Drowning Will Stop Baby From Crying

(South Australia) People who have children must learn to expect crying. It's not unusual.

A MOTHER put her nine-month-old daughter into an aquarium filled with water after failing to settle the baby's crying, a South Australian court heard yesterday.

The 22-year-old, who cannot be identified, has pleaded not guilty in the District Court to endangering the life of the baby at her Blakeview home in May, 2007.

The father, who also cannot be named, told the court he and his then-partner had been arguing on the night the baby was allegedly put into the aquarium.

He said the child had been crying and his partner was not able to make her stop. He saw his partner walk past their bedroom and then saw her walk back without the child.

"Five to 10 seconds later I heard coughing, spluttering, splashing and screaming," he said. "I saw (the baby) face up on her back in the tank splashing, screaming, panicking."

He said he picked the child up out of the freezing water, which was about 30cm deep.

He called police.

I don't understand why the parents cannot be identified. Maybe Australia has a parents' privacy law. In any event, drowning is not an acceptable response for a crying baby.

Tip: slwlion