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I happen to catch the first 15 mins of Oprah the other day when she was on. I never watch tv at this time, so it was a fluke I saw the show....
I really don't know how I feel about this woman. She kept talking about how wonderful the teachers were who found her daughter & helped her through the first several minutes. She still seemed very consumed by her work.
I cannot judge her nor do I have any right. Her life has forever been changed & I am sure she lives in a hell none of us can even remotely start to understand.
I just couldn't get her & after 15 mins turned off the tv. It was too hard to watch & at times, I wasn't sure if Brenda Slbvy was yet at a point she should be on tv.
It had my attention for the first few minutes until she said she did it on other occasions because the child was sleeping. So what if the child is sleeping? You wake her up and take her inside! That is when I turned off the show.
I hate to admit this, but in Wisconsin it is near impossible to get kids taken away from abusive parents. I work in the city and have daily contact with many families, some of which take care of their kids, and some who don't. Of the ones who don't , a referral is sent to social services & I have yet to see one child removed. Of the scenarios that have been reported:
1. 2 year old boy witnessed his Father doing drugs in front of him and engaging in sex with woman "friend". Same boy witnessed his Father push his pregnant Mother down a flight of stairs. Same boy is routinely left by Mother for extended periods of time in company of alcoholic ex-con (babysitter). Boy called names and hit by Mother routinely.
2. 3 year old girl witnessed her Grandma try to stab her father. Child often put in room for extended periods of time (hours) and ignored. Same girl dirty and hungry - her Mother dressed her in soiled clothes and the girl was hungry most times in my presence. Mother hit child if child did not comply immediately with commands.
3. 6 year old girl choked by Mother & told she will beat her and nothing social services can do about it. Mother proceeded to call girl names and hit her in the face.
4. 1 year old boy has constant impetigo. He is dirty, in soiled clothes, with scabbing from Impetigo that does not heal. Boy is constantly sick. Boy is underweight & upon inspection, Mother only had fruit punch and partially eaten sub sandwich in fridge. House is filthy. Mother left 2 other older children outside while she went to visit with a friend.
5. Mother has dirty house. Her fridge for a family of 5 kids is a mini fridge and the kids are often hungry. The Mother takes the daughter's SSI check and spends it on drugs. Mother sells drugs out of apartment and is on probation for stabbing a woman. Mother supposed to take anger management classes, but doen't follow instructions of probation officer. Mother has 11 year old daughter stay home from school to care for newborn boy while Mother "kicks it" with friends. 11 year old daughter writes poem about her "bad mother".
I cringe when I hear stories of children who are neglected, abused and killed as a result of injury or neglect at the hand of a parent. The problem is that no one wants to stand up for these kids & go against these parents. Sometimes, the parent(s) is/are violent and threaten the social worker. I know that we have to do a better job for these kids - especially in Wisconsin. We are failing our kids here and allowing their parents to go without charges. How can anything change if we don't hold parents accountable for their actions & give these kids a chance at a "normal" loving family?
Why is this allowed to go on and the children are NOT removed and the parents are not charged with NEGLECT?
I know foster care is hardly a step up, but they have to answer to more people than bio parents.
This makes me want to be a foster parent but i have to have a room all alone and they can't share with my child (i have heard it's a rule) so i can't do it.
This is just heartbreaking.
Quote:
Originally Posted by independent thinker
I hate to admit this, but in Wisconsin it is near impossible to get kids taken away from abusive parents. I work in the city and have daily contact with many families, some of which take care of their kids, and some who don't. Of the ones who don't , a referral is sent to social services & I have yet to see one child removed. Of the scenarios that have been reported:
1. 2 year old boy witnessed his Father doing drugs in front of him and engaging in sex with woman "friend". Same boy witnessed his Father push his pregnant Mother down a flight of stairs. Same boy is routinely left by Mother for extended periods of time in company of alcoholic ex-con (babysitter). Boy called names and hit by Mother routinely.
2. 3 year old girl witnessed her Grandma try to stab her father. Child often put in room for extended periods of time (hours) and ignored. Same girl dirty and hungry - her Mother dressed her in soiled clothes and the girl was hungry most times in my presence. Mother hit child if child did not comply immediately with commands.
3. 6 year old girl choked by Mother & told she will beat her and nothing social services can do about it. Mother proceeded to call girl names and hit her in the face.
4. 1 year old boy has constant impetigo. He is dirty, in soiled clothes, with scabbing from Impetigo that does not heal. Boy is constantly sick. Boy is underweight & upon inspection, Mother only had fruit punch and partially eaten sub sandwich in fridge. House is filthy. Mother left 2 other older children outside while she went to visit with a friend.
5. Mother has dirty house. Her fridge for a family of 5 kids is a mini fridge and the kids are often hungry. The Mother takes the daughter's SSI check and spends it on drugs. Mother sells drugs out of apartment and is on probation for stabbing a woman. Mother supposed to take anger management classes, but doen't follow instructions of probation officer. Mother has 11 year old daughter stay home from school to care for newborn boy while Mother "kicks it" with friends. 11 year old daughter writes poem about her "bad mother".
I cringe when I hear stories of children who are neglected, abused and killed as a result of injury or neglect at the hand of a parent. The problem is that no one wants to stand up for these kids & go against these parents. Sometimes, the parent(s) is/are violent and threaten the social worker. I know that we have to do a better job for these kids - especially in Wisconsin. We are failing our kids here and allowing their parents to go without charges. How can anything change if we don't hold parents accountable for their actions & give these kids a chance at a "normal" loving family?
I think one of my biggest questions in all these situations is.....don't these people have any family or friends who step in? I ask this because I have a 19 year old daughter who became pregnant while she was a teen. My grandson is now 15 months old. Even though she seems to be an excellent mom, I pay close attention to make sure he looks well taken care of and there are no irregularities...not because I am spying on her or don't trust her, but because I love him enough to feel it is my place as his Grandmother to assure he is in a safe environment and has what he needs in life. My daughter is still young and is in the learning process. If I even suspected he was anything less than safe....I would discuss my concerns with her and make appropriate decisions.
I would think the families of these totally incompetent parents would step in.
I just don't understand how people forget their child in the car. Even when my children were infants sleeping I always managed to remember I had a child in the car. I just don't get it Part of me thinks some of these parents do it on purpose
Update III: WLWT-TV (Channel 5 in Cincinnati) has obtained a copy of the police report and it says that this wasn't the first time Brenda Slaby left her now dead 2 year-old in the car. (story link)
BATAVIA, Ohio -- A police report indicates that Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby left her 2-year-old daughter alone in a car on previous occasions prior to the girl's death.
News 5's Brian Hamrick said the Union Township police report on Cecelia Slaby's death said that Nesselroad-Slaby left the girl in a car on "numerous occasions", including at least once in the week prior to the girl's death.
Hamrick said that the report indicates that investigators talked to current and former workers and discovered that Nesselroad-Slaby left the girl in the car while she was at the Compass School in Mason.
Hamrick said that some of the reports were documented, while others were not.
I just don't understand how people forget their child in the car. Even when my children were infants sleeping I always managed to remember I had a child in the car. I just don't get it Part of me thinks some of these parents do it on purpose
I was on my way to work once and realized I hadn't dropped my son off at daycare. I had just gotten on the freeway a few blocks past the sitter's neighborhood, like I normally did. I was so wrapped up in thinking about work. The realization that he was still in the car scared the daylights out of me, and for several weeks I was paranoid (for lack of a better word) about it. I'd glance in the backseat four or five times everywhere I went, worried that he was still back there.
If there was documentation, why didn't the authorities get involved before this child died?
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