We need to do something about babies being killed in this country

[faithfulbird20]

Wtf is going on. Are we nation of monsters who don't have the love and care for our own offspring? I'm so upset I can't even function...

I've just signed this and emailed my MP

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/602495

I have just signed the above petition and ask you to raise early intervention and social services funding / lack of social care provision. I can not bear to read the words ' lessons must be learnt' anymore after learning of the tragic deaths of children that should have been saved by the state ~ especially after alarm bells have been sounded by professionals and relatives. When will the lesson that ultimately funding, staff retention, lower caseloads and improved social care provision must be provided?

Please, for those that can't type this themselves, please, please help.

learning.nspcc.org.uk/research-resources/statistics-briefings/child-deaths-abuse-neglect

According to the NSPCC, at least one child a week is killed ~ most likely by their parent or step-parent.

I agree that schools have a large part to play in being a safe space and repirti g concerns but the NSPCC states that most fatalities are pre-school age.

i doubt there was one person who did not cry over Arthur
and now Star,
just so very awful

I think you are more effected by it if you have kids that age. I remember being really upset about Madeline mcgann. And also a situation where some high flying Swiss banker in the U.K. flipped and killed his two or three year old. There was also a child who got crushed by a parent with a car seat again around the same age as mine. It's not an unusual occurance - I think hit just hits home more if you can relate it to your own circumstances a bit

You are not alone op @faithfulbird20. This thread echoes the same thoughts: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4417470-To-be-so-upset-about-Arthur-is-it-normal

There are many many people who have been crying, and going through a grieving process. I couldn't just close my "Alexa" and shut it off. I too after Arthur's case couldn't function because I couldn't think of anything else... There has been stats around UK being the worst country in Europe wrt child wellbeing but recent child cruelty stats I couldn't find. There's a lot to question and do for us as a society and shutting one's Alexa down isn't the answer.

five times Star's extended family reported her to child protection.
Five!

I deliberately don't watch any potentially upsetting news videos with children in, even if their faces or other crucial elements are greyed or pixelated out. I saw a particular one many years ago & it's haunted me ever since. I can't make their lives better by watching.

@LesterKnopf

So what are you going to do about it then OP? Get a job involving safeguarding children so you can make all the right decisions? Become a social worker? Foster children? Donate to / volunteer for charities which help vulnerable children? Put pressure on governments (national and local) to fund and run children's services better?

If nothing, then I understand why you are upset by these stories, but if you don't do anything and expect the problems to just get sorted by others, it really is just ultimately pointless hand wringing...

Well said. Every single time something like this happens it’s the same story.... but very few people ever do anything proactive. It’s easy to come on Mumsnet and say how awful it all is, but what are these people actually DOING to be part of the change?

The numbers of children killed by carers or other adults has stayed relatively stable over the last 50 years. It's around one per week. Yes it's abhorrent but there aren't really any more now than there have been in the past.

Some of the best ways to prevent these kinds of situations from occurring would be taking mental health and domestic violence seriously.
Not holding my breath...

Why people have to blame the government for everything? How about some individual responsibility. How ridiculous that you have to have people on the case so that you do not behave like a monster. All these babies are abuse mostly by step mothers and fathers. They are not even one year old in some cases and they are already with a new partner.

However, in the case we are discussing it was clearly negligence from social care.

I had an unhealthy response to Arthur as it impacted me so badly that I, too, was too upset to function. I took myself off the news since and closed Facebook for 2 weeks. Honestly, don’t read the news if it impacts you this much. I’m so much better off without the news now. I can’t bear to read about anymore children being killed, even the headlines make my heart drop Xx

@MrsLargeEmbodied

i doubt there was one person who did not cry over Arthur and now Star, just so very awful

I would suggest the vast majority of people did not cry over either of them.

@Lockheart

i would suggest more people than you know would have shed a tear

[quote Campfirewood]@RobinPenguins I have a lot of friends who were very upset over Arthur. Weren’t sleeping because of how upset they were after seeing the video of him.
I was also upset and struggled to sleep.
I’m of good mental health and have no connection to the cases. I’m otherwise pretty happy and driven in life.
Just a standard Mum with a heart in my chest.
I think the Op feels like a lot of us feel. And these cases do affect us.[/quote]
Agreed, some shitty gaslighting responses on this thread. Wrapped up in faux concern for mental health.

It’s so sad. I think sw have too many kids in their caseload for a start.

Agreed, some shitty gaslighting responses on this thread. Wrapped up in faux concern for mental health.

No faux concern, thanks. The only gaslighting is in pretending some of the responses described are remotely healthy.

@RobinPenguins

Agreed, some shitty gaslighting responses on this thread. Wrapped up in faux concern for mental health.

No faux concern, thanks. The only gaslighting is in pretending some of the responses described are remotely healthy.

Good for you. Hope that makes you feel superior, it’s always a good contribution as your posts show.

On another point, in my job, the police have always acted immediately when I have involved them. A double let down in this case when they did not respond appropriately as well as SS.

Wow zero empathy from some people on here , wtf. A lot of people I know shed tears which is a normal response to finding out what happened to the poor lad.

That’s an interesting statistic that the child murder rate has (sadly) remained stable over the past 50 years.
What is different this time is that there is so much filmed footage of the victims.
Previously cases might be reported in newspapers. Now filmed footage means the stories are more accessible…

Don't by Blair. Look at who was his head of child services . Head of lambeth Council

Be fooled by

It’s very upsetting to hear about it. If you’re interested, there are many charities you can volunteer with, from fund raising to child line phone manning, to volunteering in contact centres/with vulnerable children and adults, to food banks and shelters. For me volunteering is one of the ways I cope with the difficult things in the world. It also reminds me that there is much good in the world. We just don’t hear about that in the news!