A nanny in North Carolina was arrested after security camera footage showed her force-feeding a toddler in her care, which the child's parents later shared on social media as a warning to others.
Lauren Rowe was charged with misdemeanour child abuse last month after Max and Laura Oglesby checked in on their security feed while they were at work and saw what she was doing to their son.
'You Can Eat It or Not'
In the nearly three-minute-long clip shared on Facebook by Max, Rowe can be seen pulling the toddler's arms behind his back as he screams before shoving food in his mouth with her hand, which she then holds over his mouth, nearly choking him.
"You can eat it or not," she is heard saying.
The child continues to struggle and scream but Rowe does not let go of him. She eventually releases him from his grip as the distressed toddler attempts to get out of his chair but the nanny tries to force him to sit back down. Watch the video below:
"This was being watched by us live and only a SMALL clip of the 2 HOURS she spent doing this to our son," Max wrote in the caption. "We are heartbroken for our son and furious that this happened. We are taking appropriate actions upon this matter and will not stand for this happening to our baby or anyone else's babies."
Reactions on Social Media
The video sparked outrage on social media with netizens expressing their shock over the footage. "This is totally abhorrent!! I'm so sorry your poor toddler was put through this and that you had to watch it helplessly," wrote one user.
"That could have easily ended in him choking to death," commented another, while yet another opined, "This is why I don't ever trust anyone with my kids."
The New Bern police are reportedly looking through past weeks of footage while Rowe was looking after the children to see if there were any additional incidents of abuse.
