BBC interview with the mother who lost her son in Burnham at the weekend

[davinci]

I can't believe that they interviewed her, she is clearly in a state of shock and should be left to mourn. The voyeuristic nature of the interviewer whose only goal appears to be to upset her even more for the benefit of his viewers made me ashamed to be watching. I can't see any justification for this type of interview

Why Everlong?

LtEveDallas, I wasn't trying to be picky, it's just that I live in BOS and the mud at Brean is such a nightmare and people from outside the area don't realise this.
Our local newspaper constantly has reports of people being stuck.

we live in north cornwall where theirs many lovely beaches and i know that i along with the many holiday makers believe that we teach our children how to be safe in the water but somethings you cant teach. the sea is strong and decieving.

i for one will be more cautious.

everlong she probably hasn't. But allegedly someone has set up an FB account in the boy's name. Words fail me.

How could that reporter keep on at her like that!!!!!!!!!! I want the BBC to explain their actions. It's very wrong.

I imagine she was in shock. Not knowing what to do with herself. Plenty of people post on MN in shock, not even at a stage of processing what has happened.

I'm glad I haven't seen the interview TBH. There is nothing to say is there? Nothing.

I hope the family are being looked after. I hope someone is guiding and advising them.

So all these people on here saying the parents don't deserve judgement regarding what happened (quite right) but you feel the need to judge if they were to dare go on Facebook?

Everlong she wouldn't even have thought of that.

Maybe just maybe it helped her knowing do many people were sending best wishes and praying for her son? As that's what the overwhelming majority on Facebook have been doing

Poor family :( It's absolutely awful. Sometimes you do everything right and it's still not enough.

I think generally the BBC are very good with sensitive news but I haven't seen this report. I used to live abroad and some of the news coverage was absolutely sickening. I won't ever forget watching the news on one of the main state channels and them showing their reporter and cameraman trying to get an interview with a bereaved mother, who was crying and screaming at them to go away. They chased her up the stairs to her flat and banged on the door

Poor, poor woman. I can't get the image of her face out of my mind. WRT her being on Facebook- so what?! There's no code of conduct for having just lost a child. If she wants to go in Facebook, that's up to her and nobody else's business.

My heart goes out to the family of that little boy :(

The mud flats around there are truly dangerous and I remember, a few years ago when my DM lived in Burnham, we were walking on the beach and heard someone shouting for help. A grandmother and her gd, about 3yo, were up to their waist in the mud. Instinctively, I ran out to them and took her gd and passed her to my DM and somehow managed to get the gm out.

It wasn't until afterwards, when I'd thought about it, I realised quite how stupid I had been. I could have got stuck myself and that would have been three people for the rescue services to save, but when faced with that immediate situation (i could see the lady sinking even deeper in just a short period of time) I just reacted. Luckily no harm done, just lost wellies and shoes and a thick coating of mud, but it certainly made me respect mother nature more.

There were a few signs dotted about informing you not to go on the mud, but I think more could be done to state how dangerous it is.

Well said KenLeeeeeee.
Nothing more to add really, just very very sad for the whole family.

Sadly every time a child dies there are a bunch of strangers ready to start gossiping and making things up.

I have 1st hand experience of this this when my son died of SIDS when I was 18 about a week later I was standing in a queue at a shop and the cashier and a customer were discussing a teenager who was absolutely drunk at a party and killed her baby and was in custody, the more they went on the more apparent it became it was me they were taking about. The minute the penny dropped I went and told them the exact circumstances and how they couldnt be further from the truth and that they should be totally ashamed of themselves.

That was in one little city, so for this mother to have the whole country on her case, and have to use this time of grieving to have to defend her parenting to people who won't even remember about her little boy when they move onto the next 'gossip' is just horrific.

My heart absolutely goes out to her and her family at this awful time.

I saw the news and I totally disagree with the OP saying the interviewer was 'voyeuristic'. He seemed very subdued and only too aware of how awful she was feeling, and can be heard asking if she wanted him to continue. I suspect the mother wanted a voice, she wanted to explain how quickly and unexpectedly a happy family outing can turn to tragedy, she wanted to ask people to keep looking, and she wanted to describe her 'perfect' little boy.
I didn't feel there was anything exploitative about it at all. I'm sure the interviewer felt very uncomfortable having to do this awful aspect of his job, but he did it sensitively

It's not for us to judge whether the mother should do an interview or not. Likewise with facebook - up to her whether she chooses to respond to the dreadful comments.

none of us should judge.

Are you surprised when bereaved mothers post on Mumsnet, everlong? What's the difference? And what, exactly, is wrong with expressing grief wherever you damn well like?