How America Is Neglecting Its Young
Posted by myideas1 on July 2nd, 2008
I once read that all the fur in the world cannot warm a lifetime of coldness. I was young at the time and could not really wrap my brain around such a powerful statement. But now, with the passage of time, being older and wiser, I know exactly what it means.
My 110 year old friend, Dr. Leila Denmark, a legendary pediatrician for more than 70 years in the metro Atlanta area told me once, “The greatest change I’ve seen in my lifetime has been the neglect of little children.” She went on to say that “Children are not getting enough parental guidance, and it’s wrecking this nation. Parenting has gone out of style.”
When it comes to raising children, many career-minded mothers and fathers are not putting their children first. They’re pursuing materialistic goals such as new cars or bigger homes, unfortunately, to the neglect of their children. And these neglected children have become a huge social problem. The proof is on the nightly news and Reality TV.
When I was growing up, I heard of kindergarten, but never day care. My mother always left my sister, brother and me with relatives. Now day care, a place where children subconsciously know that they are not “feeling the love of a REAL parent ” is the order of the day. Not only are these children deprived of attention, they often catch all sorts of illnesses and develop bad habits.
A law firm in North Georgia has earned millions of dollars dealing with issues such as burns, severed fingers, falls, broken bones and even deaths, all in the care of, and sometimes at the hands of a day care provider. Recently, in my neighborhood, a business was closed because someone’s little angel’s arm was broken. The business has reopened under new management.
Yes, I understand there are many single parents who MUST work…but whatever happened to the extended family? I’m all about self-improvement and following your dreams, but must kids suffer or have their lives put at risk daily by strangers who are more interested in GROWING their business–NOT raising your kids?
Trust me, neglected children are more likely to develop into people you hope you never meet, rather than People You Need to Know. It’s time for us to rethink day care and how we rear our children in this country.
“The Spark Plug”
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:05 pm
AMEN, very well said! So many children don’t have parents. They have roommates who pay the bills and occasionally offer some direction. It disgusts me.
July 4th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Your article is so touching, especially of the broken arm of the little one. I couldn’t imagine what sort of suffering this little one has gone through. I would love to do the same to the day care worker who did this, if the child were my own. Now, I can only be sad.
There are so many day care centers nowadays and all are aiming for income purposes. Each caretaker might take care of up to 10 to 20 kids. This is not easy to do. I have an 8 month old baby. Having a home business and taking care of my son is not easy, but with the help of my mother and husband, it can be done. I’m glad my son is with us 24 hours a day — no day care or paid caretaker for him. I would rather send him to my parents’ house than sending him to day care.
July 5th, 2008 at 5:42 am
Reena, I’m very happy that your son is getting the BEST care available — this is what he deserves!
Just recently, on June 7th, a 10th month old girl died after being thrown to the floor at least twice by a 7 year old girl at a Pittsburgh day care facility. The day care provider left briefly to go upstairs to change a diaper, claiming she was not around when it happened. I believe the world has gotten colder when it comes to taking care of little children. As we sometimes see in the news, even with certain relatives, children are still not safe.
Everyone, please be VERY selective about where you LEAVE your children!