Cruise Ship Lawyers Blog
Popular Tiktokers Matt & Abby Howard have come under fire for a video they posted to their millions of followers seemingly showing them leaving their toddlers in two separate cabins aboard a cruise ship so that they could enjoy dinner, child-free.
The video, posted to Abby Howard’s Instagram story which only appears for 24 hours before it vanishes, seemed to explain that the couple, who were on a seven-night cruise with family, was using FaceTime and baby monitors to check up on their boys, 1 and 2 years old, who they had allegedly left alone in two separate cabins.
“So we ended up taking them [to the cruise daycare] for 5 nights and it became apparent that they weren’t enjoying it and therefore we weren’t either,” Abby Howard wrote in the initial post. “So THEN we switched our dinner time to AFTER their bedtime and Facetimed the monitors while we ate. And that worked out muchhhh better for everyone.”
The video went viral, causing thousands of comments, reshares and stitches online where viewers weighed in to blast the couple for this choice. Some users drew connections to Madeleine McCann, a 3-year-old whose name made global headlines after she vanished from her family’s holiday accommodations in Portugal while her parents dined with friends nearby in 2007.
In one stitched video that got over 30,000 likes and nearly 1,000 comments, user @yourfinestpardon, a True Crime and Pop Culture account, called the move “unconscionable.”
“And it’s terrifying,” she said. “What happens if you come back from eating dinner and you have no idea how your kids are doing? How long, if there was an emergency, would it take you to get back to the room?”
It’s all a ‘Misunderstanding’
In a separate video, posted Tuesday, the couple says that they never left their children alone and the narrative surrounding the video is “completely untrue.”
“We wanted to set the record straight, clear the air, because we take our role as parents extremely seriously,” Matt Howard said in the latest video posted to the couple’s shared account. “And we love our children more than anything in the entire world and we are very protective of our kids.”
The couple says they had someone with the children at all times and at no point were they ever alone.
“I can see where my story did lead to misunderstanding,” Abby Howard said. “Which is why I ended up deleting it several hours after posting it because I could see it was causing concern and misunderstanding.”
The two explained the reasoning behind using the baby monitors as a habit, something they do even if they are sleeping “in the exact same room.”
Leesfield & Partners
While leaving a sleeping tot in a locked cruise stateroom where you are close by might seem like an easy solution, it’s not the “parenting hack” one might think. With over four decades of maritime and cruise litigation experience in a city that has been described as the “cruising capital of the world,” Leesfield & Partners attorneys know just how dangerous cruises can be. Leaving children unattended under normal circumstances can have dire consequences and aboard a ship in the middle of the ocean with thousands of strangers is no different.
Leesfield & Partners previously represented a young boy who sustained a catastrophic head injury while playing basketball on a cruise ship basketball court. The boy dove for an out-of-bounds ball and hit a steel, unpadded grommet.
Attorneys with the firm secured a multi-million dollar settlement for the boy and his family after a year of litigation.
Leesfield & Partners represented the family of a young girl on a cruise ship. The girl, 8, was separated from her family and leaned over an interior railing, causing her to fall five stories to her death. The little girl fell due to a poor design of the ship’s railing that caused her to lose her center of gravity.
One woman who was traveling on a cruise ship for a friend’s wedding was raped by a crewmember who used his employee keycard to gain access to her room. In that instance, the woman was asleep when the man came into the room and was then horrifically attacked. A multi-million dollar settlement amount was secured for the woman by Leesfield & Partners attorneys.
More recently, Bernardo Pimentel II, a Leesfield & Partners Trial Attorney, was obtained to represent a woman who was filmed without her consent while traveling on a cruise. The incident happened aboard a ship when an employee planted hidden cameras in the bathrooms of guests to film them in their private restrooms. Guests who were filmed in addition to our client include minors.
Criminal charges were filed by authorities and that case is ongoing.
Just this month, news of at least two alleged sex crimes, a woman who was raped and a man linked to special needs cruise programs targeting minors, made headlines.
In another case, this time on an airplane, Leesfield & Partners attorneys represented a boy who was meant to fly as an unaccompanied minor and be monitored by airline staff. While the boy was left alone, a passenger sexually assaulted him.
A confidential recovery was obtained by Leesfield & Partners attorneys against the airline.
If you or someone you know believes they may have an injury claim following an assault aboard a cruise ship docked in Florida, don’t wait. Call Leesfield & Partners today for a free consultation at 305-854-4900 or 800-836-6400.
For Mental Health help following an assault, know you are not alone. Help can be found by calling the 24-hour National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673
