22-year-old couple arrested for burning 2-year-old son with hair dryer

how could ANYONE ever hurt that soft skin of a small child ??? didn't the parents feel ANYTHING when the child screamed ? was there really no love for the child ?? This just makes me so sad.. There've been way too many of these child abuse incidents lately.. I'm tired of this.

You want to know what would be nice? How about if the little tyke is still alive or not? You would think that in a case of child abuse where a call is made reporting the drowning of a child, we would actually be told if the child actually drowned to death or not. Seems very odd to leave that out of the original story. If, god forbid, the child is actually dead you would think they would be under investigation for murder no? not just child abuse. Poor reporting, whatever the original source.

Moderator: Please see the last sentence.

There've been way too many of these child abuse incidents lately..

Welcome to Japan. Parents don't teach their children anything, it's all up to school teachers. These children grow up and reproduce themselves and have no idea what to do. It's a culture of people that needs to be controlled whether they like it or not.

Some people do not have the right to have children. Other than a tomagochi these people should never be allowed to look after anything ever again.

i'll say what i always say, perhaps if parents had children out of a deep personal desire, rather than satisfying their "obligations", we wouldn't see this kind of thing happening on a daily basis

It hurts when I see my children getting hurt even if it's just falling on the street.. I just cant imagine someone purposely burning a small child. Some people might say mothers don't get enough sleep, parents are stressed out, etc etc, but I dont think there is ANY excuse to hurt a small child who cannot defend himself.

Wow. How did I miss that? LOL Added later, surely. ;)

Hang 'em both. Even though the child lived. They will just do it again anyway. Pure human trash.

You know, before anyone gets on here and says "only in Japan" or "I will never understand", let me just tell you to see this movie. I know I am a johnnie come lately, but REVOLUTIONARY ROAD. There is a line in the movie, something like I DO NOT WANT TO BE THAT KID, which speaks volumes about how an ordinary couple come to lose control of their lives. FWIW, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet(t?) are in it. They are excellent, but I know that they put some people off. Don't be put off.

The movie presents a lifestyle not unlike what we have in Saitama or Chiba or Kanagawa today, but it is based on a book written in 1961 I believe, and it was co produced by the BBC.

In short, kids get abused as an indirect result of ennui and nihilism, which is an indirect result of Marxian alienation. Of course it is a terrible thing, but the line separating GREAT parents and TERRIBLE parents is a lot thinner than you might think. Unfortunately, it is all too understandable in any modern culture. Just saw the movie last night, so it is resonating when I read stuff like this.

Lock the wicked bast@rds up! I have a two year old son and he definitely falls into the terrible twos category, as fishy puts it "I don't think there is ANY excuse to hurt a small child who cannot defend himself." Or a child of any age for that matter!

Yeah this is sick. Even the most monstrous 2 year old doesn't deserve this kind of abuse. The parents have some serious issues. Some small children can really push adults to the limit, but "the limit" should be a stern telling-off and a few minutes in the naughty corner. I believe this is part of the problem: Japanese people generally do not know how to discipline kids, the kids run riot, and drive parents nuts.

disciplining a 2 year old? huge difference in bringing up a tamagochi and a real child. is it anything to do with the overpopulated cities with people living in match boxes, stressing them out? Should the human poulation go back to the jungles and caves to start all over again?

were they ready at 20 to bring up a child?

Japan is an extremely dangerous place for children...perhaps all japanese kids should be shipped off to Australia, Canada, New Zealand...etc upon birth, for their own safety? Just a thought...

Do the math here; two 22 year olds with a two year old. Most Japanese at one time were good about not starting a family until they were a bit older. Of course that was the pre-bubble era when kids were taken care of by wealthy moms and dads. Now you have teens and post teenagers making babies with no clue on how to properly feed and nurture them. I walk into a bar 1:30 a.m. a few months ago and was startled to see a young couple around high school age with a toddler in a stroller. The boy/dad, possibly 16 or 17 was knocking back some beers as the mom had a cocktail in front of her. The music was loud and smoke filled the air. This is truly a lost generation. Oh by the way, this is not strictly a Japan problem. Maybe more prevalent, but not exclusive. . I wish only a speedy recovery for the child and a swift and speedy trial followed by first class accommodations on lifers row for the parents.

noirgaijin: "Do the math here; two 22 year olds with a two year old. Most Japanese at one time were good about not starting a family until they were a bit older"

No excuse. If they don't like it, give up the child for adoption or better yet find a baby hatch and make a 'donation'. This is by far worse than giving up a child to a family who would love and cherish the little boy/girl.

I hope these people get a least a couple of years in the klink, during which they can be thoroughly 'disciplined' by the other inmates. Absolute morons.

