By Gary Dickson —
I have been seeing evidence of what appears to be a trend, perhaps an epidemic, across America involving young mothers who seem to consider their child or children as an impediment to the lifestyle they want to lead. Part of the problem is that society has changed dramatically over the past several decades. Statistics show us that as of 2009 more than half of the children born in the United States to women younger than 30 have an unmarried mother. The institution of marriage is crumbling before our eyes, but that is a topic for another column.
Many of the children of today”s young mothers have a dad at home. It just happens that he is not married to the child”s mother. I believe the major problem is coming from a large number of cases involving young mothers where there is no father in the household. In many of these situations in which the mother is single, she still enjoys the nightlife scene. In these situations the child often becomes an obstacle for the mother. Take, for instance, Casey Anthony. The jury told us she was innocent of the crime of murdering her daughter, Caylee Marie. But, there was no question that Casey was an unfit mother. Any mother who would use drugs to put her child to sleep for hours while she went out to party is not someone who should have a child under her care.
Ever since the Casey Anthony case, I have been noticing other news stories about young mothers who have neglected or abused their child in some fashion. You don”t have to look carefully; they are in the news all of the time.
Earlier this week I was in Wichita, Kan. visiting my father. One evening on the television news there was story about a 21-year-old woman who pulled her car into her driveway, got out and opened the back door to take her 2-year-old son out of his car seat and to her shock, he wasn”t there. She got back in her car and retraced her route. She found her child in the arms of a stranger a mile and a half away from her house.
The story went that the child unbuckled his car seat safety belt, opened the car door and fell out of the moving car, all without the knowledge of his mother. It seemed unbelievable to me, but I suppose if the mother was listening to loud music or talking on her cell phone, it is possible that she could remained oblivious to what happened. The mother was later arrested and charged with child endangerment. Not paying attention to a child is one thing, but most of us parents find it inconceivable for a mother to intentionally harm her own child, yet it happens more than most of us think. Annually, more than 200 children die in this country at the hands of their own mother, according to the American Anthropological Association. And according to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report on Child Maltreatment, a biological mother is three times more likely to harm the child than the biological father is.
Regardless of whether a child is hurt because of stupidity or out of cruelty I hate the thought of an innocent and defenseless child being hurt. It seems obvious that far too many young women are having children when they are not emotionally and financially prepared to handle the huge responsibility that goes along with being a mother. Everyone would be better off if childbearing was delayed until the woman reaches a maturity level in which nothing is more important than the welfare and upbringing of her child. Of course, it would also be helpful if there is a stable relationship, preferably one that involves wedding rings, between the mother and father. Too many young men and women are taking the responsibility of parenting much too lightly.
Gary Dickson is the publisher of the Record-Bee. Call him at 263-5636, ext. 24. Email him at gdickson@record-bee.com.
