I first read the story about a mother who left her 2 children aged 1 & 4 in a car on an 88 degree day in South Carolina via an AP report. As is typical of AP (by necessity most times), it was a very top level report. I had to know more. I found a detailed article here.
My first response is fury with the mother. What the HELL was she thinking??????? But upon stepping back, maybe she was thinking “Well, it’s 3pm now, the sun will go down soon, and it will be a little cooler then, plus, the kids will go to sleep, if I can get through this shift making barely minimum wage, then maybe we can have dinner for the rest of the week and I can by diapers, but if I call in, they’ll fire me and then we’ll be out on the street. So, it is stay in the car for a few hours or live there for months. Hmmmmm, what to do, what to do.” Desperation can talk you in to doing things you otherwise would never consider.
Everyone must be held accountable for their actions, and this ranks up there with COMPLETE STUPIDITY, don’t get me wrong. But if the woman is working a 3-11 shift and living in an extended stay hotel, then, my guess she probably doesn’t hold an MBA, and quite possibly, she is struggling to make the ends come within the same zip code never mind meet. The availability of affordable, flexible childcare in this country is a HUGE problem.
One that has dire consequences.
Peace be with you Triniti and Shawn.