It's quite an ironic coincidence this story appears on the same day as child abuse statistics are released stating child abuse is on the increase in Japan. At least these two have used some imagination in their abuse instead of just belting the kid till he bleeds. - How can people be expected to be able to discipline a child when they are never taught to discipline themselves?

if the birthrate is going to increase then the government are going to have to convince more and more unsuitable people to become parents. after all, the system falls apart if there aren't a constantly increasing supply of drones to be unpaid in the labour market. sigh

I hate to hang out the vigilante, but i would love to have a few minutes with he dad behind closed doors

Noirgaijin.. uh ditto that, for want of a better phrase. Went to lunch yesterday and watched a very young couple, 23 tops... but probably closer to 19.. who knows. They took great care of their tot, but they seemed to be dressed pretty poorly for the 3000 yen entrees they were forking down. Not as stark as seeing strollers at 11 pm, but I have seen that too. Grandparents' money makes things go smoothly, I am sure, but lacking that, this is no country for young fathers or mothers.

Griff. I think you hit the nail right on the head, but you present a chicken and egg problem. My bright idea is that if you cannot give a decent labour market to people seeking opportunities, then you won't have good parents, or even children for that matter. We ought to be helping the parents instead of trying unsuccessfully to help the kids.

These parents don't deserve my sympathy, but look at everyone baying for blood on this thread, showing how far we have come from the days of Dickens: Have they no refuge, no resource? Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?

WTF! I dont know what these people are on even if they are 22.....why dont someone try a blow torch on them - thats probably what is what like for the 2 year old.....

Crazy young parents have no sense and care at all. Why did they have a baby in the first place? Don't bring a kid into this world unless you are going to raise it with tender loving care, hugs, smiles, laughs and respect. They must have been raised by inhumane creatures. They should be locked up and forced to think about their stupidity.

some people should be killed at birth... unbelievable..

dad is unemployed and mom is a hostess (according to another article).. i dont want to really judge people by their occupation, but whenever i see this sort of news, it's either dad's not working or a single mom... they shouldn't have had a baby if they didn't have the ability to raise the child... i wonder if the child was with the dad while mom was working at night -- burn scars and bruises all over his body -- I wonder how long this boy had to suffer.. he's only 2 years old, my daughter is 18 months old and sure, she can be a monster from time to time, but you know what ? i love my little monster. even after these parents get out of jail, the child should NEVER be returned to them. Once an abuser, always an abuser.

This kind of 'discipline' seems quite common here in Japan. Just part of the ijime mentality that runs so deep in the culture I guess. Sad !

WTF! I dont know what these people are on even if they are 22.....why dont someone try a blow torch on them - thats probably what is what like for the 2 year old.....

Exactly my thoughts - I can think of no other punishment that would be appropriate for their crimes.

womanforwomen:

disciplining a 2 year old? huge difference in bringing up a tamagochi and a real child. is it anything to do with the overpopulated cities with people living in match boxes, stressing them out? Should the human poulation go back to the jungles and caves to start all over again? were they ready at 20 to bring up a child?

Is this in reply to my post? Not trying to be annoying or get off-topic, but just wondering I can offer a worth-while response.

abromofo what makes you think that? Totally my original thoughts with sarcasm and loads of imagination. would like to see your response anyway for the fun of it.

Sorry but I have brought up 3 kids and just 30 now. Age has little bearing on how people treat a child, but mental age is a different matter. Ill do a bit of that vigilante with anyone willing to hurt their kids.

Discipline by burning? Is this Nazi Germany or Manchuria China?

womanforwomen: Because I think you're saying disciplining a child is difficult when there is a lack of maturity of some parents, lack of efforts to educate them, combined with stressful living conditions.

If so I agree entirely. I know of a family in this kind of situation, their kid is unfortunately not getting a good start in life.

In the worst case scenario, I believe this kind of situation can escalate into child abuse.

Discipline by burning? Is this Nazi Germany or Manchuria China?

Just mainland Japan..

My heart aches for this child.

I feel physically sick (and not just because I'm pregnant). My 3 year old little boy is so precious I feel terrible when I even get frustrated with him. How could anyone, ever, deliberately harm a little boy. (or girl for that matter!) What is wrong with these people??!

This is the rock bottom scum of Japan! 22 years old? Let me guess, jr. high lovers? Tried to go on to high school but dropped out because honey bunny got pregnant? Now, they have an unwanted child, they do not know what to do, when they want to keep having sex like back in high school? The 2 year is hungry, lonely cries, so this scum bag of a father thinks it is ok to torture the child? Time to hang this scum bag couple!

