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One of the things far too many people take forever to realize when they become parents is that the child MUST have a responsible adult with him or her ALL THE TIME! There is NO SUCH THING as leaving them alone for "just a few minutes", because in that "few minutes" ANYTHING can happen. ANYTHING. And a child simply is not eqipped to handle most things that can happen, and they WILL get out and wander around, regardless of the weather or whether they're dressed properly, or whatever.
There have been numerous cases of parents leaving their kids alone for "just a few minutes" and coming back to find the house on fire or a similar disaster. Those parents will live with the consequences of their thoughtless irresponsiblity for the rest of their lives.
There was a really heartbreaking case near here a few years ago where a single mother left her four kids alone to go out with a friend (she needed to get out but couldn't find a sitter), ages 2 to 11. The house caught on fire, no smoke detectors, and all the kids died before anyone even saw that the house was on fire. The fire department discovered the kids huddled together in one of the bedrooms, a ladder had been pushed up to the window. Apparently, one of the older kids had tried to open the window, but it was stuck, and he was then overcome by smoke. The woman said she had "no idea" that that could have happened, which is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard in my life. There is no punishment she could be given, however, that would be worse than what she was already suffering, to not only lose all four of your kids but to know that you were responsible for it in the first place.
And I certainly had my parental moments as well. My son's almost thirteen now, but when he was first born, I made the mistake of leaving him in the car in his carseat while I ran into a convenient store for a few things (no, the car was turned off and I had the keys, I wasn't quite THAT dumb, lol!). When I came back, there was an older woman waiting by the car watching him through the window, and boy did she let me have it when she saw me. I was promptly, loudly, and sufficiently chastened. And she was exactly right, too, and once I got over the embarrassment of the public humiliation, I was glad she had had the gumption to stand up and say what she thought. I never did that, or anything similar, ever again, lol!
Make no mistake about it, I'm a paralegal who's also had some experience in the social service field, and there is absolutely a double standard in both the social work and legal areas when it comes to matters like this. Those who are of a "higher" socioeconomic status are largely left alone, and are not prosecuted by the police or prosecutor when they do something like this, even if it results in the death or permanent injury to the child. But someone not of the right socioeconomic class even looks at their kid wrong, and forget it, they're toast.
There was another case near here where a couple who lived in a "gated" community had a baby and the mother "forgot" to take her to day care and left her in the car, where she suffocated from the high temperature. There was an outpouring of community sympathy, etc., etc., and the pious prosecutor and social service agency director waxed on and on about how this family had suffered enough, we're not going to do anything, blahblahblah.
But when a single mother who worked two jobs did the same thing a year later, all hell broke loose, she was the devil incarnate, the symbol of all that's wrong with "those people" and the moral decay of society today and the breakdown of the family, blahblahblahblahblah. Never mind that she did the exact same thing as the rich couple. Never mind that she was suffering just as much. And that, folks, is the way it is in the legal, police, and social service fields, for the most part.
So I'm sure this judge will be let off with nothing, whereas if someone in her courtroom, and not of the right class, had done the same thing, the book would have been thrown quite heavily against them. You simply DO NOT leave a four-year-old alone like that no matter what, and sure as hell NOT TO GO PICK UP LUGGAGE from an airport when there's no telling how long you'll be gone.
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