A young father has appeared in the news for something that should never make any parent proud. The father is being accused of biting off the nose of his one-year old son in a fit of anger toward the child. According to police, 18-year old Joshua Cooper of Fairfield, California was so upset about the baby’s incessant crying, he bit off a big piece of the child’s nose to get him to be quiet.
Of course, this didn’t stop the baby from crying, and only landed the father in jail. He has been charged with child cruelty and aggravated mayhem, according to CBS. The child’s 17-year old mother called police after the incident, seeing that the baby was bleeding on his nose.
In addition to having a severed nose, the child also experienced some degree of head trauma, according to police. Police took the baby to Oakland Children’s Hospital, where doctors say that one-third of the child’s nose had been taken off, and that he also had a fractured skull and brain hemorrhage.
Fairfield Police said in a statement: “The criminal investigation determined that the infant’s father had bitten the child’s nose off out of frustration from the infant crying. The investigation continues to determine how the infant sustained the skull fracture and brain hemorrhage.”
Of course, most parents would not go through these extremes to deal with a crying baby, but the frustration is very real in many families. Young parents especially may have trouble managing the stress of a newborn child. If you find yourself pushed beyond the tipping point when trying to take care of a young infant, you can call the Child Help Hotline at 1800-4-a-child.
