More Evidence of the Death of Common Sense

[EagleFan]

Boys die after being left in an SUV for 5 hours in their car seats while the mother (foster mother) left them there so she could run. I don't even know where to start with this one.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/West/07/0....ap/index.html

[Axxon]

That's not death of common sense, it's murder and I don't have the words to express my anger on reading that.

[sabotai]

I think you misread something. She didn't go running.

"Smoot told authorities she left the boys, ages 3 and 5, in the car around 9 a.m. outside A Child's Place Daycare, which she ran."

She ran the daycare. Kind of scary when you think about it. I know accidents happen and all, but you'd think someone who ran a daycare wouldn't make these kind of mistakes.

[Axxon]

Still, who leaves a 3 and 5 year old in a car unattended no matter who she expects to get them out??

[JeeberD]

More worried about other people's kids than her own, apparently...

[EagleFan]

doh!!! just re-read that. Read the which as while. Either way, this is beyond inhumane.

She runs a day care and instead of bringing the kids inside, she leaves them in the SUV. Tie her up and leave her in a sauna to die, let her feel what those boys felt.

[Ksyrup]

Supposedly, there was miscommunication (or no communication) with her husband, who she thought was going to pick them up.

Now, given that she runs a daycare center, why wouldn't she bring the kids into the center until the husband came? I know that most states have an 'X number of kids per teacher' ratio, but compared to leaving your kids in a car, I think I'd run the chance of getting a citation.

[Fritz]

boy have times changed. It was not that long ago when parents commonly left kids in the car.

[clintl]

Originally posted by Fritz
boy have times changed. It was not that long ago when parents commonly left kids in the car.

No kidding. My mother almost always left us in the car while she would go grocery shopping.

Of course, there were no child seats to be restrained in back then, either, so we could roll down the windows.

[Axxon]

Originally posted by Ksyrup
Supposedly, there was miscommunication (or no communication) with her husband, who she thought was going to pick them up.

Now, given that she runs a daycare center, why wouldn't she bring the kids into the center until the husband came? I know that most states have an 'X number of kids per teacher' ratio, but compared to leaving your kids in a car, I think I'd run the chance of getting a citation.

I seriously doubt that bringing your own kids ( who are not enrolled I'm assuming ) into the facility while they await their father would be a citable offense. Anybody know for sure???

[Axxon]

Originally posted by clintl
No kidding. My mother almost always left us in the car while she would go grocery shopping.

When you were three??? OR even five. I don't think that was ever the norm.

[vtbub]

Ditto. But never in the heat.

[clintl]

Originally posted by Axxon
When you were three??? OR even five. I don't think that was ever the norm.

I might have been a little older when she started doing that, but my two brothers weren't.

[Ksyrup]

Originally posted by Axxon
I seriously doubt that bringing your own kids ( who are not enrolled I'm assuming ) into the facility while they await their father would be a citable offense. Anybody know for sure???

That's just something I thought of off of the top of my head. It might be, if the kids were to join the group of kids being watched. But like I said, the chance of (a) anyone noticing, and (b) anyone caring, given the circumstances, is so small that there is no reason why she should not have just brought them in to wait for her husband.

[Franklinnoble]

Originally posted by clintl
No kidding. My mother almost always left us in the car while she would go grocery shopping.

Of course, there were no child seats to be restrained in back then, either, so we could roll down the windows.

Conversely, when I was a kid and was deemed to be misbehaving in the car, I was made to get out and run in front of the vehicle alongside the road until my attitude had been sufficiently adjusted.

[clintl]

Dola...

To be fair, I don't remember her leaving us in the car on a really hot day, nor for as long as these kids were left.

[Axxon]

Originally posted by clintl
I might have been a little older when she started doing that, but my two brothers weren't.

All I can say then is I'm glad you're still with us. I have seen it when the oldest was in double digit age and disagree with it but not as strongly. There's just no way a younger child can cope with an emergency if it happens. I know parents have done it but again, I hope it's never been the norm.

