Universal, subsidized child Day care - scandinavian style

C

Cypress

Well-known member
Children die in Hot car, while mother works a double-shift

HANAHAN, South Carolina (AP) -- Sametta Heyward was in a bind. The single mother was scheduled to start a double shift at 3 p.m., and her baby sitter had just canceled.

"She was either told to come to work or be fired, or she was afraid to call in sick -- one of those things," said police Lt. Michael Fowler.

She made it to her job at a county-run group home July 29, a typically warm summer day. After eight hours, she called a supervisor and said she had to leave because of child-care issues.

According to her employer, she didn't tell the supervisor or a co-worker that for all that time, she had left her 1-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son in her Chevy Cavalier hatchback, parked on a residential street.

She had left Triniti and Shawn with battery-powered fans, food and drinks, but it was not nearly enough to combat the sweltering conditions inside. She later told relatives that when she got to the car at 11:30 p.m., the children were unconscious and had weak pulse

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/04/toddlers.carolina.ap/index.html
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This is a good example of why we should have universal, affordable subsidized day care for infants and children. So parents don't have to choose between being fired, or taking care of their children. In countries like Sweden, Norway, France and Denmark they don't even bother to debate whether they should have universal, subsidized day care for everyone - rich and poor. Its not even an issue. Its just an integral part of their nation's child policies. The only debate they have, is how to make it better.

This shouldn't even be debatable. Tossing out cries and protestations of "socialism" doesn't even cut it here. Making sure children - all children - have universal access to affordable, quality, subsidized or free day care, should be a no-brainer.
 
Cypress said:
This is a good example of why we should have universal, affordable subsidized day care for infants and children. So parents don't have to choose between being fired, or taking care of their children. In countries like Sweden, Norway, France and Denmark they don't even bother to debate whether they should have universal, subsidized day care for everyone - rich and poor. Its not even an issue. Its just an integral part of their nation's child policies. The only debate they have, is how to make it better.

This shouldn't even be debatable. Tossing out cries and protestations of "socialism" doesn't even cut it here. Making sure children - all children - have universal access to affordable, quality, subsidized or free day care, should be a no-brainer.
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Please, there is no excuse to leave two kids in a sweltering car. Government run healthcare is not going to stop some idiot from doing that.
 
Cypress said:
This is a good example of why we should have universal, affordable subsidized day care for infants and children. So parents don't have to choose between being fired, or taking care of their children. In countries like Sweden, Norway, France and Denmark they don't even bother to debate whether they should have universal, subsidized day care for everyone - rich and poor. Its not even an issue. Its just an integral part of their nation's child policies. The only debate they have, is how to make it better.

This shouldn't even be debatable. Tossing out cries and protestations of "socialism" doesn't even cut it here. Making sure children - all children - have universal access to affordable, quality, subsidized or free day care, should be a no-brainer.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argumentum_ad_populum
 
cawacko said:
Please, there is no excuse to leave two kids in a sweltering car. Government run healthcare is not going to stop some idiot from doing that.
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I didn't say she wasn't stupid.

I said we need to make it easy and affordable for ALL americans to have easy, quality access to day care, so they don't have to choose between jobs and children.

I take it you would be against universal, subsidized child day care
 
How does she feed the kids if she is fired ? Yeah she made a stupid decision, but most of us do not understand what is is like to live poor. Truely poor with no mommy and daddy to go live with or anyone to help....
 
One of my concepts has been to have govt funded day cares for the working poor and hire some of the qualifed poor to work there.
 
uscitizen said:
How does she feed the kids if she is fired ? Yeah she made a stupid decision, but most of us do not understand what is is like to live poor. Truely poor with no mommy and daddy to go live with or anyone to help....
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Thank you. Obviously, it was a stupid decision. Desparate people do stupid things sometimes. She was threatened with being fired if she didn't come to work.

I think you've got a brilliant idea on how to both give employment to the poor, and take care of american children.
 
I emailed all my federal representatives on this a few years ago, but they are almost all Republicans....
 
Cypress said:
Thank you. Obviously, it was a stupid decision. Desparate people do stupid things sometimes. She was threatened with being fired if she didn't come to work.

I think you've got a brilliant idea on how to both give employment to the poor, and take care of american children.
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yeah. I actually feel very bad for her. normally I have very little tolerance for people like this, but it seems like she really was trying to do right for her kids. She just made a very very stupid decision. I think employers should really be encouraged to have on the job the daycare. The bottom line is it wouldn't have happened if she had some place to take her kids while she was at work.
 
LadyT said:
yeah. I actually feel very bad for her. normally I have very little tolerance for people like this, but it seems like she really was trying to do right for her kids. She just made a very very stupid decision. I think employers should really be encouraged to have on the job the daycare. The bottom line is it wouldn't have happened if she had some place to take her kids while she was at work.
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bingo
 
Sorry I got no sympathy for some dummy leaving her kids in the car all day long. Everyone knows they will die.
 
Blackflag said:
Sorry I got no sympathy for some dummy leaving her kids in the car all day long. Everyone knows they will die.
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it was dumb. No doubt. But we've all made dumb decisions. We're just fortunate the outcome wasn't this grave.
 
Umm ever driven while drinking with children in the car ? Excessive speeding, , let them ride ATV's without helmets, Ride in the back of a pickup truck, etc Many endanger their children, most are lucky.
Not trying to defend the lady, just explain that she is not alone in child endangerment.
 
Blackflag said:
I've made dumb decisions but never life threatening ones regarding my children.
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I just don't think throwing the book at her is going to accomplish anything here. The article didn't indicate a history of abuse other than this episode it doesn't appear that she was this grossly negligent before. It was clearly an accident that she has full responsibility for and will undoubtedly be punished for. No matter how long she's jailed, it won't compare to the obvious pain she is in now.

The next step as Cypress is insinuating is to figure out how to avoid unfortunate situations like this. She wasn't one of those moms that went to a club in hte middle of night, she was going to work. She couldn't afford to get fired.
 
uscitizen said:
Umm ever driven while drinking with children in the car ? Excessive speeding, , let them ride ATV's without helmets, etc Many endanger their children, most are lucky.
Not trying to defend the lady, just explain that she is not alone in child endangerment.
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Exactly. I don't want to make it seem okay, but she's not a monster.
 
LadyT said:
I just don't think throwing the book at her is going to accomplish anything here. The article didn't indicate a history of abuse other than this episode it doesn't appear that she was this grossly negligent before. It was clearly an accident that she has full responsibility for and will undoubtedly be punished for. No matter how long she's jailed, it won't compare to the obvious pain she is in now.

The next step as Cypress is insinuating is to figure out how to avoid unfortunate situations like this. She wasn't one of those moms that went to a club in hte middle of night, she was going to work. She couldn't afford to get fired.
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It sounds as if she is heartbreakingly stupid, but she seemed to have made some pathetic attempts by leaving water and fans.

I hope her boss feels good today.
 
Blackflag said:
I've made dumb decisions but never life threatening ones regarding my children.
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Have a heart, man.

Sure, it was a dumb decision. But, she obviously intended no malice, and gave them a fan to try to keep cool.

Desparate people sometimes make desparate decisons. I haven't walked in her shoes - and throwing her in jail doesn't make a lick of sense to me.
 
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