Let me guess, jr. high lovers? Tried to go on to high school but dropped out because honey bunny got pregnant?

How's your maths? Two-year-old child, 22-year-old parents, works out at conception at age 19. High school over and done with.

They probably thought the hairdryer burn was more effective than a smack.

Poor baby.

The boy remains in a stable condition, police said. But the emotional scars will remain for a lifetime! What can a two year old child do to deserve that? Not even animals do that!

abromofo, that was exactly what I was saying. English is not my first language.

My friends here have loads of problems with regard to family life housing etc. Living in small congested homes is not healthy physically and mentally. On holidays when you want to breath some fresh air, the places are crowded again. This is no excuse for the strange people who acted irresponsibly with the child.

Keep an eye on JT...you will see that domestic violence will be reported more and more. I have seen children burned with hot lighters for punishment. No problem in notifying the authorities. Glad to see that they are finally starting to move on this issue.

So the birth rate is declining but not among the morons, incompetents and abusers. Eye for an eye, I would be happy to mete out the punishment to this couple with my hair dryer.

This reminds me of an incident involving a Japanese friend (who is no longer a friend) being suspected of child abuse in New Zealand. The NZ authorities are very quick to act on things like this. While having a routine medical check, the staff noticed an adult sized BITE MARK on the arm of her 6 month old daughter. The Japanese mother made up some bollocksy story about accidentally biting her daughter while asleep.

The Japanese mother was taken by surprise that welfare services became involved, and she tried to get help from her friends to defend her actions. This is about the time I stopped talking to her.

To me, it indicates that this kind of thing may go on more commonly in Japan compared to other developed countries. I seriously doubt it was an accident. And I think the mother thought she could get away with it, and was not expecting to be suspected of abusing her child.

You have to start wondering how this can go on in Japan. I believe that behind Japan's modern cities and seemingly dignified population is something a bit... rough.

Let me guess, the knuckleheads thought that the boy would stop crying if they burned him?

I sometimes wonder if abusive parents should suffer the same abuse that they meted out to their kids. That would be cruel and unusual punishment, of course. But it might get the point across.

Perhaps sterilization of the parents and the kids put up for adoption is a better route.

Let me guess, the knuckleheads thought that the boy would stop crying if they burned him?

It's more about the child-like instinct to hurt who you don't like. It doesn't have to make any sense to them. Makes them feel better. Too many parents are too childlike to respond to a cry or mistake from a young child to handle it properly...

And the "disciplining" in the news article was probably the best excuse they (parents and therefore the police) could come up with. It really had little to do with it.

I'm just going to say this if I ever have a child during a sucessful time in my life and that gets taken away nothing will change I would love the child to (not literally) death. Even if the mom had to work as a hostest, and I was out of a job the childern comes first, I would give them clothing and food even before I would eat and buy new clothes for myself. I would always shower them with love and affection. I wasn't raised the greatest, but I used how I was raised as a realisation of what not to do.

Someone give that child a good home please.

Discipline by burning? Is this Nazi Germany or Manchuria China?

No it's in modern Japan. Read the article.

married at 18/19, kid at 20, but i very much doubt anyone around the couple suggested that perhaps they were rushing into things. both would be getting slapped on the back for fulfilling their societal obligations so prudently. parents are terrified of their children not get married. getting married too young is not considered an issue

Even if the mom had to work as a hostest, and I was out of a job

While appreciating your comment about how you would take care of your child, I am little disappointed at the way you think you would solve your problems in the future.

If there is no way to make ends meet, you have resolved that your would be wife will become a hostess? Think! Being a hostess to save a family is a silly and lazy idea.

womanforwomen - I was making a refrence about another poster who said that the father of this child just stayed at home while the wife worked as a hostest. Would I make my wife work as a hostest? Hell No!!! Would I be lazy and not look for work? No! And honestly I should have mentioned this as well, I would look for a job while taking care of the child. Lets face it though a great percent of the problem today is that children don't get enough love.

If I did have to stay home because of no job, and my wife had a respectable job, I would then take on the responsiblities of making sure the house was clean, looking after the kids, and doing all the stuff that comes with being a stay at home parent.

If things were tight and we need to make ends meet, I would go to work for a temp agency, I am not ashamed of doing that. Work is Work. There is a piece of advice that I take to heart to this very day. When your paycheck is gone it's okay to have no money as long as these things are taken care of: There is a roof over your head, a bed to sleep on, clean clothes on your back, and food in your stomach. The extras are just that extras.

Womanforwomen again I thank you for your concerns and I hope I cleard them up.

There is just no reason for the abuse, feel sorry for the boy. Both parents should be put behind bars for a reasonable amount. Sad sad story.