Thought I would share this. Worth the read. Admittedly, I am also guilty and moving forward, I hope to have a different outlook.

 

Parents, I beg of you, stop blaming and shaming other parents.

35 years ago, a mom shopping in a Sears department store went to go look at lamps, and left her six year old with another group of boys, who were all trying out the new Atari game at a kiosk. That boy’s name was Adam Walsh.

30 years ago, an 18 month old toddler playing in her aunt’s backyard fell into a well. Rescuers worked nonstop for 58 hours, finally freeing “Baby Jessica” from the well.

In both cases a tragedy happened, an unforeseen tragic accident took place which left Adam dead, and a toddler fighting for her life deep underground. But they also have something else in common; they had an entire country of moms and dads supporting the grieving parents.

Let me repeat that, EVERYONE SUPPORTED THE RESCUE EFFORTS WITHOUT BLAME. NO BLAME. None. ZERO.

No questions asked, not one single “Where were the parents?” comment. Just a country of other moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas watching in horror as a set of parents, one of their own, went through the unthinkable. Adam was our son. Jessica was our baby daughter.

THOSE PARENTS WERE US.

Flash forward to 2016, the year of THE PERFECT PARENT.

A two year old boy, splashing in the magical lakefront waters of a Disney Resort, succumbed to the wilds of mother nature. An aggressive alligator scooped him out of the water, right under the watch of his father, who attempted to fight with the alligator to free his baby son. Pure horror. Sheer Terror. Parents who actually had to watch their baby be taken from them, as if they were in some African nature documentary.

A tragic accident. An accident.

I weep for this mother and father. I am sick with anguish for the pain, agony, misery, and regret pulsating through their veins this very second. And I bet you are too.

But not everyone is.

You see, we now live in a time where accidents are not allowed happen. You heard me. Accidents, of any form, in any way, and at any time, well, they just don’t happen anymore.

Why? Because BLAME and SHAME.

Because we have become a nation of BLAMERS and SHAMERS.

And how are accidents allowed to happen if we can’t blame someone? Surely, they can’t, right? I mean, random acts of nature, tragedies, and fateful life changing events that take place in a matter of nanoseconds cannot possibly take place if everyone is being a responsible parent, right? NOPE.

They can’t, because this country and its population of perfect pitchfork carrying mothers and fathers sitting behind keyboards needs to accuse. They NEED TO BLAME, to disparage, to criticize in every way and at every corner, the parenting of another.

And when do they really get to lick their blaming chops? When a tragic accident happens. That’s when the pouncing is at its freshest, when raw emotion and ignorance collide, and they dig their word claws in, and take hold of whatever grace these grieving mothers and fathers have left in their souls.

And then they tear it out.

Listen to me very clearly perfect parents, VERY CLEARLY.

I’ve had enough of scrolling through comment threads and seeing over and over again questions like “Where were the parents?” and thoughts like, “This is what happens when you don’t watch your kids."

I have one question for the blaming and shaming moms and dads. You know the ones who immediately blame the parents, the ones who go on the internet and type comments like, “This is nothing but neglect by the parents,” and “They should have known better. Who was watching that little boy?” and my favorite, “I would never let that happen to my kid.”

Here is my question,

Have you ever been to a child’s funeral before?

I have.

The funeral of a child is an event in life that you never, ever want to experience.

Now let me ask you another question.

In the coming week these parents will fly back to their home in Nebraska without one of their children. They will leave a vacation resort, packing up his Buzz Lightyear pajamas and his favorite blanket, and they will make an excruciatingly difficult journey home. A journey that they never in a million years thought they would be making.

They will meet with a funeral director, pick out a tiny casket, a tiny burial suit, and surrounded by family, they will bury their baby boy.

And they will suffer every single day for the rest of their lives.

At the funeral for this two year old boy who died in front of his parents, can you do me a favor? Can you walk up to the mother and say the words that you just typed out last week? Can you? Can you greet her, hug her, shake the father’s hand and then say, “ Who was watching that little boy? You should have known better. I would never let that happen to MY child.”

Can you do that for me? I mean, you felt those words so deeply in your heart and soul that you typed them for a million people to read. Certainly you can say it straight to the faces of the people you meant it for, right?

Here, let me help you.

Put away your pitchfork for a moment and try this.

