I know everyone has their torches out, but Id like to offer a different perspective. These parents aren't necessarily bad people that weren't watching their kid. Kids this age are so curious and impulsive - it's perfectly normal behavior. If you're dealing with a developmentally disabled kid or a kid with behavioral issues - that's an added challenge.

My kid tried to crawl into an exhibit at the zoo about a year ago. He'd told me about 20 minutes before that he wanted to as well. Of course I laughed and answered that with a lesson about why he shouldn't. I didn't really think he would. Kids that age don't really understand the consequences of their actions until it's too late. It's part of their development.

Listen, you can tell a kid the stove is hot all day long, but it doesn't do much good when your kid doesn't understand the concept of "hot" yet. Danger is a similar thing. Kids watch movies with talking animals and shit. You think a kid that age understands the gorilla is going to hurt him? No. His concept of animals is on the Madagascar and Happy Feet level. Not on the Gorillas in the Mist level. Come on.

Here's how it went for us. Everything was cool, my kid was right next to me. I literally turned my head to look at something my friend pointed to and that's all my son needed. You don't realize how much kids absolutely wait for the perfect moment. You don't really think their gears are turning on that level yet. But sure enough, my kid took that 2-5 second window as a head start and when my friend screamed I looked over to see him with one leg already over the exhibit wall.

"Oh why didn't you hold his hand!"

"Oh why wasn't he in a stroller?!"

"Oh why weren't you watching him!"

I was. He was. We were. Regardless, 3-4 year olds want out of strollers to see things. Trying to hold their hand all the time is impossible. People blink. People turn their heads. People are human.

Could these parents be irresponsible buttholes? Absolutely. That doesn't mean they are. If you ever have kids I hope someone's not there in your most humbling moment as a parent with a camera and a pitchfork.

Kids are hard. Just because your kid isn't or you don't have kids or understand that, does not make these parents bad people.

It's called compassion.