:eek: FROM WFSB.COM
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Baby Found Wandering Street At Midnight
Mom Arrested After Arriving Home

POSTED: 10:45 pm EST March 1, 2009


BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- A 22-year-old Bridgeport woman has been charged with endangering her two children after her 1-year-old daughter was found wandering the street in front of their home.

A woman driving on Arctic Street just before midnight Saturday night spotted the child in the middle of the road. Police said the toddler was wearing only a T-shirt and a diaper, while temperatures hovered at about the freezing mark.

Police said neighbors showed them where the child lived, and they found a 3-year-old child alone in the apartment.

Christina Gonzalez arrived home about an hour later. She faces two counts each of reckless endangerment and risk of injury to a minor.

The two children have been placed in the custody of the state Department of Children and Families.

There is something that seems to be missing here. How exactly did the 1-
year old girl get out of the house?

There is something that seems to be missing here. How exactly did the 1-
year old girl get out of the house?

That part doesn't really matter, the fact is that these two children should NEVER have been left alone. I don't think their mother deserves to ever get them back! :angryfire

Too many people have children who shouldn't have them :rolleyes: Thank God the little girl is safe.

Jeez, doesn't anyone (who's not from this board) know how to raise children properly?

I like to think the majority of parents know what they're doing. It's just that we only seem to hear about the bad ones.

That part doesn't really matter, the fact is that these two children should NEVER have been left alone. I don't think their mother deserves to ever get them back! :angryfire
Put the kids with a loving family - PLEASE!! :mad:

This story is really sad, but it reminds me of Dave Chapelle's comedy show where he talks about a baby on the corner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvjGHNwr1Nc&feature=related
:lol:

I like to think the majority of parents know what they're doing. It's just that we only seem to hear about the bad ones.
that's true. good parenting never makes the news. if lousy parenting were as common as the media makes it out to be, we would all probably be seeing children wandering the streets at night and drivers breastfeeding their babies on a daily basis.

I've seen the results of some lousy parenting at work, unfortunately.

I've seen the results of some lousy parenting at work, unfortunately.

Could you give me some exmaples?

Could you give me some exmaples?

I'll give you a good example that I see quite frequently. I shop at Goodwill and other thrift stores every week and one the first areas I go to is the toy section. You wouldn't believe the number of parents who drop their kids off there and go about their business in the rest of the store. A few weeks ago I was at Goodwill and there was a little boy probably no more than 3 years old back there by himself without a single adult other than myself in sight. There was a sofa nearby so I sat down and kept my eye on him until an employee or his parents came by. There was no way that I was letting him out of my sight. I was there for almost 20 minutes before his mother finally came and picked him up. When she did, The boy told his mom that I was watching him and she asked me if that was true and I said yes it was. She demanded to know why and threatened to call the police. I said I was watching him because you weren't and this store is full of people that you don't know including myself. I said anyone could've led him out of this store and you probably wouldn't have noticed because it's apparent from the items in your cart that you were too pre-occupied with your shopping. She then tried to tell me that the employees are responsible for kids left at the toy area and I said the employees are not babysitters and you are responsible for your child from the moment you enter the store until you leave. I said if you still want to call the police then go ahead, I'll sit right here on this sofa until they arrive and after we've told them both sides we'll see who get's put in the back of the car. She said Do you have any kids of your own? I said no and she said too bad, You'd make a great parent. I said thank you and she had tears in her eyes and admitted that it was irresponsible of her to leave him there by himself. I told her that it was and then I let her know that a child was grabbed at another Goodwill a few days earlier but was stopped in the parking lot and to be more careful in the future. Unfortunately, This is not the first time it's happened and I dread to see the day that I'll read about a kidnapping at one of these stores because of irresponsible parents.

