Should parental stupidity be classed as abuse?

Should parental stupidity be classed as abuse?


Mother leaves baby to play computer game in an internet cafe, Father leaves toddler to hunt in the forest.

How stupid can that be when parents risk their children's lives to carry out their trivial pursuits?

In New Zealand, the family law stipulates that I am not allowed to leave my eleven year old son alone in the house. Remember the popular "Home Alone" movies which made child actor Macaulay Culkin famous? If I do, the Child Youth and Family courts will charge me with child neglect and abuse and take my son to foster care. I can't wait for him to turn fourteen when I can leave him at home.


However, many people just abuse the system either they think the law is a farce or it is stupid. A young mother left her young baby in her car in the blazing summer heat, to play computer games in an internet cafe. The screaming baby attracted the attention of passerbies. A good samaritan smashed the car window to rescue the poor baby. Such stupidity should definietly be classified as abuse.

This week, a father went hunting in the forest. He left his five year old daughter to baby sit his two year old toddler in his car parked at the road at the edge of the forest.

After two hours of trigger happy hunting in the bush, he came back to find his toddler gone and couldn't be found despite his calling for him. There was no cell phone coverage so he had to drive off to use his phone and raise the alarm.

It took about thirty people, with police dogs to scour the forest at 5 pm to look for the toddler. It was a large scale search and rescue operation because it had been raining. The poor kid was wearing only a T-shirt, a pair of trousers and gum boots. It may be summer now, but the weather can be very cold in the rain. The poor child could die of hypothermia and he had nothing to eat nor drink from the afternoon.

He was found about 11.40pm, not far from where his father's car had been parked. The search had taken almost six hours.

One can only imagine how relieved he and his wife were to find the boy. The police is not saying whether to charge him.

Yes, this father's stupidity should be classed as abuse and be charged.

So was the wife, where was she when the man drove off with the two little children to go hunting in the forest.