Dear Editor:

I am writing to let people know that playing too rough with children or shaking them can be harmful and cause hemorrhaging in the brain, dislocating joints, broken bones, and worse.

I was waiting in line at the Boothbay Harbor Rotary Club barn sale April 15 when a young red-headed man was tossing his daughter (about 2 years old) around (apparently not knowing how rough). Some people looked as if they disapproved, since some people can be too rough not realizing that it can cause hemorrhaging in the brain or dislocating joints in their small growing bodies. He then, grabbed her by one ankle and swung her (apparently oblivious to the sharp plow of the snowblower nearby) and then she started crying. I saw him upstairs later and asked, out of concern, what made her cry. He didn't admit it, so I told him that it was probably from swinging her by one leg. He responded, "She's tough!" I told him kids' young bodies aren't tough and if someone swung him by one leg, how tough would he be?

Whether a parent is playing or not, if it is rough enough to make a child cry, then it is abuse!

C. Marie Tupper