Drunk Babysitter Serves as a Reminder

Photo of Woman Throwing Up in a Toilet

There’s a certain feeling of safety with the knowledge that your children are home with a babysitter. After all, most parents are very cautious about the people they entrust the lives of their children with, so they have in a way earned that security blanket.

Except sometimes that’s not enough.

From WMUR:

An Exeter [New Hampshire] baby sitter has been arrested and accused of being drunk while baby-sitting, police said.

Julie Reid, 30, was charged Wednesday with six counts of endangering the welfare of a child for the incident on Sept. 9.

Police said Reid was drunk while taking care of six children, ages 3 to 12, at a home in Exeter.

One of the children called police at about 9:50 p.m. that night.

This reminds me of why I don’t leave my seven-year-old with anyone other than my parents or siblings. My tendency to inherently mistrust people is not always a good thing, but it’s times like this that I’m glad for it.

In a country where the majority of companies give piss tests to make sure that the Wal-Mart cashier isn’t toking up on off-hours and anyone working in a public …

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Vampires in Texas?

Photo of "Vampire" Lyle Bensley

Between Twilight and True Blood, vampires seem to be all the rage these days.  The humanization of a heretofore stereotypically evil creature has been an interest societal twist.

Unless you want to consider that real vampires are running amok out there … and in Texas, of all places.

From WMUR:

Police arrested a man who they say broke into a woman’s apartment and bit her on the neck, claiming to be a vampire.

Investigators said Lyle Bensley used his foot to break the door down and get …

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California Teen Avoids Heavy Sentence in Matricide by Pinning the Blame On Boyfriend

Photo of Accused Murderers Steven Colver and Tylar Witt
There’s no doubt about it, the mother/daughter dynamic can be tough.  Words and actions can be easily misconstrued—on both sides—and it can ultimately lead to a lot of pain and heartache.

And, evidently, murder.

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In 2009, Joanne Witt of California was brutally stabbed to death in a plot hatched by her daughter Tylar, then just fourteen years old, and Tylar’s 19-year-old boyfriend, Steven Colver.

Seems Ms. Witt had the audacity to go to the police and file a statutory rape claim against Colver, now twenty-one, giving authorities Tylar’s diary as evidence.

Tylar Witt clearly felt that matricide was a just reward for her …

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Dog Crap On a Doorstep: Why Parents Can’t Be “Friends” With Their Young Teens

Photo of Dog Poop with Pick Up Poop Sign

I have a theory on the proverbial “problem with kids today”, the gist being that parents have this desire to be “friends” with their kids instead of flexing the parental muscle when necessary.  Not taking your role as a parent (which encompasses everything from advisor to counselor to prison guard) seriously can have detrimental results on a child.

Look, I don’t think I’m Supermom or anything.  My kids eat McDonald’s for dinner at least once a week and watch way too much television and grumble about doing chores and have an urge to procrastinate (can’t imagine where they got that one from) and so on and so forth.

This guy I know started dating a woman with two daughters around the same age as my eldest.  Sexually active from a young age, dabbling in drugs, physically abusive toward their mother, juvenile court dates, rude, abrasive, the whole package.

He was over one day helping move furniture, and my daughter spent hours assisting him, then sat down and chilled with us for awhile.  Politely.  Respectfully.

Then asked to be excused to go practice her bassoon (no band camp comments, please).

With tears in his eyes, this guy asked me why my sixteen-year-old was so well-behaved when his girlfriend’s girls were like something out of a bad movie.

“Because I’m like a prison guard,” I replied.  I was serious, too.

I know where that kid is at all times and who she’s with.  I’m the weird mother that calls the house if she’s at a party to make sure adult …

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