Local newscasts lately have been innundating us with updates on the “kidnapping” investigation. For those who didn’t hear, on Wednesday evening, a 6-week old girl was stolen inadvertantly. To all the reports calling the criminal a “kidnapper”, please get your facts straight. This was a car thief who discovered he accidentally stole a baby and realized he did not want to be a kidnapper so quickly dropped the car off and fled. Yes, he stole the car and should be prosecuted. Yes he took items from the purse. But NO, he is not a kidnapper in my eyes.
Furthermore, I have yet to hear any new reports that have placed even an ounce of blame on the mother’s behavior so I would like to call it out.
Do NOT leave your car running in a driveway…that’s just BEGGING to have it STOLEN. Do NOT leave your keys in your car. Do NOT leave your 6 week old baby alone in your car.
And most of all…do not do any of these things AT THE SAME TIME. The mother strapped her baby into the car, left the keys in the car (I suspect the car was running to keep it warm) and then ran back inside “for less than a minute.”
I’m not going to try and argue that the mother was inside for longer than that, but I will again argue that this should NEVER be an acceptable practice.
Drivers…don’t leave your car running and unattended in your driveway to warm up. Sure, it makes for a warm drive…but only if nobody spots the car and decides to take it for a drive first.
Parents…don’t leave your children alone in the car, even for “less than a minute”. I know people who have left their kids in the car for a minute SUPERVISED by someone in their teens or older AND with the doors LOCKED. That is moderately acceptable. But a lone infant, toddler, or elementary school aged child alone in a car is hideously wrong.
To you reporters out there, before I hear another report about the actions of the “kidnapper” (and could we please start calling him a “car theif”), please take a stand and tell EVERYONE to use some common sense with their cars and their children. Or if this really isn’t “common sense”, maybe we should teach people how to keep their belongings and loved ones safe.
–Chris Okelberry–Junior in English
