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I'm sure the other children enjoyed seeing a child thier age with a tube in his tummy and that this child will treasure the memory of the day mom made a spectacle of him in public.
I really dont think it's that bad. I mean it seems an odd request but she asked permission, santa agreed. The child was reportedly ecstatic about it and there is a plate of cookies on the chair with him. It seems she wanted to commemorate having "cookies and milk" with santa. Just because hes been cleared for oral doesnt mean hes actually getting his nutrition from it, just getting started. I felt it was a sweet moment. Again focusing on the happiness and joy this moment gave the child is what Christmas is about.
I too am baffled, by this comment from Salzbrenner's Facebook page:
This santa deserves to be recognized for his willingness to tube feed my little guy so that he felt included in sharing cookies with santa!
It makes no sense.
There's this from the news story:
She got the idea to get a picture of Santa feeding her son from a Facebook page she follows of other moms with kids that use feeding tubes.
I conclude the OP is correct: The photos were social media fodder, intended to boost the mom's stock.
Fluffy beat me to it. Facebook was my first thought. Mama wanted to post the attention-getting photo on Facebook. It's too sick for my tastes. Plus, I don't trust anybody.
Had I been Santa I would have refused the strange request. Suppose something went wrong... or maybe mama was crazy and did something bad to the feeding tube, so she could later blame the kids sickness or death on Santa.
Sharing a real cookie with Santa would have made more sense.
I'm sure the other children enjoyed seeing a child thier age with a tube in his tummy and that this child will treasure the memory of the day mom made a spectacle of him in public.
Right?! It's a medical situation, one that is able to be concealed. Why is broadcasting our medical needs now a thing? Not to mention the boy is 4 and has no say in the matter; pure exploitation by Mother.
When my kids were young they visited Santa yearly. Never did they share a cookie or snack with Santa.
I have a lot of empathy for parents and children where a feeding tube is involved. One of my nephews had one from about 3 months old until he was about 7 or so. I can't imagine my sister every asking Santa to feed the child.
It's just an odd choice. While I appreciate taking him to the front of the line, the mother ignored that kindness and the needs of the other families in line by extending the time the little boy spent with Santa. I don't always immediately think some of these social media things are attention seeking stuff. This one definitely falls into the attention seeking category. Guess she got the 15 minutes of fame she wanted.
I think the station must have run the story as a "feel good" holiday story. It's quite the opposite in many ways.
If I understand correctly, he can eat orally now (so that's great!). If that's the case, why the formula being poured into the feeding tube? Was that the milk part of milk and cookies?
Sometimes even when children are able to consume food orally they remain on a feeding tube for awhile. They may not be able to get all of their nutritional needs met orally. Tubes often continue to be used as a supplementary (or even primary source) of nutrients until medical professionals are sure the child can eat enough to meet their needs.
Happy to see the responders so far agree this was strange and inappropriate.
I feel this is one of those Mothers who uses her child's issues to get attention; the whole thing vibed so icky to me. Having raised a child with a chronic illness I logged many an hour in pedi medical facilities and the "type" of Mother who almost glories in the attention she gets for having an ill child is fairly commonly encountered; I class this woman with that group.
Wouldn't it have made more sense to normalize the experience for the wee lad (who looks darling by the way) and let him just sit on Santa's lap like the others? Why make a spectacle of his medical needs which were not apparent until she chose to do this.
Yep.
But....but if she normalized it no one would have cared on social media!
A normal mother would have fed child prior and just been done with it.
The world has gone mad.
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