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MILLS: Let’s be kind to children
On a recent trip to Shreveport, I was sitting in the car waiting for my husband to return from a fastfood restaurant with our sandwiches. A car parked beside ours and a young mother jumped the car while talking loudly on a cell phone. She unstrapped a small child from a car seat while still raging on the cell phone. Full Story
Comments
By Daniel Owen
July 20, 2008 11:25 AM | Link to this
Sitting in the car stunned and confused was not a very good reaction to an incident that was significant enough to be written about in a column. Writing about the incident and others like it is a very good first step, but action would have been more apropriate. Most of American will agree something has to be done about the problem, but how many will step up to the plate and do something? Not very many. There are ways each of us can do our part. We can become advocates for abused children. We can offer a neighbor who appears to be flustered and frustrated with their child respite by taking the child or children for an afternoon, or evening so the adult can get away for a while and have some alone time. In the not too distant past, this was done by the parent’s extended family, but these are not as extensive as in the past. Neighbors, church members, those who care can all help. If you can’t do this, become a foster parent. If you don’t have the space or the time, become a C.A.S.A. (Court Assigned Special Advocate) volunteer. There are numerous places a person could help the situation besides sitting stunned and confused. Think of how stunned the child was and how confused it was by his mother’s actions with other adults watching and doing nothing. This was one more nail in the coffin of trust that child has recieved due to confusion and stunning sideliners.