & threw him in the tub. I don't think he was 1, but probably right around that age.

 

When I got the pics back, I couldn't believe we hadn't been arrested. He was completely naked, looked scared (probably from having been caught w/ the makeup), & the makeup looked like bruises. His whole body was covered.

 

I try to be more careful now, but boy am I glad for digital cameras. Because sometimes I'm just dumb. And WM is *always* dumb. :lol:

 

I'm glad they've got their girls back, & I hope the story will educate some people--esp the people who processed the case. I mean, a WM worker should be able to make a bad judgement call w/out CPS *following through* on it. You know?

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Oh that's scary. Those poor parents! I can totally see something horrible like that happening. I took some cute bath pics of the girls playing barbies in the bathtub and purposefully got them all from the waist up because of concerns like that. Hope Costco doesn't doesn't have me arrested!

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How devastating for that family, and how bizarre that someone would assume that photos of happy kids in a bath situation in a photo set of other family shots would indicate something nefarious!!!

 

However, I'd certainly not be taking photos of my naked kids to Walmart to be developed--not because I'd be afraid of being accused, but because anyone could take those photos and put them up anywhere or use them for whatever. I love me some naked baby shots :D. But those are private around here (ETA: at least until serious boyfriends begin showing up! mwaaaahahaha!).

Edited by melissel
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Yeah, when #1 was a baby, he got into my makeup, & was covered in lipstick, etc. We laughed, took a pic, & threw him in the tub. I don't think he was 1, but probably right around that age.

 

When I got the pics back, I couldn't believe we hadn't been arrested. He was completely naked, looked scared (probably from having been caught w/ the makeup), & the makeup looked like bruises. His whole body was covered.

 

I try to be more careful now, but boy am I glad for digital cameras. Because sometimes I'm just dumb. And WM is *always* dumb. :lol:

 

I'm glad they've got their girls back, & I hope the story will educate some people--esp the people who processed the case. I mean, a WM worker should be able to make a bad judgement call w/out CPS *following through* on it. You know?

 

Oh, Aubrey! Could you imagine?

 

Legally, I think CPS has to follow through. They don't get to decide which cases seem valid or invalid without investigating. Once they're contacted, that's that.

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I have naked pictures of all my kids - in the bathtub, running around under the sprinkler when they were toddlers (we live in the country), playing in the rain, etc.

 

I think it is horrible that they would see photos of a family on vacation, kids playing in the tub, and turn them over to the police. I hope that family takes WM for a lot of $$.

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Many years ago........ the child is now 11........ I took some bathtub and just out of the bath pictures of my oldest. I never thought about it....... took the film to a CVS Drugstore to be developed in one hour. When hubby and I went back to pick up the photos the clerk didn't have them..... the manager did. She really gave me the once over........ and I was totally clueless...... finally she handed them to me, I paid for them and left. When I had the chance to see the photos I guess I understood.......... sortof. I love naked babies.... I think it is a shame that we put clothing on them (I was probably a nudist in another life...... :lol::D ).......... the pictures in question, I think, were of my daughter (about 12 months) sitting naked on a playground ball and with her back to us....... the only thing you "saw" was her vertical smile. I guess she (the manager) saw that as porn........... perhaps she is the one with the problem.

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child sex crimes have done nothing but go down since the 70s. It's absurd. We're all so fearful and paranoid all the time.

 

 

They have? Do you have documentation for that? I only ask because I listened to a lecture last week on child sex crimes, specifically child sex trafficking across state lines, in which pedophiles trade victims.

 

 

They didn't discuss any decrease since the 70's.

 

 

I'm truly asking, not being snarky. I hope it HAS gone down since the 70's!

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I am appalled by this story. Who doesn't have nekkid baby pics??? I have them of both my kids at the same age just when the started pulling up to the edge of the bathtub about to get in. Those chubby thighs are the bestest! I have one of my dd on a blanket at about 9 mo, outside in the sprinkler. She's about as round as she was tall and it's so precious to me - capturing that moment in her development when every chubby roll was so, so precious.

 

:001_huh: I even have one of my friends dd and mine (abt 18 mo in age apart) nekkid in the tub with bubbles all over them! Oh. my.

 

I am so sorry for those parents. I hope they win their case and it will help stop a bit of the fearmongering.

