Why are some parents soooooooooo stupid?Where is the common sense?

Question

Our local news today has the story of a 6 year old girl who died while riding a go-cart on her family's many acres of property.She ended up in a pond and was not found for 20 minutes.How tragic.What in the hell were the parent's thinking??I have 4 children,ages 7,11,12,and 15--and I think that the parents should be arrested for negligence!Do you agree?

Yes--I AM on 'the outside looking in'--and KNOW that I would never allow a 6 year old on a go-cart.Period.(Let alone on many acres of property where there is a pond.)

Answer 1

I am like you about parents' lack of knowledge about age appropriate activities for their children. Many are not at home to supervise what they are doing and don't seem to worry. No clue what the kids are doing nor do they care. I taught school for 30 years and I could write books about what parents allow kids to do. So many of our children today are just born and then on their own. I often called DHS about abuse that was obvious and I was asked if I knew they were being raped or burned. I even had one 5th grader hang himself and I thought the parents should be tried for murder. It was an atrocious situation for the child and he was tired of it. Soooo sad! I think parents should be held for negligent homicide but proving it is something else and law enforcement often doesn't have enough officers to investigate things that happen to kids that appear to be accidents, let alone when the child dies. I think they should be prosecuted even when the child is just injured and order the parent to parent training. I'm sure you will get a lot of responses on this site that are not aware of a 6 year old child's lack of development to be riding a go cart without supervision. That's why it happens is peoples' ignorance of child development. Maturation is important when controlling a vehicle that can kill and often does. There have been many age inappropriate children riding recreational vehicles in just Oklahoma in the last year who have been killed. I believe we are going to have to enact new laws that give parents consequences for allowing kids to ride vehicles that have potential danger when they operated without supervision.

Answer 2

That is so tragic. I have a six year old son and 4 year old daughter and I constantly check on them when they are playing outside. I have a rule that they must answer me after the first time that I call them or they will be punished. I would never leave my son alone to ride on a go-cart, that is just crazy! My son has a dirt bike and is not permitted to ride unless my husband or I are there to supervise. The parents of this child are probably going through a very bad time and the fact that they are going to live with what happened to their daughter for the rest of their lives is a big punishment in itself. I think that the situation should be investigated and if they are known for neglecting their children then they should receive additional punishment.

Answer 3

NO .... they just lost their child...... but it should be an example for other parents to watch their kids more. You don't really know those parents. They could have been bad parents and that is why this happened OR great parents that let their child play outside....... like many of us do...... my mother had 13 children (all hers) we had go-carts, 4 wheelers, bikes, skateboards and everything ells that can become dangerous. and we would go out all day with out seeing my mother........ many things happened... and our mother loved us very much....... putting them in jail, arresting them for negligence is not the answer, believe me they have learned....... there child is dead!! Think about it....... they will spend their whole life pondering about their child's dead.....they already have a life sentence. Leave them alone and just be carefully.

ps you must be a city mom....... i lived in the country all my life on many many acres....... as small as 3 and 4 I ran around those acres playing in trees and swimming in ponds. People that live on acres of land live a LOT different than city folk......... I can understand not alowing it in a city.... that is where i live now with my 2 children... but when we go to Grandmas house my children run wild in the forests, on the acres my mother has.... yes with a swimming pond....... 4-wheeler that they all take turns driving and riding..... (my children are 4 and 6 ) my son loves the pond and the 4- wheeler..... things happen...... we have to be carefull but show some compastion for these parents.... what if your child drowned in the bath while you grabbed the phone............and that could be in one second..... a child of 6 takes in ONE breath of water will be dead in a sec. We all have to be carefull.........

Answer 4

Yes, accidents happen, but there are so many times (like this one) when it simply could have been avoided. My kids have gotten away from me in the mall and at the park, but it's never more than a minute before I notice and start frantically looking for them. In fact, our rule when they play outside is that they have to stay within sight of our house so I can peek outside anytime and find them.

I don't know about charging the parents. I have friends who live out in the country and the go-carts are just kind of part of that for them, and the kids were probably been raised around that. The parents certainly didn't use very good judgment but, unfortunately, that's not a crime.

Answer 5

That is so tragic. One of the many incidents I see or hear about daily. My daughter who will be six in September actually wanted to ride my friends 10 year old sons go-cart on the weekend. She was upset that we didn't allow her, they go pretty fast and thought she was still not ready. Anyhow, Yes they should have been watching her, my kids never play outside alone let alone be out of my sight for 20 minutes. I'm sure they will be living with the guilt for the rest of their lives.

Answer 6

I definitely agree these parents were neglectful for sure. They are paying the price for it for the rest of their lives. So sad for that little girl. She deserved a better life than what she got. They could possibly be charged if they had a history of neglect. I have 3 children and always watch them like a hawk. No 6 year old child should be anywhere near water by themselves, even in a bathtub there should be some supervision. They are stupid parents.

Answer 7

I was brought up in the country when I was little, in my teens my folks moved to a small town and in my late teens they moved to the city. You know, as a parent myself, each kid is different. We don't know all the details. Was she alone or with an older sibling? It's just too sketchy to say, but you can't watch your children 100% of the time and it only takes a little while to drown. I lived near the ocean when my kids were little and taught them as babies to swim. I now live in the city and miss the ocean. They could run and play and I didn't worry because they respected the water.

Oh, and in answer to your common sense question. Sense is not common as in it is part of you automatically and integrally. It is common in that it is taught universally. This is actually less common today as prevously. Look at the computer and computer predators. Who would have considered this 10 years ago. Common knowledge changes with time and location.

Answer 8

No, I don't think that the parents should be arrested for negligence. They'll be punished enough for this for the rest of their lives. They'll be constantly saying what if I did this, or what if I did that. I'll haunt them, and I don't envy that. There is also a chance that the parents never knew she was on the go-cart. Accidents happen all the time, hopefully this will never happen to you. Best of luck......

Answer 9

I agree with you totally! Some parents would rather let their kids run wild because then atleast they are not being bothered and they dont have to spend time with the kids. When kids are THAT young they should always be where your parents can see them! I never let my son out of my sight at that age! Never mind on a go cart! Its so sad and so scary to think she may have other kids!

Answer 10

Who is to say that the little girl took off on the gocart without the parents knowing? They are going trhough enough right now and I'm sure they will be punishing themselves for the rest of their lives. I don't really have much of an answer because I don't know all of the details.