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July 29, 2005 You have only got to pick up your local newspaper these days to read about the death of children at the hands of their moms. Perhaps this is an "old" malady with new theatrics. Moms leaving their children in cars that reach summer temperatures of over 104 degrees. Moms putting their kids in the trunks of their car because the car is too crowded for another passenger. A mom letting her 4-year old out on the beltway in the middle of the night because he was misbehaving in the car. And the mom, who bound her 6-year old's hands and feet, gagged him and put him a tub of water. Try as I might to be sympathetic to the plight of today's moms who I deem as overworked, overstressed and continually underpaid, I cannot for the life of me understand why a mother or her friends or family can not see what's coming down the road. Is there no help for mothers who are in desperate need of counseling so that they can cope with whatever life has to offer before the children have to suffer too? Can't we as a society be willing to step in where necessary to help mothers who are just too fragile to handle the day-to-day stresses of raising children (along with so many other stresses)? Where are the fathers of these poor children? Children are the innocent victims of today's complicated world. They don't ask to be brought into this world nor are they allowed to pick their mothers or fathers. They too have to deal with what is given to them. And, in some cases, what they are given isn't nearly enough. We have a society of too many single mothers. We have a society of too many deadbeat fathers. We have a society coping with things we have no control over either like war and terrorism. But the children should not have to carry our burdens. Who moms who kill their children, whether through oversight or on purpose love their children? Do these mothers even know what love is? Who taught them to be mothers? It certainly wasn't the modeling that they saw from their parents. Do we teach single moms how to handle all the responsibilities that they will face--work, finances, and childrearing? When the reality of life becomes too hard to handle, rational thinking appears to go by the wayside. Raising children is a difficult challenge even in the best of circumstances. It takes money, patience, skill, support and feeling good about you. If you dislike yourself, it is likely that you also dislike your children. Loving yourself gives your children at least a fighting chance to be loved. So what's the answer society? Taking children away from their mothers is not the answer for these mothers will probably have more children one day. Locking these moms away in prison isn't the answer either for we know that prisons do not fix anyone. Society, along with a child's school personnel, need to be on the watch for problems with moms and the effect that these problems have on the children. We need to offer moms counseling, parenting education and coping skills before we read about them in our newspapers. ------------ About the author: Beverly has a B.S. in Behavioral and Social Sciences and a M.S. in Clinical Counseling. She works for the U.S. Department of Education. Beverly is also working on some creative endeavors. Email: bstern101@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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