Mum of the Year Award Goes To... (Long, Stupidly Stupidly Long)

[Lace Neil Singer]

The child was running around unsupervised and biting.

Now we know why Luis Surez bites people. It's all down to poor parenting. XD

I hate the "You don't have children so you know nothing!" people. It's only the crap parents who come out with that line, and they only do so cuz they have no excuse for being shitty parents. My line usually is, "Actually, I know more than you despite that. Tragic, really." Or the less lyrical but equally satisfying, "Oh, bugger off you stupid cow."

[XCashier]

I'm expecting a few kids/pets left in car calls this Summer. We just had our first 39C/102F day here. It was bloody horrible, and we've already had one lady try and leave her dachshund in her car.
It's always the same excuse.

"I'll only be a few minutes!"

We get that over here, too. It was especially horrible in Phoenix, when temperatures could get over 120 F (48 C, if I did the conversion correctly). People were always leaving children, pets or feeble elderly relatives locked in hot cars parked in the sun, and far too often they died or suffered severe brain damage and heat sickness. It happened every year, despite daily pleas from newscasters not to do so.

Even in cooler northern climates, temperatures can get uncomfortably hot in a parked car in the sun. Parking in the shade or leaving the windows down doesn't always help either.

[Tama]

I think they said that this stuff can even happen at only 70F (that being the outdoors temp)!

[wolfie]

Love the absolute hypocrisy in that one too. I'm expecting a few kids/pets left in car calls this Summer. We just had our first 39C/102F day here. It was bloody horrible, and we've already had one lady try and leave her dachshund in her car.
It's always the same excuse.

"I'll only be a few minutes!"

If the police, after opening the car to rescue the kids/pet/granny, decided that it was necessary to take the offender into custody, locked them in the cruiser with the engine (and therefore the climate control) off while interviewing witnesses/photographing the scene/etc., you can probably imagine the shitstorm that Internal Affairs would raise (and the complaints of police brutality).

Would it be evil if someone, after seeing the authorities release the "locked in a hot/cold car" victims, put an advertising flyer for an APU (device to keep a truck sleeper warm/cool without idling the engine) under the offender's windshield wiper?

[Lace Neil Singer]

At the petrol station, we once called the police on someone doing just that. At first, we just thought that some cretin was illegally parking on the forecourt so I went over to put a nasty letter on the windscreen, only to see a dog laid out on the back seat. The dog looked dead, save for an occasional eye flicker. This was a boiling hot summer's day; we had the air con turned all the way up in the store. I ran back to the kiosk and the manager, on hearing what the situation was, decided to call the police.

When they arrived, with an RSPCA inspector in tow, they smashed the back window open so that the dog, who was in some distress, could be removed and taken away by the RSPCA inspector for emergency treatment. The police stayed at the scene til the clueless owners arrived. They were immediately arrested for animal cruelty and also for assault, as the man decided that the best way to deal with the situation was to punch one of the policemen.

[Latekin]

They were immediately arrested for animal cruelty and also for assault, as the man decided that the best way to deal with the situation was to punch one of the policemen.

The idiots guide to solving problems:

1. Punch things until the problem goes away.

[eltf177]

I remember a number of CRML's pub customers had the same idea - punching out the cop was an ideal solution to avoid getting arrested. And it never worked.

I always figured alcohol was a major factor in this decision process but now I'm not so sure...

[wolfie]

Anyone else here play "Airline Tycoon"? One of the security consultants you can hire has the qualification "Is very thick and believes you can break a sound barrier by punching it with force".

[sms001]

YOU'RE NOT A PARENT YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND!"

Wow! That struck a chord, with parents and non-parents alike.

