A 36-year-old babysitter in Surabaya, Indonesia, has confessed to giving a two-year-old toddler appetite stimulants and steroids for over a year so he could gain weight. The babysitter told the police that she wanted to see the child get fatter, although she does not have sufficient knowledge or health education to be administering such medications. The toddler, who was undergoing therapy for difficulty eating, gained over 6kg in a year and now weighs 19kg. The babysitter has been charged under domestic violence and health laws that carry a minimum of five years in prison.
The toddler’s mother, Madam Linggra Kartika, posted on Instagram revealing that she discovered pills used to facilitate her son’s weight gain, which were given in adult dosages. She expressed concern that the therapy was successful due to medications given to her son without her knowledge. The babysitter purchased the medications online for a low cost and administered the steroid dexamethasone and appetite stimulant cyproheptadine, which are not suitable for children. After stopping the medication, the child’s condition worsened and he refused to eat or drink, leading to hospitalisation.
The mother reported the case to the police after bringing her son to the emergency department and discovering the medications given to him. The babysitter was arrested in September after the mother’s posts went viral. Madam Linggra shared messages from other mothers who had similar experiences with babysitters giving children appetite stimulants, leading to weight gain followed by significant weight loss when the medications were stopped. The police are investigating the possibility of a wider trend of babysitters using appetite stimulants on the children under their care, based on the arrested babysitter’s claims.
The East Java Regional Police team is looking into other cases of babysitters administering appetite stimulants to children and examining the suspect’s mobile phone conversations with other babysitters who used similar methods. Babysitters who used appetite stimulants on children shared messages with the toddler’s mother, revealing that this practice is common among caregivers. Concerns were raised about the long-term effects of these medications on children’s health, as the toddler experienced negative side effects after the medications were stopped. The police are working to ensure the safety and well-being of children under the care of babysitters by investigating and charging those involved in such practices.
