Strollerderby : bad mommy

Laughing All the Way to Jail

Jen Chaney — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 17:26:00 GMT

Remember that California mom who thought it was an awesome idea to give laughing gas to her son and his friends while they ditched school? Well, now she's going to spend six months in jail.

Maria Antonia Mendez pleaded guilty in April to felony child endangerment and three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a child, fancy legal terms for letting your 13-year-old and his pals suck on giggle juice when they're supposed to be in algebra class. Mendez received the jail sentence earlier this week, at which time Judge Dennis McConaghy said he "can't fathom how somebody doesn't realize that's a bad thing to do." Amen, sir.

Actually, wait, there are four circumstances in which I can kinda, sorta fathom why Mendez might have thought this was a good idea, even though it's clearly not:

1. She believed she was the dentist from "Little Shop of Horrors."

2. She and the kids were watching an "According to Jim" marathon and decided nitrous oxide was the only way to make it tolerable.

3. She believed she was Dennis Hopper's character in "Blue Velvet."

4. After singing a round of "If you're happy and you know it, suck some gas," she couldn't resist sharing with everyone.

You Give Me Fever

Adrienne Martini — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 20:30:00 GMT

I am a Bad Mommy. When my kids get sick, I never, ever take their temperature. I'm not even sure that there is a kid-friendly thermometer in my house right now.

It's not that I don't care about their health; it's just that I've never found any of the ear or armpit or temple thermometers all that accurate or effective. This CNN piece on how to take a temp might offer some advice for moms like me -- or give a refresher course to moms who like to know exactly how hot their kid is.

It won't change my approach, however. If either of my kids is lethargic enough to hold an oral thermometer under his or her tongue, then the fever is high. And if they'll remain still enough to have it taken rectally, well, we should already be in the car on the way to the ER.

Photo credit: CNN

Bad Bad Mommy: Elizabeth Edwards' Smack Down

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 19:24:00 GMT

A Silicon Valley Moms blogger had the grave misfortune to imply that Elizabeth Edwards is a terrible mother for taking her kids along on the campaign trail (John Edwards for President!!).

In addition to slamming the Edwards clan for their 28,000 square foot pleasure palace (earned by "ambulance chasing"), Ms. Edwards is called out for dragging her kids along on the campaign trail even though they don't want to go (insert whine).

Elizabeth Edwards doesn't leave self-defense to PR hacks. She responds directly in the comments so articulately the angels of well-spoken mamas everywhere are singing. Here is a portion of her response:

I want to be entirely clear. You don't get to say I am a terrible mother because you think you wouldn't make my choices in my situation. You don't get to say that my children don't want to be with us when you don't know them and when, parenthetically, you know that happy children can be periodically disagreeable.

Take that, you mother criticizers!

[Photo Credit: New York Times]

Worst Mom Ever? U.K. Foster Mom Sick, Sick, Sick

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 00:05:00 GMT

Every once in a while a story comes along about a horrible, abusive parent doing horrible, abusive crap. Kids locked in cages. Kids forced to poop themselves. Kids forced to watch "Dancing with the Stars" over and over and over again.

This story takes the prize as the most horrible, the most abusive ever. Eunice Spry, 62, was convicted on a series of craziness that involved forcing her three foster kids to eat their own vomit, drink bleach and rat poop. That's only the beginning.

The old bag rubbed sand paper on hands and faces and forced one kid's hand onto a hot stove until it was a "gooey mess." One kid was confined to a wheelchair following an accident, and instead of helping the poor child learn to walk again, the old bag kept the kid in the chair to increase her own care payments.

This is one of those cases that highlights the inequity in punishment. Spry doles out this treatment for years and gets what? Jail? I'm all for the kids having a little revenge, starting with a bleach and rat poop cocktail.

(Via: Drudge Report)

How to Sterilize Kid's Toys (How to be a Good Parent)

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 17:13:00 GMT

Okay so we all know the story of the first baby. First Baby (FB) has pretty outfits for every occasion. First Baby is washed, and watched, and pampered, and filmed (various modalities). First Baby is "Baby Makes Three" and nothing NOTHING goes into FB's mouth that isn't first washed, sterilized with distilled water, and kissed with Mommy's tender love.

So then. You have more kids. Life gets more complicated. You get more tired. You get older. You take the binky from the dog's mouth and hand it to the baby. You realize that being a "good parent" is open to interpretation (Thank GOD!!). So this is for those of you who are younger (than me) and have only one child. Everyone else, feel free to look away.

Sterilizing toys helps prevent illness, the spread of germs, and forestalls any free time Mommy might have at the end of the day. To properly sterilize, open the garbage can and throw it in. No really. Anyway, here's what you do if you are serious about killing germs -- soak the offending germ-infested plastic toys in a solution of 3/4 cup bleach in one gallon water. And if you're still reading this, then you are a far better parent than I.