Absolutely unacceptable. Someone should have taken her children from her then and there. Clearly she was raised by incompetent parents and she, herself, must be unable to figure out the diaper thing for herself. Or decipher nutrition labels to properly nourish those poor, deprived children? How will she ever be able to make decisions about curfew and education and activities? Maybe we should set up a national hotline of trained educators to make those important parenting decisions for us. Leave it to the professionals.
We're too incompetent.
I'd love to see a child in a single parent home in the ghetto be home-schooled! Give me a break, have you actually looked around you? Those government-funded institutions you speak of are the only place some kids have to go. Yes, it's sad, but where are these kids going to hear about Jesus when Christian parents keep ripping their kids out of the school system and putting them in private schools or home schools? It is sad that our country has come to this state. But the answer is not to retreat from it and hide! The answer is to teach our children to get out there and serve others just as Christ did. The Church is too busy living in its "bubble" and not taking care of it and that's why some people suggest the government do something.
Dana, forget the hotline - let's just turn them over at birth. Geesh, can't you think like a socialist?
Kate did you see this post about Frank, who homeschooled in the wilderness with his daughter for four years? You gotta read his story.
http://spunkyhomeschool.blogspot...rs-to-
rest.html
My favourite line in the article is just after she laments that no-one had taught her to change nappies. She says straight away that she felt fortunate to have her mother nearby!
She was completely oblivious to the link!
Oh, and Kate, the answer to others bad parenting is not to throw our own children to the wolves - it's to provide family to family support, just like scripture tells us to, not to hand the responsibility over to a state that is already far too big for its boots.
Wouldn't it be nice if the church actually looked after those ghetto kids and their families, instead of expecting the social to do it?
ps. thanks for the link Spunky 
Finally a statist who has opened their mouth and stated their mind! I have been waiting to see when this topic would be brought out in the open. In this country our "betters" still lack the guts to state these ideas in front of everyone. The pre-school movement shows it won't stay that way for long.
So how many years before one will need a license to become a parent?
cheers
If this lady and those who think like her get their way, it won't be long.
Oh, I suppose I could try to relive my communist days, but that wouldn't be pretty.
Besides, even most socialists want to be able to check their kids out once in awhile, even if it is only for 19 minutes at a time.
For the rest of us, you're probably right. A hotline wouldn't work. We need more supervision to make sure we're doing things right. How about special interviews with homeschooled children in the doctor's office? Or maybe just a video camera in every household? We have them in daycares, after all. And they have more training than the average parent.
I've said before on my blog that eventually we'll just give our children over at birth and check them out like library books. This way the state will know where they are, who their with, and if they're not returned in good condition they can fine the parents. It's the perfect solution.
People think I am falling prey to extreme thinking, but with mandatory preschool and the like taking hold, it won't be long before mothers are told to hand over Johnny once he is cut from the cord.
Folks, I know I am singing to the choir here, but *YOU are the parent, not the state. (When necessary)- say it loudly.
Wouldn't it be nice if the church actually looked after those ghetto kids and their families, instead of expecting the social to do it?
Amen Libby. Amen.
Kim,
While not mandatory, the programs already exist. It is called Even Start and begins with infants as young as 6 weeks. Going to "school."
Oh, and includes parenting classes and all that that this young woman so desperately wanted. Some of the goals are noteworthy, but I question the source. This is a job of local community organizations and especially churches, not government.
http://www.evenstart.org/
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