Now, on to my controversial post. DOES THIS WOMAN LOOK LIKE A CRIMINAL?
I don't like to watch the news. (Except for E news, of course) I think it is depressing (E-news can be depressing too... thanks Britney). Therefore, I don't read the news either. I pretty much get ALL my news from the MSN website when I log off my e-mail. I know, I know! You are probably disgusted and ashamed. I would be too, but if it is a matter that I need to be informed on, I do do some due diligence and check out "reliable" news sources.
Today I clicked on a link that said, "Mom faces trial for leaving kid in the car". My stomach just about dropped out and hit the floor. I mean, really????? TRIAL???? JAIL??????? I am sure you can guess by now that I have done this before... This woman was within eye shot of the car, and was assisting her two other kids with dumping money into the salvation army can and taking pictures (she must be a blogger). She was not far from her car (within eye shot) and when she got back two officers arrested her for child endangerment and put her in the back of the squad car with her children watching. Child services investigated and found no other problems with child abuse or mis-care of her children and now she is facing a year in prison if convicted. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Are they really considering putting the mother of 3 children in PRISON and leave them MOTHERLESS for a year??????
I am not going to site any particular instances of me doing this and I will not lie, it makes me nervous when I do it. I am not sure if I am nervous because of what I am doing, or because of being caught, but none the less, I have done it (only with them in eyeshot). HAVE YOU???
Your thoughts please. Do I need to reform? Or is this as crazy to you as it is to me???
PS- What ever happend to the people who left their sleeping toddler in the car while they were gambling at the Casino! I never heard of THEM being prosecuted!!!!
11 comments:
Let's just say if I end up in jail for leaving my kids in the car I probably deserve it. This woman did not.
You've hit a button! INSANE!!! (Side bar: this is why we all need to be involved in local politics. If you are involved you are much more likely to change laws, or stop things like this!) I find this to be one of the most ridiculous things that has come from the legislature. I leave my kids in the car all the time...get over it. I have 5 of them, and I don't haul them all out just to dump a bunch of library books in the drop box, or run in to buy a roll of stamps, etc. I keep them in their seats and lock the doors, take the keys with me,never leave them for more than a couple of minutes, and my oldest child is 8. This certainly cannot be construed as endangering my kids! Thanks for the post Lindsey!
The whole thing makes me pretty darn angry. How many of us have gone somewhere, had a child fall asleep and needed to do a quick drop? I know these laws are in place to protect our children but there is a letter of the law vs. spirit of the law.
Brett told me about this and I can hardly believe it...hospitals send babies home that are addicted to crack everyday...just makes me sick. Really, truly, could they spend their time looking for real criminals?
PS I won't cite any instances either but let's just say I could be in this woman's shoes...
Personally, I NEVER leave my children in the car alone (even if I can see them)...but I also don't think that a woman should go to jail for doing that.
I don't have kids yet, but I can almost guarantee that when I do, I will leave them in the car for a few minutes to return a video, get money from the ATM, etc. Our country spends so much time worrying about imaginary fears, we miss the real problems. Like the Dallas woman who threw her two children off of a freeway overpass yesterday (miraculously they survived).
There are soooo many other things those police officers could have been doing. I realize that they need to protect people and children get left in cars and die but come on!!! Arrested and a trial? That process is going to be WAY more traumatic for the kids then being left in the car.
Where was this? Must have been a slow newsday.....I think certain instances warrant the crime like say, oh, when some crazy Orem lady left her three kids in her van in 88 degree weather so she could shop at the mall. Some bystanders had to break the windows b/c the kids were crying and sweating. SHE should have had her arce hauled to jail, not this lady.
I totally do this. Totally. I think I am wise enough to know when it is safe and when it isn't and this is ridiculous.
And just so everyone (busybodies included) knows: It is completely legal in Washington to leave your kids in a car, if the weather conditions (not too hot or too cold) are safe and the building you are in isn't a bar. Saw it in the newspaper.
When I lived in Houston I would NEVER do this because people would steal cars all the time that had kids in them. You would never dream of loading your groceries and kids in the car and then returning the cart to the return spot. Living in Spokane is another story...I've been known to do it, but I'm always nervous. I think mostly because of what it was like in Houston.
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