Yes Swisschick!
I dont care if I have something most people do not - you still dont leave 2 children that young alone!! Let alone in tub?!?!

Sorry, I stand by frusion and facebooker09. She was on her second child. Obviously a 2-year old is a hand full so let's have another.

Being overwhelmed isn't really the same thing as something being a "drag".

facebooker09, if you have one night a week with a grandparent you have something most do not. Leaving infants alone in a tub to watch TV is reprehensible and no one seriously disputes that. But spudbooker has it right. Being a parent is tough and sorry Swisschick, but no one understands how tough until they have kids. It's great if some people think interacting with infants 24/7 is the greatest joy on earth and more power to them. I have noticed however that the parents who love spending all their time with infants and preschoolers don't always make the best companions to their older kids. People are all better with different kids at different stages and those who are really in a state of zen happiness spending all their time with infants and doing nothing else are quite possiby not always the most intellectually gifted people in the world, so the world may suffer if they are the only ones who have kids. For people who actually like to interact with other adults, having young kids takes a lot of time and patience, and denying that only contributes to this fantasy that new parents are sold that having kids isn't hard work but rather a wonderful la-la-land where nothing is ever difficult. If you want to convince people who aren't ready for it not to have kids, then don't pretend it's all lullabies and sweet dreams and no crying and fussing.

I was a single parent with no financial or other support from the father it was tough. At times, I asked myself what I was thinking, am I doing the right thing. Especially when people all around me would say being a single mother means your children will end up in trouble or worthless. That being said, my children are now both adults doing well.

There were times when I thought I couldn’t do it; I thought just end it give them up and go die somewhere. I did not I made it. Did this woman in anyway do the responsible thing NO.

Having children is not a right it is a gift and it is the hardest most rewarding job, but it is a big responsibility that you have to deal with for the rest of your life not just till they are 18.

Maybe we should have a course and a permit to pass before having children, I do not have the answers but we need to take care of the children and the parents in order for them both to be healthy happy and loved.

Have I felt overwhelmed? YES Have I ever thought that taking care of my kid was a "drag" ?? HECK NO! It has been an amazing gift!
Have I wanted to get out and do kidless stuff? Yes. My kids have one night a week with Grandparents, good for them and good for us. I would NEVER leave andy child in the tub for any ammount of time at all!!! Im thinking if she said hey 2 year old watch your 7month old sibling while I go watch TV - that there is probably something wrong with her. Normal people dont do that!

Frusion-Nowhere in her statement did Spudbeach say that she ever wished she were not a parent. She only pointed out what every parent has felt at some point and that is OVERWHELMED. And she suggested that every parent needs a break which in my opinion is essential to being a good parent. That said, I think Spudbeach was placing the blame on the wrong issue. I think anyone that would leave two babies in a bathtub unattended to go watch a TV program is inherently self-centered and whether or not she had ever had children would have lived her life accordingly. She's that person that chooses to drink and drive and kill an innocent bystander, or the one that talks on her cell phone going 80 miles an hour on the freeway because she's "late for work and didn't mean to run down the guy" on the side of the road repaving, or the neighbor with the vicious dog with a history of biting that repeatedly runs loose and finally rips the face off a five year old. I think you get my point. Until/unless that woman is made to realize that the rest of the people in this world are just as important as she is she has no right to be included in our free society.

If you can't "deal" with them - then don't have them.

Not looking down on you spudbeach. I'm only stating how I feel. My kids are teens now and although they are a lot of work, not for a second have I ever wished I was not their parent. Sorry you feel guilty.

To Frusion and Rooster:
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You never, ever, ever had a second in your life that you wished you didn't have a 24 hour a day 18 year commitment that couldn't be delayed or worked around?
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Never?
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Well then get on up to heaven, because you must be an angel.
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Real people have feelings, and feelings can be nasty at times. What we should do and what we want to do are not always the same. Do you think people want to be fat? No, they just ate poorly and didn't exercise (what they wanted to do) rather than ate right and exercise (what the should have done). Do you think people want to be uneducated? No, they just goofed off (what they wanted to do) instead of paid attention (what they should have done). Do you think people want to get pregnant at 16? No, they just want to have sex (what they wanted to do) rather than wait for contraception or maturity (what they should do).
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In this story, a mother did what she wanted to do (watch TV and socialize) rather than what she should have done (watch her kids). The fact that she did what she did resulted in a tragedy. The fact that she wanted to socialize without the kids is just something that most normal parents want to do.
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To imply that parents should either be perfect or be castrated is unrealistic and harmful. You can't deal with a feeling without acknowledging it exists. As with teenage sexuality, ignoring it, pretending it doesn't exist, or insisting that "good boys/girls don't" just makes it worse, with more pregnancies and more messed up lives.
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To help parents, we need to acknowledge that being a parent is hard. We need to educate new parents on how to _safely_ find a way of getting some time off, from a night at grandma's to a drop-in parenting center all the way up to giving up the kids for adoption.
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Yes, this mother is evil, and should be punished. But, what are we going to do to help stop this from happening again? Parenting classes in high school, counseling after birth in the hospital, drop in visits from nurses at three months? All of those are better than just saying "everybody who isn't perfect is evil".
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So, Frusen and Rooster, what can you say to help people, rather than just looking down on the 98+% of parents who don't measure up to your lofty standards?

Taking care of a baby is a drag.... I've heard it all now. I had to read that a couple of times to make sure I was reading what I was reading. I've taken care of 5 babies and I will go to my grave by saying there is no greater gift I have ever been given than to take care of my babies.

I feel bad for the surviving 2 year old.

Taking care of babies is a gift that should be taken with honer and respect! You are caring for another human life.
Someone should put her in water and maybe make it so she cant swim or get out, and leave to go watch TV....
She should get put away for life and never see her other child again! Im not one to say take the kid away but in this case YES!

excuse me! taking care of an infant is a drag? i see a woman that shouldn't be haveing babies.

Being a parent, I have my sympathies and my damnation for this woman.

My sympathies, because I understand that taking care of little babies is a drag. Being there all the time, saying "no, no, no" without a real adult to talk to, and feeling unappreciated is tough. Yes, parenting is hard work, and yes, sometimes you've gotta have a break.

Damnation, because I recognize that taking care of kids is important. If you stop and tell yourself that there is nothing more important than taking care of your kids and nothing you'd rather do, you won't take a break.

I guess this woman understands how important it is now too.

r u serious she left her 7mnth old with a 2yr old?? wow she shouldnt be allowed to procreate anymore!!

There goes the "Mother of the Year" award. So close, so close!

Just plain stupid!!!!!!

What is wrong with these people?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?