Mother who ‘forced 10-year-old son to walk 5 miles to school faces jail time for endangerment.’ Yeah, we know, if she would have given him a free Safelink cell phone, chicken nuggets and a book of Alinsky quotes she’d be mother of the year.
This post was last modified on February 19, 2012
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OK, my 2 cents.
I lived 1-1/2 miles from my High School and had to walk until I started driving, because bus service wasn't provided if you lived within 2 miles of the school. That walk took me 15 minutes.
If I were that mother, I would have found out what the standard walking distance was and dropped him off there and made him walk. That way he learned a lesson about being on time, and wasn't in any real danger since he would likely be walking with classmates. Then the school would only be able to criticize me for the lunch I packed for him.
My school had the same rule--if you lived less than two miles away, no bus service, you walked. It was why the girls who had to walk to school were slim and ate like horses. Walking 4 miles a day carrying books will work off those school lunches!
That is how it was in Connecticut where I grew up. My grade school was just within the bus range. However, there were a lot of woods where I lived and my friends and I walked the shortcut through the woods to school on nice days and it look less time than riding the bus.
Five mile is a bit much....I'm with you; drop the kid off at the bus limit and let him walk the rest of the way.
I walked to school for 10 years. (The last two I was able to buy a really old car and drive) Grade school was 6 blocks from home, junior high and high school over a mile, try that when it's thirty below with a 20 mile per hour wind.....We dealt with it. If we were lucky someones parent would give us a ride if they happened to be nearby, none of us froze to death or even bitched about it. Now I see people who live two blocks from school load up their kids, block the bus zone or unload the little darlings in the middle of a congested street. ....and If I happened to piss off my parents (which teenagers do) they took my car, and there I am walking again....No cops, no CPS, no gooberment to stick their nose in your business. Nowadays that's all gooberment does. A lot of the calls for service we get are children calling and complaining about their parents. The SCHOOLS teach them this..we show up, the whiney little jerk complains, we explain that you can discipline your child within reason and tell the child to not call 9-1-1 because mommy and daddy won't let her (15) date a 30 year old guy. And then we explain that the 30 year old guy is now on our radar and we are going to actively search for him....This kind of crap is the direct result of a screwed up school system with schools thinking they know better than parents. Child endangerment my ass, it's called punishment, deal with it, learn from it.
While in grammar school, I lived across the street from my school. While in junior high and high school I lived 5 miles away by bus and if I missed the bus I hopped on the ol' Schwinn 10 speed and pedaled my ass off until I got to school. By the time I started junior college I often opted to ride my bike to school...all that long distance running training I guess. I don't ever remember having the school bag on me or my folks because I decided to walk or ride my bike to school. What a bunch of pussies we're raising in this country these days! :-(
Did my share of walking, I used to be known as a "Problem Child".
"Problem Child"
Well, I can't say much. I was always "such a disappointment" until the teenage years came along and then I became "would you look at the little shit"...My mom loves me...she really does...I'm sure of it. ;)
The only time I got a ride to school was when my leg was in plaster. Which just happened to be a big part of my high school years.
“Problem Child”.
Color me shocked. Not! ;)
Just the nannies trying their damndest to "educate" the children of thsoe of us whom they deem so "stupid" The kid got a lesson in being punctual and that their actions have consequnces. Things the public school systme seems so against these days.
What the mother should have done was said she was doing hsi PE seeing that the schools no longer would permit it.
Is it any wonder that there is a large push on for charter schools and parent choices?
As a father of three (now grown) I don't believe a 10 year old child can walk five miles, especially early in the morning. Too, it would probably take the boy two hours to walk that far, two hours of walking along strange streets and busy highways. The punishment is absurd.
Back in the days where disgusting freaks weren't so prevalent in society I would have thought this to be insane. However, considering all the disgusting freaks out there, looking to get a child to do whatever with him or her, I got to say parents need to be careful. The punishment may be harsh, but she should have driven him or else walk with him to the school. The embarrasment of being walked by his Mother to school should help with his tardiness.
Yup, there's lots of weirdos out there to be sure but I don't think a Walmart crip-cart will go 10 miles.
When I was young , we lived out in the country . A few of us were late catching the bus , so we had to walk . I believe it was 7 miles . Taught you not to miss the bus , next time .
It says in the article that he had bus privileges suspended 5 times for yelling . People that are loud ( children , women , others as well ) usually are just trying to get attention . My first thought was where is the dad ? Then I wondered how involved the mom was in her son's life ? The answer for
both are obvious .
On a side note , one of the responces or comments states " Wasn't giving him a name like Nequavion punishment enough ? " My next comment is meant to express both sides of this question . Its more than amazing as to how folks think .
Ummm, well to be frank, that "mother of the year" thing really depends on WHO made those chicken nuggets.
My school was up-hill both directions!
Your's too! I thought that I was the only one. It was awful walking in two feet of snow without shoes. :)
The kid is ten years old, and doesn't have a bicycle?
happens.. i probably had about 5 bikes stolen while growing up
The link is down, but that won't keep me from taking through my hat, or wherever. I'm a father of 6, my youngest is now almost 12. Offhand, it seems to me like that =is= a heluva ways to make a ten year old walk, and depending on exactly what kind of neighborhood or woods or whatever this was happening in, I'd be likely to go slap her around myself.
We're talking a ten year old here, not a teenager.
I think was 10 or 11 when I started walking to middle school, just looked up the old directions, it was about mile and a half, and according to the G, is about a half hour walk, which sounds about right. I usually walked with friends, and we took the shortcut, along the railroad tracks,haha. Safe part of town, too. 5 miles? You're talking an hour and a half easy, 3 hours a day. Sorry folks, that aint right. I'm not sure what appropriate action against the parents might be, maybe thats the only real controversy here, but sorry, in my book this was just wrong.
PS- heh heh, yeah, that's how Psycho this Dad is!
'Likely to go slap her around myself'. God have mercy on your family.
The link is back up.
The kid got suspended from the bus for 5 days because he was late. It was not the first time it had happened. His mom thought that his walking would improve his tardiness. I agree.
His mom is charged with neglect and a possible $1000 fine. WTF! How about the kid face some reality and deal with his actions? Life's a bitch sometimes... then you walk. I applaud the mother's actions. More parents should act this way instead of enabling their kid's laziness.
We wonder why kids are so fat nowadays. They get their fat-asses hauled everywhere and then the fed food-police raid their lunchsacks.
How is it even the mom who is in trouble? She agreed with the Powers That Be that the kid shouldn't ride for a week. That makes HER the bad guy? Why not the Power That Be who ordered the kid banned from the bus in the first place?
Is the message "We'll handle the discipline, you just fund it."?