Not exactly born I guess but at the age of 9 that is just beyond me. Do you think the sentence was too strict, too lenient? Are we attacking the wrong problem by simply locking the mother up? Or is a mother who would do that certainly unfit to be raising a child?
I remember reading about Robert Downey JR and how his parents did more of less the same thing to him, and how he has struggled with drug addiction his entire life because of it.
edited for spelling
[ August 17, 2006, 04:47 PM: Message edited by: BlackBlade ]
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
quote: a mother who would do that certainly unfit to be raiding a child?
Raising, yes, definatel unfit.
Raiding, no, kind of expect it.
Posted by Diana Bailey (Member # 8313) on :
Just yesterday, one of my favorite young clients told me about her memories of her father teaching her how to roll joints when she was four or five years old. Her father, who is in prison for murder, told me, the court appointed GAL, that he saw nothing wrong with introducing drugs to his daughter. This included cocaine as well as marijuana. I have had other parents of the children I represent do much the same...drug use is introduced before the age of ten. The most odious mother I've dealt with thought it was humorous to watch her young daughter "act crazy" after smoking the remains of her cigs laced with PCP. There are many people who make pretty poor parents...but some of the kids manage to survive, make lives for themselves, and forgive their parents. These children inspire me every day.
Posted by cmc (Member # 9549) on :
There's a member of my extended family who was first introduced to intravenous heroin use by her mother when she was 15. It's just tragic. She's been in and out of jail for as long as I can remember (currently in) and has had three children who are either with their respective father's family or wards of the state. It breaks my heart... My only hope is that that cycle stops there and Toga, Zorro and Jellybean grow up learning that there is so much more to life than wasting it away...
One sad thing to me is that a lot of these (not all, but many) instances happen when kids have kids and haven't had enough experience or positive role models in order to live any differently or even to expect that they deserve any better. I'm not making excuses. Drugs are pretty much bad under any circumstance. It just kills me when the 'teacher' knows no other way...
edit: good call, ssasse.
[ August 19, 2006, 02:29 PM: Message edited by: cmc ]
Posted by cmc (Member # 9549) on :
I'm working on my staying-on-track-whilst-posting-on-Hatrack skills, so I guess I should reply to the original questions... I think the mother should be locked up for a while, but while locked up receive some sort of therapy/training/education/something...
She might be a great parent with the right tools... Who knows?
It'd be great if that kid got some positive influence in his life, though, regardless of where or why it comes from.
Posted by ssasse (Member # 9516) on :
(Pssst, cmc ... if those are the boys' real names, you might want to give them pseudonyms, as the combination of those three as brothers is fairly unusual and might serve to identify them. That could be unfortunate for them. )
Posted by Allegra (Member # 6773) on :
Do you think the sentence was too strict, too lenient?
That is a really hard question for me, but I think it is about right. If anything it might be a little lenient.
Are we attacking the wrong problem by simply locking the mother up? I think both the mother and the child will need serious counseling, but it doesn't mean that she does not deserve to be locked up for a while as well. She willingly gave her son something that easily could have killed him, and I think that deserves punishment as well as reabilitation.
Or is a mother who would do that certainly unfit to be raising a child? All signs point to yes, but people are capable of drastic change for the better.
Posted by ssasse (Member # 9516) on :
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