By: attagirl on 11/20/09
This was a horrible accident caused by carelessness, not an intentional act of child abuse. I feel sorry for this mother.

By: aeckfam on 11/20/09
It was reckless...and reckless behavior which ends in harm is still illegal. I don't have much sympathy. She is lucky her child survived. How do you not physically SEE your baby for an hour after getting home? I understand allowing the older child to help bring the baby in on occasions... but when you are done putting your groceries or McDonalds down on the counter, do you not go and check? And where was the baby while she was in the tanning bed? Did she put the kid and baby in the room with her while she tanned or were they left in the car then too?

By: attagirl on 11/20/09
Her older daughter is 15. I would assume if they went to the tanning bed, that the 15 year old watched the baby while mom tanned. Nothing wrong with that. Yes, it was reckless and it resulted in harm to the child. Like I said, it was a horrible accident.

I believe that our jails and courts should be reserved for those who do intentional harm, not those who make horrible mistakes.

By: Farmall on 11/20/09
So how is the baby now, did it sustain any injuries or side affects from the boiling it endured?

By: driveguy on 11/20/09
Farmall,
It is my understanding that most affects of overheating may not show up for months or years when this occurs in an infant. They are in development stages with internal organs and brain tissue at this age and could cause severe long term damage or none at all.

Attagirl,
I don't think we should as parent's ever assume anything with a 15 year old. It is indeed a horrible mistake but also, punishable by law. When we become parent's, we do so with a knowledge of the law when it comes to our children. Indeed this law is written to safeguard all children. Our jails and courts are not just for those that do intentional harm, we must use them as a deterent also, much to learn for young parent's in this story and if it was not against the law then no knowledge would be gleened from it because we would never hear about it.

By: aeckfam on 11/20/09
So attagirl,

A person gets behind the wheel drunk thinking they are fine...Your mom, dad, daughter, or son gets killed when that driver hits them. Terrible accident. You don't want them in jail? What is the difference? Both actions are illegal. Both actions are reckless. And neither person intended to cause harm. Sorry, but these people who are RECKLESS with the lives of others deserve to be in jail. Life is precious and this woman needs to learn a lesson!

By: aeckfam on 11/20/09
And you missed my point about the tanning bed- I assumed that the 15 yr old was watching the baby too...but where? Did she leave them in the car unattended?? That question was my point.

By: Murfmom on 11/21/09
I don't know exactly what was going on lately with this family, but 5 or 6 years ago when her 12 year old son was in 1st or 2nd grade he would come to our house as late as 8:30 and 9:00 at night on his bike to see my son who he was friends with at school. We lived about a half mile away and on a fairly busy road. When I opened the door, I was shocked to see him that late at night. He assured me his Mom knew he came and the first time she said she didn't know where he was but after that she said "Yea I told him it was okay and he can ride his bike home." I told her it wasn't very safe to ride on our road during the day let alone at night. Needless to say, I took him and his bike home in the car. At that time, it was just him and his older sister and I never saw any other wrongdoing.