I'll give you a good example that I see quite frequently. I shop at Goodwill and other thrift stores every week and one the first areas I go to is the toy section. You wouldn't believe the number of parents who drop their kids off there and go about their business in the rest of the store. A few weeks ago I was at Goodwill and there was a little boy probably no more than 3 years old back there by himself without a single adult other than myself in sight. There was a sofa nearby so I sat down and kept my eye on him until an employee or his parents came by. There was no way that I was letting him out of my sight. I was there for almost 20 minutes before his mother finally came and picked him up. When she did, The boy told his mom that I was watching him and she asked me if that was true and I said yes it was. She demanded to know why and threatened to call the police. I said I was watching him because you weren't and this store is full of people that you don't know including myself. I said anyone could've led him out of this store and you probably wouldn't have noticed because it's apparent from the items in your cart that you were too pre-occupied with your shopping. She then tried to tell me that the employees are responsible for kids left at the toy area and I said the employees are not babysitters and you are responsible for your child from the moment you enter the store until you leave. I said if you still want to call the police then go ahead, I'll sit right here on this sofa until they arrive and after we've told them both sides we'll see who get's put in the back of the car. She said Do you have any kids of your own? I said no and she said too bad, You'd make a great parent. I said thank you and she had tears in her eyes and admitted that it was irresponsible of her to leave him there by himself. I told her that it was and then I let her know that a child was grabbed at another Goodwill a few days earlier but was stopped in the parking lot and to be more careful in the future. Unfortunately, This is not the first time it's happened and I dread to see the day that I'll read about a kidnapping at one of these stores because of irresponsible parents.

Good story. I am glad the mother realized that she was wrong.

Charles, I've seen parents do that too, not just in the toy department, but places like the grocery store and library and even in parking lots. It would be nice to just let kids be kids and run around unsupervized, but the sad reality is, you just can't. I know people who won't even let their kids play in the back yard unattended. I'm glad that woman realized she was wrong.

Some of my students have parents who just plain can't be bothered with them and that really saddens me. They won't read with their kids, help them with homework, or just spend quality time with them. They don't show up for meetings with the teacher or anything. They're so caught up with their own lives, they don't notice the child. Then, there are the violent, abusive parents. One of my students and his mom were recently threatened by his father at knifepoint. Another girl's father is in jail for doing drugs and assaulting another man. All I can do is offer these children love and support and pray for them daily.

Charles, I've seen parents do that too, not just in the toy department, but places like the grocery store and library and even in parking lots. It would be nice to just let kids be kids and run around unsupervized, but the sad reality is, you just can't. I know people who won't even let their kids play in the back yard unattended.

And why not? There can't be THAT many crazies running around!

And why not? There can't be THAT many crazies running around!

The world is full of crazies, The sad fact is that you never know who or where they are.

The world is full of crazies, The sad fact is that you never know who or where they are.

Charles, the world has ALWAYS been full of crazies! That never stopped me from being a kid!

Charles, the world has ALWAYS been full of crazies! That never stopped me from being a kid!

Agreed but in the 60's & 70's you rarely heard about kidnappings, molestations etc... I'm not saying they didn't happen, They just didn't always make the six O'Clock news unlike today where it seems like everytime you turn around another child is kidnapped or goes missing. It never stopped me from being a kid either. When I was in first grade, I could walk nearly a mile to school and back home without any fear at all but now in this day and time I wouldn't dare allow a kid of mine to do that. I also realize that news coverage wasn't as widespread as it is today, We had 3 local newscasts and 3 national ones but I don't recall many cases being reported about and our family rarely missed the news.

Agreed but in the 60's & 70's you rarely heard about kidnappings, molestations etc... I'm not saying they didn't happen, They just didn't always make the six O'Clock news unlike today where it seems like everytime you turn around another child is kidnapped or goes missing. It never stopped me from being a kid either. When I was in first grade, I could walk nearly a mile to school and back home without any fear at all but now in this day and time I wouldn't dare allow a kid of mine to do that. I also realize that news coverage wasn't as widespread as it is today, We had 3 local newscasts and 3 national ones but I don't recall many cases being reported about and our family rarely missed the news.


Once again, I agree with you, Charles. We had 4 local and 3 national newscasts when I was a kid. And my family NEVER missed a newscast. There were a lot of things that happened back in the '60s and '70s that you didn't hear about back then but you would hear about today. Back then, it was about journalistic respect - today it's about sensationalism, fear and shock.

Would I let my kid go one mile to school by him/herself? Yes, but where I live (suburban Chicago) it's not really done these days - everyone seems to take school buses. I must see at least 6 or 7 buses taking kids to school every day - and that's just during my 15 minute commute to the train station! To me, one of the most important things a parent can teach a child is how to not be afraid of anything - unless it's warranted.