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Oh, Aubrey! Could you imagine?

 

Legally, I think CPS has to follow through. They don't get to decide which cases seem valid or invalid without investigating. Once they're contacted, that's that.

 

Ok, they have to follow through, but that doesn't mean taking the kids away. I mean, if I thought CPS were reasonable, I would NEVER fear them coming to my house. Strange neighbors could call them all they wanted, I'd put on a pot of tea, & we'd have a delightful afternoon.

 

But if they take kids away first & ask questions later? That's a whole 'nother ball of wax & makes no sense.

 

Now...I have a tendency to phrase things funny. I've never *actually* had CPS called or threatened or anything like that. I'm just saying, if someday they showed up at my door, nothing but horror stories like this one would have me scared.

 

But, you know, I assume that people who work in chilD protection are trained to know the difference between child abuse & a happy home. (Hmmm...I don't mean to sound so snarky. I've retyped this at least 5 times & can't give it the casual tone I'm intending. Can y'all help me by just reading it that way? Sorry!) :001_huh:

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The sad fact is I wonder how many REAL cases did not get the attention they needed because something silly like this was taking up the time of the DCF workers. These departments are very understaffed now and a few innocent photos of your own child should have not demanded this much time and attention!

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I think that is just ridiculous - how scary for those poor kids!

 

That being said - I'm probably a bit on the prudish side because if I do pics of the kids in the bathtub I'm fairly careful NOT to get genitalia in the picture. I'm fine with a naked baby pic but no frontal nudity even then.....

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This is nuts... I would have been FURIOUS if my children got TAKEN AWAY from me for something like this!!!

 

I mean, at least the children are getting a bath! And the parents seem to care and love them enough to take pictures at all!

 

I want to know what kind of IDIOT called them over this... I hope they feel about an inch tall now... lol

 

I take nudey booty pictures of my baby all the time! Heck, we just went and had pictures done and the photographer suggested a nudey booty pic of his hiney!

 

Just nuts...

 

What gets me even more is that you can walk through Wal-Mart and see all kinds of things... I'm sure there are way more indecent things then a baby in a bath tub... It's ok for these things to be on display if they are INTENDED to be "sexy", but not ok if it is INTENDED to be cute! KWIM?

 

UGH!

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They have? Do you have documentation for that? I only ask because I listened to a lecture last week on child sex crimes, specifically child sex trafficking across state lines, in which pedophiles trade victims.

 

 

They didn't discuss any decrease since the 70's.

 

 

I'm truly asking, not being snarky. I hope it HAS gone down since the 70's!

 

I believe crime, across the board, has gone down since the 70s.

 

Excuse my excessive cutting and pasting here:

 

The NCJRS (of the US Dept of Justice) has tons of statistics, but here's a good abstract:

 

The bulletin is part of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s Crimes Against Children Series. The series attempts to improve and expand the Nation’s efforts to better serve child victims by presenting the latest information about child victimization, including analyses of statistics, studies of victims and their special needs, and descriptions of programs and approaches that address those needs. Substantiated cases of child sexual abuse decreased 31 percent between 1992 and 1998. The decline occurred in a majority of States, with no clear regional pattern. Substantiated cases of physical abuse declined 16 percent from a 1995 peak. In addition to the decline in the number of substantiated cases, child sexual abuse reports also decreased from an estimated 429,000 in 1991 to 315,400 in 1998, a decline of 26 percent. Possible explanations for the decline include a real underlying decline in the incidence of child sexual abuse and/or changes in attitudes, policies, and standards that have reduced the amount of child sexual abuse reported and substantiated.

 

http://www.ncjrs.gov/app/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=184741

 

Also re: stats and scaremongering

 

 

Today Show Revises Number of Missing Kids DownwardsMarch 09, 2006

Maia Szalavitz

Yet claims numbers are increasing.

The Today show was at it again this week, trying to terrorize parents about “missing children.†In a concealed-camera segment which showed how easy it was for an adult man to get a little boy close enough to his car to abduct him, it used unsourced statistics that do not jibe with the best data available on the subject.

 

Today claimed that since 1982, there has been a 44% increase in the number of “missing children.†But according to the Justice Department, which tracks such data and is widely recognized as the best source for it, there has been no increase at all in these numbers, and in fact, there are signs of a decline between 1988 and 1999, the last year for which numbers are currently available.

