Idiots on parade
July 23, 2008 by Sherry Osborne
Filed under Parenting
This week I heard about a father, aged 23, who was arrested because he had left his toddler son in the car while he went to see the new Dark Knight movie. His son, thank goodness, was alive and fine. Some people passed the car and saw him crying and sweating inside the 87F car, and called police.
It reminded me of the mother, roughly the same age, from a couple of weeks ago who had left her toddler in a hot car outside while she went inside a bar to drink for a few hours. Her child was not lucky enough to still be alive upon discovery.
It makes me so angry to hear these stories. I’m always appalled by the parents who forget their children in the car only to find them too late, but a part of me, while asking, “how can they forget?!” also asks, “what if it was me?” I feel for those people. But I can only hiss and spit in rage for the negligent parents who purposely leave their children in a hot car because they have incredibly “important” things to do – like drinking or seeing movies.
I don’t often use the “why don’t they have parenting licenses” line, but sometimes I can’t help but wonder.
I was super pissed about this too. I will never understand how you forget your KID is in your car?!?
It’s easy to do. I’ve come close a time or two. (I have seven kids) Short on sleep due to a baby in the house, a common routine upset, perhaps, and it happens. Let’s you drive home the same way from work every day. Leave at the same time. Go inside and grab the same soda and watch the news. But, on this day, the 1000th time you’ve enacted this routine, your husband who usually picks up the child from daycare and takes him home, has an appointment. He met you at work as you were leaving and handed him off. Kid falls asleep in the back. (airbag in the front) You go through your routine on autopilot after a long-hard day and forget that the silent child is in the back. It is VERY easy to do this.
People who do it on purpose, obviously, thinking the child will be fine, are idiots.
Those kids weren’t forgotten, the pos parental units were just too stupid to get a sitter.
My kids are never quiet enough to forget that they’re in the car