[EagleFan]

I remember being left in a car while my mother ran into a store when I was younger, but that was when I was older than 3 and when I could roll down the windows because I wasn't locked in a car seat.

[clintl]

Originally posted by Axxon
All I can say then is I'm glad you're still with us.

I think in most respects, my parents did a good job, but there were a few things they did while raising us that I will be the first to admit were not that smart.

[tucker342]

My parents would leave me in the car, just not when I was that young, plus they would roll down the windows for me....

Pretty sick though....

[Sybot]

You could also roll down the window because they were mechanical. Now they are usually electric and require the key. Hopefully Mom leaves that for you so you can listen to the radio.

But Mom never leaves you in the car when she goes grocery shopping for an hour. Only if she is running in to get something (10 min. or so).

[illinifan999]

Jeez, I always was left in the car. I just went to sleep. But it was never for more than 10 or 15 min.

[illinifan999]

Dola, not to say that what happened here is right. Leaving them in a car for an extended period of time like that is just wrong.

[sterlingice]

I would have some sympathy if it were a case of "one person expected one thing and one person expected another". Really, you all decry it like she sat there with a gun and shot the kids. However, if you think your husband is going to get them out of the car- then it's an afterthought. In your mind, you aren't thinking "oh, I hope my kids are baking out there", it's a matter of "my husband got them".

If you tried to protect your kid every time they did anything remotely dangerous, you would smother them: "I'm sorry little Billy, mommy has to cook dinner so you have to stay here in the kitchen on a rope so I can watch you. You can't watch tv in the other room on the off chance you might try to climb up a shelf and unbalance something to the point where it crashes on you. Wait, I can't have you in the kitchen because there's an offchance, I accidentally knock a knife off the counter and it falls to the floor." I mean, really, if the knife incident happened- I bet half of you would have the kneejerk reaction of "Wow- how could she have the knife that close to the edge of the counter"

"She indicated she thought someone else was going to get the children out of the car, possibly her husband," Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Al Grotefend said. "There was some miscommunication."

That said- the way it's worded in the story, I'm not sure if this is really the case. That "possibly" in there opens up a world of room for doubt.

SI

[ice4277]

Originally posted by sterlingice
I would have some sympathy if it were a case of "one person expected one thing and one person expected another". Really, you all decry it like she sat there with a gun and shot the kids. However, if you think your husband is going to get them out of the car- then it's an afterthought. In your mind, you aren't thinking "oh, I hope my kids are baking out there", it's a matter of "my husband got them".

If you tried to protect your kid every time they did anything remotely dangerous, you would smother them: "I'm sorry little Billy, mommy has to cook dinner so you have to stay here in the kitchen on a rope so I can watch you. You can't watch tv in the other room on the off chance you might try to climb up a shelf and unbalance something to the point where it crashes on you. Wait, I can't have you in the kitchen because there's an offchance, I accidentally knock a knife off the counter and it falls to the floor." I mean, really, if the knife incident happened- I bet half of you would have the kneejerk reaction of "Wow- how could she have the knife that close to the edge of the counter"


That said- the way it's worded in the story, I'm not sure if this is really the case. That "possibly" in there opens up a world of room for doubt.

SI

But you are trying to compare apples and oranges. This is something she directly had control over. Also, if you hadn't noticed, its kind of hot out, being the summer and all. People shouldn't be leaving kids in the car, especially ones this young, by themselves for any amount of time. No excuse can make up for this whatsoever.

[CamEdwards]

SI,

She also apparently never checked to see if someone had indeed picked up the kids. It's her neglect that led to the deaths of those kids.

Sadly, this won't be the last of these stories this summer.

[tucker342]

A case like this happened in Iowa like 2 summers ago. It was the biggest news in the state for a very long time.

[Fritz]

Originally posted by tucker342
A case like this happened in Iowa like 2 summers ago. It was the biggest news in the state for a very long time.

Except instead of children it was ears of corn, and instead of car is was hay wagon.

[sterlingice]

Originally posted by Fritz
Except instead of children it was ears of corn, and instead of car is was hay wagon.

If it was ears of corn in an SUV, would they become popcorn?

SI