I guess the bottom line is, times have changed and like it or not, we have to change with them. Ultimately though, common sense should prevail and as parents we need to do all that we can to ensure the safety and well being of our children.
I think an arrest is pretty harsh and that maybe a conversation and a little help would have sufficed but nevertheless, a South Carolina mom has been arrested because of her parenting skills or lack thereof. Reportedly unable to find daycare for her nine-year-old daughter, Debra Harrell was bringing her daughter to work to play on a laptop. When the laptop was stolen she instead opted to send her daughter to a nearby park with a cell phone. For two days the girl played with about 40 other kids until she was asked by an adult where her mother was. When she replied "at work," the adult called the police who declared the girl "abandoned" and subsequently arrested her mother.
I read a lot of the comments that followed this article and not surprisingly, there is a mix. For the most part though, people recall back to when they were nine or around that age. Most remember heading out after breakfast and only coming back to maybe grab a bite during the day. As kids we played at the park, met up with friends, went swimming, rode bikes and basically stayed out of our parents hair until supper time. I know I did. It was just what kids did. But things were different then, or so it seemed. We didn't hear so much about abductions and the potential for things to go wrong. So does this make Debra Harrell a criminal? I'm thinking not. She sounds more like a mom who is trying to make ends meet the best she can and more like a woman who made a poor decision than a "bad guy." Rather than arrest her, why not help her access some kind of a program that may best serve her and her daughter?
It's sad that things have gone the way they have in many respects. When you see kids getting left in hot cars and crimes like what just happened in Calgary - grand parents and grand child being taken from their home and murdered in broad daylight, as a society and as a parent you are forced to become a little more protective and reactive.
Times have definitely changed. While we like to recall "what was" the same just isn't true anymore and we have to accept that.