To the mother and father who went for a walk on vacation for the last time with their little boy, I am deeply sorry that you had to experience the worst kind of tragedy possible, an accident. I grieve with you. Your baby was my baby. Your son was my son. I have nothing but love for you, love to help you get though the pain yesterday, today, and for what is gonna seem like a thousand tomorrows. I wrap my thoughts and prayers around your aching heart and soul. May God in some miraculous way bring peace to you and your family.

That is what you say. THAT. And just THAT.

Stop the blaming.

Stop the shaming.

In their darkest hours, can we please just LOVE other parents. Please?

It's easy to cast aspersions on others especially in hindsight and ESPECIALLY when you are not a parent.

It's easy to cast aspersions on others especially in hindsight and ESPECIALLY when you are not a parent.

 

That didn't take long.

That didn't take long.

 

Truth

 

It's like me saying what an officer should do in the heat of the battle. Easy for me to say despite me not having any training nor ever being in the middle of a situation. It doesn't stop me from doing it but I never fail to remember that "I have no clue what I would have done...."

That didn't take long.

 

Yep. It's such a weak cop-out.

 

I wonder how many people who give their opinions about music have ever done it for a living? If I were you, I'd discount every one of their opinions because they aren't musicians.

Truth

 

It's like me saying what an officer should do in the heat of the battle. Easy for me to say despite me not having any training nor ever being in the middle of a situation. It doesn't stop me from doing it but I never fail to remember that "I have no clue what I would have done...."

 

If someone spends a lot of time caring for kids, regardless of whose kids they are, they can understand what being a parent is about, to an extent. Doesn't have to be YOUR kid. In fact I'd argue that you may be more cautions with someone else's kid. I've done it, and I know plenty of others who deal with kids on a regular basis, enough to know what it means to have children out in public.

 

The idea that just because someone doesn't have kids means they don't know what they are talking about in regards to child care is tired, and frankly not true in some cases.

I blame social media. We're a society of knee-jerk experts now.

I blame social media. We're a society of knee-jerk experts now.

 

I can absolutely agree with that.

Yep. It's such a weak cop-out.

 

I wonder how many people who give their opinions about music have ever done it for a living? If I were you, I'd discount every one of their opinions because they aren't musicians.

 

Good lord. Parenting isn't an art. Terrible analogy.

Good lord. Parenting isn't an art. Terrible analogy.

 

It's a fine analogy. Just because you haven't done it, doesn't mean your opinion on the topic is somehow invalid. Saying that is simply saying, "I've got nothing, so I'm going to attack the person giving the opinion".

Most accidents are caused by negligence

If someone spends a lot of time caring for kids, regardless of whose kids they are, they can understand what being a parent is about, to an extent. Doesn't have to be YOUR kid. In fact I'd argue that you may be more cautions with someone else's kid. I've done it, and I know plenty of others who deal with kids on a regular basis, enough to know what it means to have children out in public.

 

The idea that just because someone doesn't have kids means they don't know what they are talking about in regards to child care is tired, and frankly not true in some cases.

 

I'll only partly agree with your point.

 

If you have had the responsibility of watching kids then you certainly have gotten a taste of the challenge. However, it doesn't mean you "get it." I babysat kids when I was a teenager. I watched them like a hawk b/c it was my job and it was all I had to do. My sole responsibility.

 

It in no way was CLOSE to being an actual parent. Using my police example I gave before it would be the equivalent of classroom training for how to handle a hostile criminal. It's not real world.

 

But I certainly get why you believe what you believe. I and every other parent in the world once thought the same thing. We then became parents and laughed at how far off we were.

Most accidents are caused by negligence

 

By definition, yes. Most wouldn't argue that.

By definition, yes. Most wouldn't argue that.

 

Kinda kills the theory they are just accidents doesnt it?

I'll only partly agree with your point.

 

If you have had the responsibility of watching kids then you certainly have gotten a taste of the challenge. However, it doesn't mean you "get it." I babysat kids when I was a teenager. I watched them like a hawk b/c it was my job and it was all I had to do. My sole responsibility.

 

It in no way was CLOSE to being an actual parent. Using my police example I gave before it would be the equivalent of classroom training for how to handle a hostile criminal. It's not real world.

 

But I certainly get why you believe what you believe. I and every other parent in the world once thought the same thing. We then became parents and laughed at how far off we were.

 

I'm not sure how you taking your kid to the zoo and me taking your kid to the zoo could be that different in terms of "real world." You'd have to explain that to me.

 

I'd guess that with me, your kid would try things that they know they can't get away with when Dad is there, so I'd argue it would be tougher for me.