What makes people think they can not watch their babies? Are baby-sitters that expensive? Are their babies that much a hassle? Is take-out too much to ask for? We ask these questions because a couple left their 2 month old baby in their room at the Waldorf-Astoria while they went to lunch over the weekend. A maid that came into the room discovered the baby sleeping in a crib all by his lonesome; the hotel staff then contacted the police, who took the baby to a hospital for observation and then arrested Michael Regamey, a 50 year-old Swiss man, on charges of child endangerment, when he returned to the room. His wife, who was not arrested, went the the hospital with their 2 year-old son who they took to lunch with them. Today, she told the Post:
We are nice people and good parents. It's just a matter of a different culture. We just have to blame it on ourselves, and that's it. I agree with the [American] system, and I really appreciate the way they do it. I understand if it keeps us safe.
The couple had lived in NY for a some time, but was scheduled to return to Europe soon. Regamey was released and will be expected in court in October. Now, this is not the first time that foreigners have left their child unattended, leading NYC (and the tabloids) to freak out: In 1997, a couple left their baby in her stroller outside Dallas BBQ on Second Avenue in the East Village. The mother, a Danish woman, would go on and on about how babies are left in strollers outside restaurants all the time as an excuse, but it turned out the husband was from New York, which makes that excuse pretty flimsy. The only baby that seems to have done okay when left alone was Moses, and those were extenuating circumstances. If there's one thing New Yorkers don't stand for, it's babies without their mommies or daddies, because we love accessories!
There's Urban Baby, which is a must read if you're about to have a kid in the five bouroughs. And check out Daddy Types for what the cool daddies are doing. Another cool daddy is Ben MacNeil, who charts his daughter's progress for his wife (so she can see what's going on at home while she's at work) and others at The Trixie Update.
