Say what you will about the Teen Mom franchise, but there’s no way being a young mom in the spotlight is easy. Still, it’s getting to the point where Farrah Abraham seems to court the negative attention — first the sex tape, and now a controversial photo of her young daughter on a boat without a life jacket.
The public is not happy that Farrah took her young daughter Sophia out on a boat in Seattle without a life jacket — and dared to post a picture of it.
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Farrah uploaded the shot of Sophia sailing to her personal page on July 18, for the viewing pleasure of her more than 1 million followers. Comments immediately took a critical turn, as commenters stated that Sophia appeared to be on the open water without a life jacket. Assaults on Farrah’s character aside, one mom noted, “I’m a grandma of 5. Put a life jacket on her. I don’t care where your at, whether it out on the water or in port, safety for your child comes before anything else!!! Be the responsible adult!!!”
Thankfully not all commenters were drinking the anti-Farrah haterade. More than a few said that the boat appeared to be at the dock, and in all fairness, Farrah could have put a life vest on Sophia as soon as they set sail.
It’s hard to not have some sympathy for Farrah — there is no mom on Earth who loves to have her parenting decisions publicly slammed. But the internet police (hold the trolling and name-calling, please) may be on target — at least when the welfare of a child is concerned. Sure, it sounds all kinds of nitpicky to criticize a simple shot of a sweet child on a boat, but what if Farrah hadn’t planned to put a life jacket on Sophia when the boat set sail? Since Farrah is a public figure, what if some of her fans who saw the picture in their feed automatically assumed this kind of behavior on a boat was OK?
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The internet parenting police can be annoying and even cruel at times, but this public commentary serves a purpose. Thanks to social media, none of our parenting decisions are private anymore. And if we choose to not post these moments with our kids, we’re still looking at — and judging — what other parents are doing with their kids on Facebook. Farrah just happens to be one of them.
Even an innocent shot like this from a Teen Mom celeb serves as an important reminder. Most parents are not as serious about water safety as they could be, and yes, accidents still do happen. In the past month alone there have been a number of possibly preventable water-related accidents that made the news: like the three kids who drowned in an apartment pool in the presence of their mother and the baby girl who was rescued after her inflatable raft floated a half-mile out to sea. That’s just this summer.
Bad news for Farrah, but the American Red Cross takes a hard stance on water safety for children, saying, “Life jackets aren’t just for boats.” The American Red Cross says that all young children and weak swimmers should wear life jackets anytime they are in or around the water, including at a pool or water park. When traveling on a boat, a life jacket should be put on a child at the dock or shore and should not be taken off until you reach dry land.
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Farrah took heat on this one because she posted photographic evidence of her parenting mistake. Water safety is still not being taken seriously enough by parents, and that’s why we hear about too many tragic accidents in the news. Kids need to wear life jackets anytime they are around water, and it’s a parent’s job to remember.
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