I've been following with morbid curiosity the saga of the Nebraska safe haven law; the way the law was re-written parents to drop off "children" without penalty. "Child," however, was not explicitly defined, so hosts of parents of teenagers have decided after 12+ years that they weren't up to the task of parenting. In anticipation of the law being re-written, more parents are dropping off teenagers to get in before the law changes and abandonment becomes illegal again.
My inner bleeding heart says I can't understand fully the circumstances that would lead parents to such a measure. That said... How does a person raise a child for over twelve years and then one day decide s/he can't do it anymore? That it's become too unmanageable? Children don't become monsters overnight, not even with the onset of maturity. I know teenagers are difficult; even this goody-two-shoes pitched her share of tantrums. But how does a person turn away from a blood relation so many years in the making? Some of the parents dropping kids off drove across quite a few states to do so, a time in which they had ample opportunity to think about their actions. What will that knowledge do to teenagers who were apparently already troubled enough?
It just saddens me.
----------------
Now playing: Jeff Black - Higher Ground
via FoxyTunes
No comments:
Post a Comment