Before I begin, (and to avoid any overly negative feedback after I publish this) let me start by saying that I am not a parent. Therefore, anything said in this entry should be assumed to be pure opinion based on available facts and not experience.
Okay that's done with.
Exhibit A:
Recently something came to my attention, a mother in Texas was arrested and held in prison overnight for "abandonment". Pretty bad parent, don't you think?
I sure don't.
Her children were riding around outside on scooters and she just out of view. Why did she get arrested? Because one of her neighbors made a quick decision and called 9-1-1 because they didn't see the mother anywhere.
The mother was put in jail for 18 hours. 18. Hours. Because one of the neighbors wasn't able to see her watching her kids.
Now, even less than a decade ago, kids were playing outside in residential neighborhoods, unsupervised (I was living in the middle of nowhere, so I can't make much of a comparison). Not only was this accepted, it was the norm. Go farther back and kids were outside all day.
What's changed?
Some people will say that there are more predators, pedophiles and rapists out there. I disagree. I say that we've just succumbed to fear. There are more, yes, thanks to the internet, but not many more. Not enough to cause this level of dread. (whatever happened to block watch, anyway? Neighbors looking out for each others kids).
Now we come to exhibit B. Actual bad parenting.
A report out of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada back in May of this year was a story about a family that was torn apart. I say that literally. Police and paramedics arrived at an Edmonton home and arrested two adults, a male and a female (the courts have prevented them from being named to protect the identities of the children). Their two children were taken to hospital. Two year old twin girls. Both bruised, dangerously malnourished to the point that their body weight was HALF of a normal girl that age. One even went into cardiac arrest.
"The parents said the twins were hurt when they fell down some stairs they had been playing on with their older brother three days earlier. They also maintained the girls were able to crawl and walk with assistance at the time.
However, “medical evidence suggests that this could not be possible,” according to the court documents.
A pediatrician is quoted in the documents saying the girls were “profoundly malnourished,” and would not have been mobile three days earlier. He is also quoted saying the bruises on the girls were “clearly due to multiple impacts” and “cannot be explained by only one event.”"
As of Friday, September 21, 2012, one of the children, known by the name of "Baby M" to protect her identity, was taken off of life support and passed away. It should be noted that both parents, who are not allowed to have contact with each other, went to the Supreme Court of Canada to try and prevent the ventilator from being taken off. That does not redeem them. I have not heard any word on the condition of the other child.
I guess the take away from this entry is that we should be careful when judging parents. There are people, like exhibit B, who are not fit to be parents and frankly, should be rendered sterile. Alongside that, there are parents like exhibit A, simply out of sight at the wrong time and whose neighbor is apparently so paranoid that they call the police at the first sign of something odd.
If kids aren't allowed to explore, then they don't learn. That's my view.
Okay that's done with.
Exhibit A:
Recently something came to my attention, a mother in Texas was arrested and held in prison overnight for "abandonment". Pretty bad parent, don't you think?
I sure don't.
Her children were riding around outside on scooters and she just out of view. Why did she get arrested? Because one of her neighbors made a quick decision and called 9-1-1 because they didn't see the mother anywhere.
The mother was put in jail for 18 hours. 18. Hours. Because one of the neighbors wasn't able to see her watching her kids.
Now, even less than a decade ago, kids were playing outside in residential neighborhoods, unsupervised (I was living in the middle of nowhere, so I can't make much of a comparison). Not only was this accepted, it was the norm. Go farther back and kids were outside all day.
What's changed?
Some people will say that there are more predators, pedophiles and rapists out there. I disagree. I say that we've just succumbed to fear. There are more, yes, thanks to the internet, but not many more. Not enough to cause this level of dread. (whatever happened to block watch, anyway? Neighbors looking out for each others kids).
Now we come to exhibit B. Actual bad parenting.
A report out of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada back in May of this year was a story about a family that was torn apart. I say that literally. Police and paramedics arrived at an Edmonton home and arrested two adults, a male and a female (the courts have prevented them from being named to protect the identities of the children). Their two children were taken to hospital. Two year old twin girls. Both bruised, dangerously malnourished to the point that their body weight was HALF of a normal girl that age. One even went into cardiac arrest.
"The parents said the twins were hurt when they fell down some stairs they had been playing on with their older brother three days earlier. They also maintained the girls were able to crawl and walk with assistance at the time.
However, “medical evidence suggests that this could not be possible,” according to the court documents.
A pediatrician is quoted in the documents saying the girls were “profoundly malnourished,” and would not have been mobile three days earlier. He is also quoted saying the bruises on the girls were “clearly due to multiple impacts” and “cannot be explained by only one event.”"
As of Friday, September 21, 2012, one of the children, known by the name of "Baby M" to protect her identity, was taken off of life support and passed away. It should be noted that both parents, who are not allowed to have contact with each other, went to the Supreme Court of Canada to try and prevent the ventilator from being taken off. That does not redeem them. I have not heard any word on the condition of the other child.
I guess the take away from this entry is that we should be careful when judging parents. There are people, like exhibit B, who are not fit to be parents and frankly, should be rendered sterile. Alongside that, there are parents like exhibit A, simply out of sight at the wrong time and whose neighbor is apparently so paranoid that they call the police at the first sign of something odd.
If kids aren't allowed to explore, then they don't learn. That's my view.
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