This is an honest query, aimed squarely at the clearer thinking, longer term expats. So, short timers like me are probably not so reliable in their perceptions.

For the population size, it seems to me that maternal/paternal instinct is quite lacking at times- not as a majority, but potentially as a larger minority. This thread being an extreme example, and quite possibly flawed. But a fairly general observation that I make is that the natural care and concern that I feel is so infrequently reflected in many younger ‘parents’.

Kids wandering around untended; under the care of distracted, even unsuited grandparents. Choking hazards, etc.

Now, before any panties get twisted, I acknowledge-
It’s a different culture
It’s a different social climate
The gulf between have & have not might be more pronounced.
Reporting may just as easily be skewed

But I’ve certainly seen in my 5 years here, more reports about
Abandoned dead newborn babies
Drowned kids 2-5yrs old
Teen Kid on kid violence
Adult on kid violence
Familial homicides

I’ve also witnessed several times over, a level of behaviour and disdain towards kids exhibited by certain family members that’s cringe worthy. I’ve even commented to SWMBO that similar behaviour in many western countries would have those parents in handcuffs. Rightly or wrongly. Yet, their peers here don’t bat an eyelid.

I think you need to take into consideration that there's a big divide between knowledge and responsibility in educated, city Khmer compared to the poorer city folk and rural folk.

In the city we work with educated Khmer who more often than not are bi-lingual or at the very least have a good command of another language.
In the rural sector, many people are still uneducated, and there are many who no amount of schooling will make any difference. Their lives are like groundhog day on a loop.

In the city, most of the weddings I have attended have been between educated Khmer aged about 30, give or take a few years.
In the province, just about all weddings I have attended are between kids in their teens who have little education or skills.

Reading through Freightdog's list (below), these incidents are far more common in the countryside than in the city.
"Abandoned dead newborn babies
Drowned kids 2-5yrs old
Teen Kid on kid violence
Adult on kid violence
Familial homicides"

I would say that a lot of these problems are still spinoffs from the bad old days of the KR. Four years and ten months of being told what to do and when to do it everyday probably hasn't helped.

I would say that a lot of these problems are still spinoffs from the bad old days of the KR. Four years and ten months of being told what to do and when to do it everyday probably hasn't helped.

I don't see much connection there. The majority citizens weren't even born then, although it would have had an effect on their parents' or grandparents' education. Violence and ignorance were around long before and after Pol Pot's brief reign (BTW less than four years).
In this case it's likely to be an unmarried teenager/ woman who has hidden their pregnancy due to taboos in traditional society. These taboos have existed through all regimes and date back many centuries.