:-). People alone are made in the image of God. Maybe the mom was ignoring her kid, but sometimes it only takes a moment of distraction for a really bad thing to happen. I’ve yet to see parents berated for letting their child wander off during a family get together and drown or get hit by a car. It happens, even to good parents.
My fourth child was one of “those” kids. From the age of one to four she would quietly wander off. She was part escape artist and part mountain goat. I can’t believe what she could do-and her curiosity was insatiable. It was only the hand of God that kept her safe during that time.
It’s certainly possible the mom was blameless. We may never have enough facts to know that for certain. As the father of twin toddlers I can say that it’s virtually impossible to keep perfect watch on them all the time.
I can’t speak to the specifics of what happened at the zoo.
I can say with experience that no matter how closely I watched my children in a public setting, each of my three sons “got away” at least once. All it takes is a split second, for whatever reason.
There but for the grace of God.