Only Bad Parents Burn Their Children

Among the self-help and instructional material here on wafflesatnoon.com, there are moments when an angry commentary is appropriate. Like now.

One of the unfortunate aspects of living in Las Vegas is hearing stories of parents who accidentally leave their children in hot cars during the summer. I’ve heard one too many of these, so here is my take on the subject.

Even if you don’t live in the desert, try out this little test. Get into your car on a very hot day. Make sure the windows are up and there is no air flow. Now sit there. See if you can last one minute. I’ve done it, and after only seconds I feel an unbearable need to get out or start the car and put the air on.

Now imagine being a child strapped into a car seat. From your silent perspective you see Mom and siblings walking away from the car. It immediately starts to get hot. Your movement is restricted and no one can hear your screams.

Scary movies can’t surpass the horror.

Just recently here in Vegas there was another tragic story of a 4-year-old boy left in a car for 17 hours before he was discovered dead.

17 hours?

How many meals passed over that time period without this child’s absence being noticed? What about bath time or bedtime?

The media noted that it was a large Mormon family, so somehow having too many kids excuses completely forgetting about one? The parents did the unthinkable and passed the blame onto their older children who were supposed to be watching this child because both parents were sick.

If parents are unable to even keep track of their kids, how can they possibly tend to their needs? For this reason, several of the children were removed and placed in temporary custody pending a hearing.

I’m not saying they meant to kill their son (unlike some of the angry comments I’ve read on this story). Of course it was a mistake. Punishing the parents will not bring the child back, nor will it send a message and prevent further incidences.

But they still must be punished.

A family spokesman said, “It can happen to anyone..” I find this offensive. There are millions of responsible parents who know where their kids are at all times. Even parents with many children.

Sure it can happen to anyone… Any parents too distracted to focus on their children. And yes there are many of those around. We’ve all seen them: The work-a-holic parent who shuffles their kids around from daycare to sitters to relatives. Or those parents who think they need to produce as many children as they can, then find themselves unable to cope.

It’s a sad commentary on our society to see couples who would rather have both parents working to pay for their SUV and 4000 square foot house than to have a more modest lifestyle with one parent at home with the kids.

I would rather be poor and happy than rich and miserable.

So sure it can happen to anyone who holds their own interests higher than their children. Apparently this is the perspective from which their lawyer spoke. I know people who are more aware of their pets’ whereabouts than some parents are about their children.

It has nothing to do with their religion and it has nothing to do with the number of kids in the family.

It boils down to irresponsible parents.

And these parents should be punished. It should be no different than if they forgot to feed their child and he died of malnutrition. Whether it was too many kids or being sick and delegating improperly, it doesn’t matter why they were distracted. This child died from their neglect.

Every parent can leave their child unattended for a few moments, and even during those few moments something can happen. Kids can even drown in a pool with a party going on. But there must be a limit to which leaving a child unattended becomes criminal.

And I’m quite sure that 17 hours would be over that limit.

You can read about the story here.