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Forget pacifiers or little bottles of Gerber food, mom and dad. If you really want to keep your wee ones quiet, take a page out of Calvin Hayes' book.
Hayes, 34, left his daughters -- ages 1 and 2 -- alone in his filthy old Honda in North Philly Tuesday night while he and two lady friends tried to rob a Sunoco station. While Hayes predictably got tied up with the cops for awhile, his daughter rummaged through his trash-strewn car and found -- surprise! -- a bag of marijuana.
When Officer Regina Aviles looked through the back window of Hayes' car, she found his youngest daughter chewing on the weed-filled plastic bag. Hayes was arrested and charged with child endangerment and related offenses after he admitted to having purchased the marijuana with the full intent of smoking it (as opposed to, say, burying it in a time capsule in his backyard.)
A couple things about this story stick in my craw. Hayes, for starters, appears to have all but shrugged off the job of being a positive and responsible role model for his kids. In addition to his gas station antics from earlier this week, he's also facing charges of false imprisonment and simple assault from a year-old case, and has prior assault convictions. So there's that.
But it was also disturbing to hear about the condition of the kids and the car they were all but abandoned in. The girls had soiled diapers, no shoes or socks -- with no hint that any clean diapers were nearby. Half-eaten food, empty wrappers and other trash littered the car, and there was only one car seat -- and that wasn't even functional. Two innocent kids, living a Third World life inside a Honda Passport. 
I can deal with our city being populated with idiots who willingly commit crimes, take drugs and otherwise put themselves in a situation to either be jailed, murdered or both. But I'm always deeply saddened when this job puts me face-to-face with children who are obviously -- and sometimes dangerously -- being neglected.
Parenting is, without a doubt, a tough job (as evidenced by the stray gray hairs popping up on my head and the alarmingly high number of people who say, "God, Dave, you really look like s*** today, you know?"). But I'm a firm believer that when you bring a little person into this world, you're obligated to at least cover the basics: keep 'em happy, healthy, clean and safe, teach them right from wrong, and be a positive force in their daily lives.
If you can't adhere to those basic principles, you probably shouldn't be having kids. You sure as hell shouldn't be given any additional chances to risk their lives.
Comments (7149)
Hey David,
Horrible story about the children. You wonder who messed up in awarding custody to that idiot. Seems like a clusterf@!#. Anyway, just remember that we'll be seeing those kids in a few years in the public schools. I don't want to guarantee that they'll be problem children, but the odds are stacked against them. I mean, how is one supposed to grow up in those situations?
Honestly, something has to be done to stop these parents from completely screwing over their children. I was reading about the Bloomberg plan in NY. That parents would be paid for looking after their child's best interest. Sounds like a decent system to reward proper behavior, instead of just a consistent handout no matter what you do. Hopefully Nutter took away some good ideas from his visit.
Either that, or just have someone sign a document when they go on welfare that they promise not to have anymore children. Or else they lose their welfare rights. If you're on welfare, then you are not in a financial situation to care for your children right? I know it sounds harsh, but isn't there any resentment by honest, hard working citizens that actually make financial sacrifices to reproduce? I know I'll catch alot of flak for that, and it's a huge blanket statement here, but there is an entrenched welfare institution in most of the city. And, I don't think it's doing anyone any good. Especially the poor. Handouts with no expectations is flat out irresponsible.
Big stretch!
Posted by gtown_teach | August 31, 2007 9:49 AM
Posted on August 31, 2007 09:49
gtown_teach, about getting flak for your statement, I am on welfare and i have a child, I totally agree with you. I would never want to put another child in that situation. It IS very hard. If anyone has a problem with it, just remember, from my bias, I still agree. There is no position that would defend the opposing view. If there was, that would be my position, and I do not believe I would be justified in having another child. That being said, please forgive any spelling errors on my part.
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