Mother and child reunion

Stroller mix-up illustrates culture clash

May 14, 1997
Web posted at: 11:05 p.m. EDT (0305 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A child taken by authorities after being left in a stroller outside a New York restaurant was reunited with her Danish mother Wednesday, following a judge's order.

"From what I hear, everything went as smoothly as possible," said Maggie Lear, a spokeswoman for the Administration for Children's Services.

The 14-month-old girl was taken Saturday from Danish actress Annette Sorensen, 30, after being was left in a stroller parked outside the window of an East Village restaurant. Sorensen and the baby's father, Exavier Wardlaw, a movie production assistant who lives in New York, were inside having a drink, police said.

"A couple of the waiters were upset about it and some of the customers were upset about it, and eventually one of the customers called the police," waiter Peter Plano said.

When police arrived, they said they were taking the girl. The mother began to scream and the child's father attempted to intervene.

"To leave a child unattended for an hour on a city street in New York is pretty inappropriate," New York child services commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said.

Asked about the cultural differences, Scoppetta replied, "I don't think you should expect the police department to make inquiries about whether this is acceptable in Denmark."

Scopetta said the mother and baby will stay at an unspecified location until the mother's Criminal Court appearance on Monday.

The incident has sparked heated debate about the role of government in parenting and illustrates a wide cultural gap between the U.S. and Denmark.

In Denmark, parents often leave children unattended while they shop or dine. In New York, people chain up outdoor garbage cans and flower pots if they want to keep them.

"I wouldn't leave a dog outside a restaurant in New York," New Yorker Leah Wells said as she played with her 20-month-old son in a playground in Manhattan.

And New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani defended the arrests: "I think they did the right thing here. If they acted out of an excess of caution, so be it."

Danes, however, were astonished at the woman's ordeal. "They must be completely crazy over there," Line Vang said as her 7-month-old son napped several tables away at an outdoor cafe. "We do this all the time."

Even Hillary Rodham Clinton noted the custom during a 1995 visit to Denmark, saying it was evidence of the country's safe culture.

"Oh, if we all could live in cities where we could leave our babies outside in baby carriages," she said in a speech at the time.

Indeed, Danes considered the reaction of New York police, who handcuffed the parents and took custody of the child, a huge overreaction.

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Denmark is a safer place to live in than New York," mother Tue Hoejbjerg said in Copenhagen.

The headline for one local paper summed up the Danish perspective: "Dane in grotesque nightmare in New York: Police stole my baby."

Correspondent Norma Quarles and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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