mommy mommy roll down the window

So some poor little kid got locked in a car all day again, and died. Grandma, who had custody, claimed that "she forgot".

Yeah, right, whatever.

That afternoon, KCBS interviewed the president of "Kids 'N Cars" about what happened. He said something lame about using a big teddy bear to remind you that your kid is in the kiddie seat.

It seems like everyone's ignoring the real issue: these parents aren't leaving kids in cars because they're forgetful. They're doing it on purpose because they can't afford child care.

Grandma above won't admit that, of course, because if she did it on purpose she's guilty of a felony, whereas if it was a mistake she's just dumb. It made me so angry that none of the coverage I saw (and admittedly, KCBS and the Chronicle are hardly shining examples of hard-hitting journalism) even suggested that there might have been another reason. She'd just been given custody two weeks previously; not surprising that she didn't have her life organized enough to deal with the kid yet.

Several good friends of mine have had kids recently. The idea that a loving parent could forget about their kid just boggles my mind.

Posted by dpassage at August 25, 2002 08:22 PM