Overreaction

[taerowyn]

Signs that people can really overreact:

A woman was arrested on felony charges for allegedly letting her three children get so severely sunburned that they looked like they "were dipped in red paint." ...The children had second-degree sunburns and were treated with cold compresses, said Trinity Medical Center West spokesman Keith Murdock. Hibbits, 31, could face 15 years in jail if convicted of all three counts.

OK, so in the long run, which will have the worst effect on the kids? A week of dealing with the aftereffects of a bad sunburn or, I don't know, fifteen years without their mother?!? And c'mon, felony charges?!?

Comments

[schwa242.livejournal.com]

I don't necessarily want her to get convicted, but it'll be nice if she gets off with a good scare so that maybe she'll take better care of her kids, especially ones so young they aren't old enough to complain properly about what ails them.

I wonder if she was sunburnt too. Did she have sunblock on? Was she suffering along with? If so, you'd think she would have noticed. If not, well, I really do loathe when parents give themselves nice comforts while letting their kids suffer, especially if said "comfort" is decent protection from cancer, blisters, sore skin, and premature skin aging.

I used to go outside and get sunburned all the time as a kid, a couple of times just to do it to be stupid, and mom always would give me hell. Of course, I was old enough to actually make a decision about it, not two years old or younger.

This woman shouldn't necessarily receive jail-time, but perhaps a court-ordered course in proper parenting might be within reason.

-- Schwa ---

Re:

[taerowyn.livejournal.com]

I agree. Yes there was negligence, but at felony levels?

I just can't see the logic of "We're worried about the kids so we'll take away their mother," in a case like this. It was negligence not out-right abuse.

Re:

[schwa242.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but negligence can be considered a form of abuse. Cases in point:

Parent rushes into the store and leaves baby in the car. Car gets stolen. Baby is now kidnapped. How responsible is the parent? Is this negligence? Abuse?

Expecting mother drinks and smokes and hits the crackpipe like a madwoman. Baby is born premature with healthproblems. Personally, I see this as a form of abuse, even though it could be chalked up to "negligence".

Father and son work on various shop projects in the garage. Father does not discuss safety, nor provide goggles and whatever other safety gear the kid needs. Kid loses an eye. Negligence? Abuse? Foster home? What's your opinion? Me, I don't really know, I just kind of made these up on the spot*

-- Schwa ---

* - Except for the second one. I konw of separated parents to be... dad caught preggers ex barhopping and chugalluging hard liquor and called social services to report her, as he didn't want his daughter-to-be to be exposed to such toxins.

[funkbunny.livejournal.com]

second degree burns. We're talking major tissue damage here. That's neglect. And she's also been reported to county services many times in the past. I say the punishment fits.

[taerowyn.livejournal.com]

I'd say negligence, abuse, negligence. To me it's a matter of doing direct harm vs. failing to prevent harm.

Re:

[taerowyn.livejournal.com]

Where do you see that she'd been reported before? If that's indeed the case, then I say yes, it is definitely a sign that she is not a healthy parent and the charges fit.

Re:

[schwa242.livejournal.com]

Fair enough, on a semantic level. Though, in my opinion, negligence can be just as bad as abuse.

Just ask the little boy who's mom let him crawl on broken glass covered cockroaches as a child because she couldn't be bothered to sweep all her bottles of cockroaches that fell off the kitchen shelf and as he got older she forgot to feed him food and he lost weight and died and that little boy's name was... Casper, the Friendly Boy!

-- Schwa ---

Which is how he became an even friendlier ghost, because he's just overcompensating for mommy never ever being there for him by trying to make friends with Christina Ricci.

Re:

[taerowyn.livejournal.com]

I'm not saying that negligence can't be abusive at all, I think it's a matter of intent. If the woman held the kids face up to a flame to give them second degree burns then I would be all for felony charges. If, as funkbunny says, she's been reported before, I'm all for felony charges. If, however, this is an isolated case where she just royally screwed up then I think lighter charges, some hefty fines, but no chance of jail time are in order.

Re:

[schwa242.livejournal.com]

Fair enough... works for me!

-- Schwa ---

[funkbunny.livejournal.com]

Denver Post. They had a quick "Brief" on it in today's paper and included that she'd been reported several times before.