While I was working today, I heard a news report on the radio that made me quite upset. Let me preface this by saying I am not a perfect parent by any means. My temper comes out too often and too quickly when I deal with my kids, something I should really work on.
On to the story... There is a search for a missing 13-yr-old girl in the area, which by itself is cause for concern. But wait, it gets worse. Her mother reported her missing yesterday when she didn't hear from her daughter over the weekend. She last saw her daughter on Saturday when she told her mom (brace yourself...) she was going to hitch-hike to a nearby town approx. 50KM away, only about a 25-30 minute drive down the TransCanada highway.
Forget for a moment that the temperatures over the weekend were around -15°C to -20°C (that's 5°F to -5°F for anyone not onboard with Celsius) before the windchill factor, meaning any exposed skin would freeze in about 10-20 minutes. As a parent, what in the freakin' flames of Hades goes through your brain as you let your 13-yr-old daughter hitchhike her way between towns?!? And what was she wearing? According to the police report, she is "believed to be wearing blue or red tights, a red hooded sweatshirt and running shoes." Very appropriate clothing considering the weather.
I look back at my childhood and try to imagine what would've happened if I had just told my parents I was going to hitchhike from Raymond to Magrath (10 min) or even Stirling (5 min), let alone a 30-min drive. I can guarantee that scene would not have ended with me leaving the house.
Well, police now suspect the girl may have run off to Vancouver or Medicine Hat with a teenaged boy. I sure hope her mom had an insanely good reason to let her daughter go out, thinking she was going to hitch hike. I'm also sure it came as a complete surprize to mommy dearest that her little girl is off with a boy. What possesses a parent to let their kids do something so blatantly and asininely stupid? I could be wrong, but I really don't feel there is an excuse under heaven that would justify letting your child out under those conditions.
On to the story... There is a search for a missing 13-yr-old girl in the area, which by itself is cause for concern. But wait, it gets worse. Her mother reported her missing yesterday when she didn't hear from her daughter over the weekend. She last saw her daughter on Saturday when she told her mom (brace yourself...) she was going to hitch-hike to a nearby town approx. 50KM away, only about a 25-30 minute drive down the TransCanada highway.
Forget for a moment that the temperatures over the weekend were around -15°C to -20°C (that's 5°F to -5°F for anyone not onboard with Celsius) before the windchill factor, meaning any exposed skin would freeze in about 10-20 minutes. As a parent, what in the freakin' flames of Hades goes through your brain as you let your 13-yr-old daughter hitchhike her way between towns?!? And what was she wearing? According to the police report, she is "believed to be wearing blue or red tights, a red hooded sweatshirt and running shoes." Very appropriate clothing considering the weather.
I look back at my childhood and try to imagine what would've happened if I had just told my parents I was going to hitchhike from Raymond to Magrath (10 min) or even Stirling (5 min), let alone a 30-min drive. I can guarantee that scene would not have ended with me leaving the house.
Well, police now suspect the girl may have run off to Vancouver or Medicine Hat with a teenaged boy. I sure hope her mom had an insanely good reason to let her daughter go out, thinking she was going to hitch hike. I'm also sure it came as a complete surprize to mommy dearest that her little girl is off with a boy. What possesses a parent to let their kids do something so blatantly and asininely stupid? I could be wrong, but I really don't feel there is an excuse under heaven that would justify letting your child out under those conditions.
1 comment:
I agree with you. Unfortunately I bet it wasn't the first time the girl had been left to her own devices. What a shame.
Post a Comment