I kind of like "No, but I've never had puppies either, yet I've raised dogs who behave better than your children" as a response.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Yeah, it's horrible when the kids are used as weapons. We ran into that with my wife's ex. Once, after his weekend with the kids, they came home and asked "why does Mom want Dad's money?" We explained how it wasn't Mom that wanted it, but them - and as their father, he should pay his fair share of raising them. They said, "but why, since Mom's now married to you?" To that, I offered to adopt them, but that would mean that their father would no longer be their father - and that no one wants that.

Our kids understood what we told them. Sounds like this lady's kids never will.

My dad experienced the opposite with his wife's ex hubby- Ex-hubby wouldn't help pay for the girl he and my stepmom had together, so Stepmom took him to court for back child support.

Judge gave the ex two choices: 1) pay up the back child support ASAP or 2) sign over his parental rights to my Dad.

So instead of paying the 10,000 or so he owed, that sorry ex reportedly asked the judge where could he sign. jawdrop:

And that was how my Dad adopted my stepmom's daughter. Which in hindsight made sense, seeing as Dad had been in her life since she was 4 years old.

But yeah, those poor kids in the OP I suspect are being used as pawns. I can only see their future as being very bleak indeed unless their Dad is actually able to get custody of them.

[mhkohne]

My dad experienced the opposite with his wife's ex hubby- Ex-hubby wouldn't help pay for the girl he and my stepmom had together, so Stepmom took him to court for back child support.

That is both horrifying and lovely. And while the money would have been useful, I bet getting ex out of the picture was long term healthier.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

That is both horrifying and lovely. And while the money would have been useful, I bet getting ex out of the picture was long term healthier.

From what I learned last year after we ended up spending Christmas with Dad and stepmom (we had lost electricity and we had cold weather setting in) it was probably best in the long run for my half sister.

From what my Mom learned (from my stepmom at that) the ex-hubby was abusive and they separated when the half sister was 3 weeks old. Apparently he didn't want responsibility, but considering the abuse, he did the child and my stepmom a HUGE favor.

When my Dad met her, she was a 20 somethng single mom, the little girl was 4 years old. She had just turned 6 when they married and Dad was the one who was helping to provide her w/roof over her head/toys/clothes/groceries/girl scout uniforms/singing lessons/tutoring help/etc that he never did for either me or my brother. Funny how a man can't be a father to his OWN children but will go way above and beyond for someone else's? But I digress.

All that aside, and from what little I recall of the ex (I met him once or twice the first summer Dad and stepmom were married. He was making a token effort to see the child and there was an incident where one of Grandaddy's hunting dogs bit the ex-hubby on the hand. Go Daisy!! I recall one of stepmom's girlfriends running in the back door of the house, screaming that Daisy had bitten the ex hubby. Stepmom, who was in the kitchen prepping steaks for a cookout later that evening, offered to cook a steak for the dog. Nobody gave a shit about the ex's hand. But in the end he was okay. Dog was fine - she checked negative for rabies.)

But yeah, families are definitely something else.

[Sliceanddice]

huh ive never had some one say you dont have kids so you dont know what its like... if they did im a very good liar. and pudgy.
'i actually have 3 and i am pregnant with my 4th.'

[KuariKaydrith]

I remember an incident back from my days in management at a fabric store: a woman came in with her young daughter in tow, and the daughter was being an abusive little brat and calling her mother all sorts of names. When they came to the cutting table I was at I looked the little girl in the eyes and asked how could she kiss her mother with that mouth, and that if she was mine I'd spank her right there. The mother stared at me and did a very good impression of a fish gasping for air. I told the mother that it would be a frosty Friday in Hell before I let my own child speak to me like that, especially in public. She tried the whole 'How dare you? You obviously don't have any children of your own!' but a couple of my employees chimed in with 'Yes, she does, and he is such a delightful and polite boy.' One even told the mother that she would be ashamed to be seen in public with a child like the daughter.

When things like this happen when I'm out shopping with my son I generally don't hold back, and when the inevitable 'You don't have kids' line my son comes out with 'Yes, she does - she's my mom, and if I acted like that I would have had a very sore ass.'