mother of the year

[LDS Jock]

Today I needed to go downtown to do some downtown kinda stuff. I had messing with parking, so I thought I would take the bus. So, while waiting at the bus stop, a woman and her four kids came to wait for the bus too. My first thought was why aren't these kids in school? The oldest was 7 or 8 years old and the youngest probably about 4. Now before I go on, let me add I don't live in that nice a part of Austin. Not horrible, but certainly a place where you take care to watch out. This woman tells her kids to wait there for the bus. She was going into the convenience store behind the bus stop. This woman left her four young children alone to wait at a city bus stop. The oldest child had a ten dollar bill and three ones pinned to his shirt. Almost like a bribe to help tempt someone to take him and the others. Five minutes later the woman returns. Her kids still around, playing along the side of Oltorf, a busy street in Austin. I couldn't believe she did it. I watched her kids to make sure they didn't do anything too wild, or to get the license number of the car stealing them. It amazed me too that the kids acted like this was the most natural thing in the world and that it happened all the time.

[Cuban_Liberal]

1. I wish you had called the police, frankly.

That lady needs some instruction in responsible parenting, if nothing else.

[jonnyblitz]

2. that was considerate of you to watch out for them

even though it wasn't your responsibility. you are a good person. :thumbsup:

[HEAVYHEART]

4. Yup

That's what I was gonna say. LDS Jock, you really are a good person for watching those kids.

[LDS Jock]

9. well thanks you guys

I had to watch them once I recovered from the shock of her leaving them. If I saw the news tonight about children being abducted or killed on that street I couldn't live with myself.

[GOPisEvil]

3. What the hell?

That woman needs to learn some parenting skills.

I know that area. That street is WAY too busy to allow kids that age to be unsupervised.

Spelling edit

[LDS Jock]

6. Oltorf, a few blocks east of I-35

She shouldn't leave them alone anywhere, but sure not there. Tony is right. I should have called the police. I thought of it but didn't have the cell phone with me. It turned out fine this time, but I would bet she does it again.

[redqueen]

5. Why the hell didn't she take them with her?

I mean, did she want them to get on the bus without her? WTF?!

Stuff like this really gets me upset.

Having children should be a privilege, not a right.

[LDS Jock]

8. I wondered that too

why not take them in the store? I know kids can be a handful in any store, but please. Is leaving them unsupervised on a busy street the better option?

[skygazer]

7. You know, one of the problems people face

is the fact that a lot of them have no clue how to raise a child. A lot of people come from horribly dysfunctional or broken homes in which there was no parenting that could be called such. They in turn have kids of their own and have no clue as to how to care for them.

In Vermont when my daughter had a baby at 15, there is a state run program that sends a social worker/nurse out regularly to your home. They give advice and teach kids how to parent. I beleive it's one of the programs Howard Dean got into place and I was impressed with it. The woman who came out was great, very helpful and not condescending in the least.

It's programs like that which help people get out of the cycle of poverty and dysfunction. Unfortunately they're always the first programs to get cut - the Repubs think it's more important to fight needless wars and build more prisons.

[LDS Jock]

10. I like that idea

I try to believe the best in people and think they do want to be good parents, but sometimes don't know better. In the example you gave, she was only 15. She is just a kid herself. It is only natural to need a little guidance on how to raise a kid.