Posted on 06/29/2006 8:59:40 AM PDT by charming_harmonica
I am not a father, nor am I likely to be (ever), but I agree.
Daycare centers are cesspools.
I know, my kids were in them for several years until I married #2 who stayed at home and picked them up after school.
Nevermind the germs,they have a host of other problems as well, and that goes for no matter how expensive and fancy they are.
Reproductive technology has come a long way. They know what causes pregnancy now and even have ways to inhibit it.
You're preaching to the choir on this one. :)
The overwhelmingly main reason my wife works is that when you work for an airline you fly free. We have grandkids all over the country. Trust me, we avail ourselves to this freebe often. ;)
I doubt that it is any more frequent than it is more likely to be reported as news than before.
Certain stories are programmed as keywords and flagged by "readers" for wire pickup.
I agree with you. Absent minded people like me would certainly rather not be absent minded, but it isn't something we can change, no matter what people on this list think. Over the years, I forgot to pick up my kids from places a couple of times. Nothing bad came of it. (I also remember probably the sweetest, kindest mother in the neighborhood leaving her kids at the public pool, one time, as well.) Never forgot them in the car, but baby seats were not kept in the back, then. When my routine is disrupted, when I have to do something extra, or some other change enters in, then I forget things. Yes, I know about various kinds of memory aids like notemaking. I use them. Sometimes they help, sometimes I lose the notes.
This has all started happening after baby seats were required to be in the back seat. Babies and toddlers very often fall right to sleep in the baby seat and are then obviously quiet.
I thank God this never happened to me, but being cruel toward these parents is something I read every single time stories are posted on this list.
Sure there are times when kids are left in cars more or less deliberately such as the mother who was taking hours getting her hair and nails done and knew her kids were in the car. I remember that story very well, but don't remember if any of the kids died as a result. That is deliberate neglect and is a very different kind of behavior.
I just don't understand selfrightously heaping curelty on people who have failed horrifically, and their children have died as a result. Most go over and over that day in their minds I am sure, but once something so overhwelmingly terrible like that has happened, there is absolutely nothing you can do to get that day back and live it over and do things right so your child is safe.
So you all think it couldn't ever happen to you, eh? Well I KNOW it COULD have happened to me! Yes, folks I AM that absent minded, and guess what else, I really, really love my kids, and they turned out fine. I have God to thank that nothing like this ever happened, but at least I am honest enough to say it could have.
I think a lot of you are denying the anxiety that it COULD happen to you, now matter how careful you think you are.
Flame away, if you like.
For the sake of the kids I hope we can get some of the soloists to join the choir...
Until one of you starts leaking at both ends.
That's true- but IMHO there is a difference between an accident that is likely difficult to prevent and one that is entirely preventable by taking some simple precautions.
Kids are resilient but they do fall or choke or otherwise injure themselves because they aren't living in a bubble. But being left in a car isn't that sort of "accident".
Someone seriously should invent a safety device to help solve this tragic problem!
Sometimes circumstances make it so that a child has to go to daycare.
I went on total bedrest during my 2nd pregnancy, so we had to put my son in daycare. He ended up staying in it longer than we expected because his twin sisters got very sick and almost died when they were 6 weeks old. After the twins got home, one had severe asthma and one had brain damage. I couldn't handle all 3 kids at home with me (it was hard enough to take care of 2 sick babies).
We found a great daycare close to our home. I could pick him up early or drop him off late whenever I wanted. He loved it. He was always very sociable and made friends easily. He hated being at home all day long without other kids to play with.
I never rag on daycare because it was such a lifesaver for my family. I also know a number of women whose husbands have died young (and some whose husbands have left them), and they've needed daycare.
>>I can't understand how you could forget something this important.<<
I can.
I'm 52. I HAVE. Your chance will come although, hopefully as in my case, nothing bad came of it other than your cold sweat when you realize what could have happened.
So your kids are worth $12,000 a year?
I can imagine it perfectly; Mommy has a cell phone jammed in her ear while driving to the day care center and is also putting on makeup at the same time, stops at day care center, still jabbering on the cell phone, hangs up after several minutes, thinks she has dropped Jr off, drives to work jabbering on her phone some more and rechecking her makeup, arrives at work and forgets she never dropped off Junior. It all comes from people being so engaged in other activities unrelated to driving and to dropping off Jr that they just aren't paying attention to anything else.
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