 

As we noted here when Today covered the story in 2004, the show claimed that 58,000 American children go missing each year. That is the Justice Department statistic for what it calls “nonfamily abductions.â€

 

But in such cases, as the media rarely notes, 90 percent of “abductees†return home within 24 hours. The vast majority are teenagers running away with friends or romantic partners and over 99 percent are returned alive and uninjured. (Although many teen girls are involved with sexual activity during the time when they are “missing,†the statistics do not distinguish between voluntary and coerced sex because if the girl is under-age and the male is not, she is not considered capable of consent. The majority of the “missing children†covered by this statistic (65%) are female and 59% are aged 15-17.)

 

This time, Today was more conservative in its estimate, claiming that only 5,000 children go missing each year. While this is an improvement over 58,000, the implication is still that there are 5,000 stereotypical kidnappings, in which a stranger or acquaintance abducts a child to hold for ransom or abuse and kill him or her. According to the Justice Department, there are only about 115 such incidents each year.

 

Parents have enough to worry about without such “stranger danger†hype.

 

 

from: http://www.stats.org/stories/2006/Today_missing_kids_mar09_06.htm

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It isn't just bath pictures that can cause trouble.

 

My Dad teaches forensic photography at the community college near his house. One of the assignments is to create and take pictures of a crime scene at home. (Crimes have included death of a teddy bear, car accidents, and all sorts of hurt people. They are usually done with the help of a friend or family member and can look quite gruesome.) Another is to take pictures of a premade crime scene. (This is usually a drunk driving scene.)

 

He always warns the clerk at the photo printing place about his job and the things likely to be on the pictures before handing them over. He also warns his students to tell the clerk when they get their photos printed what is happening before handing their pictures over.

 

My Dad hasn't had problems, so far, but he is very aware of the possibility.

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It isn't just bath pictures that can cause trouble.

 

My Dad teaches forensic photography at the community college near his house. One of the assignments is to create and take pictures of a crime scene at home. (Crimes have included death of a teddy bear, car accidents, and all sorts of hurt people. They are usually done with the help of a friend or family member and can look quite gruesome.) Another is to take pictures of a premade crime scene. (This is usually a drunk driving scene.)

 

He always warns the clerk at the photo printing place about his job and the things likely to be on the pictures before handing them over. He also warns his students to tell the clerk when they get their photos printed what is happening before handing their pictures over.

 

My Dad hasn't had problems, so far, but he is very aware of the possibility.

 

I'm thinking you need to get dear old dad a photo printer for Christmas . . .

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Legally, I think CPS has to follow through. They don't get to decide which cases seem valid or invalid without investigating. Once they're contacted, that's that.

 

This is not true at all, though it is a common misconception.

 

There are several stages wherein a judgment call is made. When the first call is placed to the hotline, the hotline intake worker has to make sure the concern fits within guidelines. If the hotline worker refers the case, the investigator then reviews the facts and decides whether or not to pursue. If the investigator chooses to investigate, that person then makes contact with the family in question.

 

It's important for people to realize this, as often they feel that if they report something they have practically guaranteed that a family will lose their child. The reality is that the hotline call is just a concerned referral. DCFS is well aware that while there are many legitimate calls, there are also many that do not warrant investigation. There are many, many calls that are never pursued.

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Ohhh, guilty. Kiddo was wandering nude in GM's backyard about 18 months, when he suddenly "posed" for the camera by leaning on a post and crossing a leg, looking like a underwear ad without the underwear. It was so adult-like cute, I snapped a photo. Looking at it now, it looks like this toddler was ready for Playgirl. Yeek. It is all in the intention.

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I think at least some of the cause is oversheltering. People do not know what actual abuse looks like. And if they don't, who wants to be the one to tell them or show them? So people like the WalMart clerk have heard about naked kid pictures, they know they should be a good citizen, but they don't know the difference between the melodrama going on in their head and the real thing.

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Oh, Aubrey! Could you imagine?

 

Legally, I think CPS has to follow through. They don't get to decide which cases seem valid or invalid without investigating. Once they're contacted, that's that.

 

Not in NY. I am a mandatory reporter for work and when we call, we give the info and CPS decides whether or not to follow up.

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