Mom faces charges for girl on C.R. 473

Lake County deputy sheriffs say they arrested a Leesburg mother on child-neglect charges after finding her 5-year-old daughter pushing a bicycle along County Road 473, a busy five-lane road.

[Rocko the Magnificent]

Another tragic example of the fabric of society unraveling. If mothers will not properly care for their children, who will? Putting your 14-year-old daughter in charge of two younger siblings does not pass as parenting. I pray that this is a wake-up call to this mother and, instead of losing her children and going to jail, she resolves to become a better mother and to better care for her children. Absentee parents, such as this mother, are a very large contributing factor to teen pregnancy, teen drug use, the school drop out rate and a whole host of social ills that we are trying so hard to combat.

[Old Timer]

Rocko the Magnificent wrote:

Another tragic example of the fabric of society unraveling. If mothers will not properly care for their children, who will? Putting your 14-year-old daughter in charge of two younger siblings does not pass as parenting. I pray that this is a wake-up call to this mother and, instead of losing her children and going to jail, she resolves to become a better mother and to better care for her children. Absentee parents, such as this mother, are a very large contributing factor to teen pregnancy, teen drug use, the school drop out rate and a whole host of social ills that we are trying so hard to combat.

Fathers are parents too. Where is the father in all of this?

[orlando native]

With the world it is today, both parents have to work. To makes ends meet.

[Just_One_Voice]

Nice mugshots you've got there mom... Hope your ready to deal with all the hassles of having the DCF crawling up your backside with a micrscope. Please get some therapy/rehab while you've got the chance to make things right in your life.

[Brian]

White trash mom's just can't give up the cocaine.

[dads selling the cocaine]

That's right he's not mentioned b/c he's most likely worse than she is. Doesn't give a damn about his own kids and leaves town. Happens all the time, unfortunately the kids suffer at home and we as tax payers feed the "parents" in jail. All because of that high she just has to have. It makes you loose sense of what really matters in one's life.

[Delusionole]

orlando native wrote:

With the world it is today, both parents have to work. To makes ends meet.

I guess actually having a plan was beyond the crack induced mindset. Idiot.

[HeadonStr8]

Oh my God! Putting a fourteen year old in charge of getting sisters five and seven to PreK and school? And the state just cut 4C help as of May 1st!!! Either this woman is stupid for doing this continually or is recently desperate in trying to maintain her family. What's the deal here? Any more info?

[are you kidding]

When I first read this article I was feeling sympathetic. It is had to find good childcare then it cost so much. As a single parent I struggle with the childcare issue myself. I don't qualify for food stamps and sometimes the food buget is very small to pay for childcare. However I then pulled up the moms arrest record. This is her 3rd arrest the first 2 for DUI then this one and she was in possesion of cocaine. I would say she has a substance abuse problem. Acohol and cocaine aren't cheap. Give that up and pay for child care. Did she forget she told the 14 year old she could stay the night at a friends? Also if the 14 year old gets them off to school in the morning who is there in the afternoon with these kids?

[A female opinion]

Actually, there is nothing really wrong with a 14 year old getting the kids ready for school in the morning. At 14, the daughter would be allowed to baby sit (I believe you have to be 12).

The problem comes in when Mom requires that the 14 year old be responsible for getting the kids ready and then allows her to sleep elsewhere.

When I was 14, I was responsible for getting my 5 year old brother up and ready for school. I was also responsible for making sure that my Grandmother had enough to eat for breakfast and that she had a packed lunch beside her bed for later.

And yes, my parents were still together, Dad traveled the state for his job and Mom worked all kinds of crazy hours to make ends meet. Yes Grandma was home with me, but since she was bedridden, it was my responsibility to see that the house was kept up.

This mother though, has no excuse for the drugs or for not double checking with each of her daughters every day to make sure things went smoothly.

[Rocko the Magnificent]

A female opinion wrote:

Actually, there is nothing really wrong with a 14 year old getting the kids ready for school in the morning. At 14, the daughter would be allowed to baby sit (I believe you have to be 12).
The problem comes in when Mom requires that the 14 year old be responsible for getting the kids ready and then allows her to sleep elsewhere.
When I was 14, I was responsible for getting my 5 year old brother up and ready for school. I was also responsible for making sure that my Grandmother had enough to eat for breakfast and that she had a packed lunch beside her bed for later.
And yes, my parents were still together, Dad traveled the state for his job and Mom worked all kinds of crazy hours to make ends meet. Yes Grandma was home with me, but since she was bedridden, it was my responsibility to see that the house was kept up.
This mother though, has no excuse for the drugs or for not double checking with each of her daughters every day to make sure things went smoothly.

The 14 year-old was tasked with more than just getting the younger siblings ready for school in the morning. It appears that the mother completely abrogated her parenting responsibilities in favor of the 14 year-old daughter. The problem is that the mother apparently completely shrugged off her responsibilities for raising these children. The fact that mom forgot that the 14 year old was sleeping somewhere else is beside the point.

A mother is responsible for more than "double checking" with her children to "make sure things went smoothly." She is responsible for raising them, providing for them, protecting them and setting an example for the children. Unfortunately, mom did nothing here but set a terrible example for her children. Now, I understand that she is apparently in a tough situation, but her first responsibility is to her children. She failed in this aspect of parenting.

[that14yr oldzbff]

y'all do not even know what you are talking about. first off her mom doesnt do cocaine..the reason why it was in her purse is none of y'alls buisness and the mother had dropped off her two daughters that morning at the bus stop where as the 5yearold went back to her house and decided that she wanted to go to the store and then burger king. yes their mother is really really messed up but not that messed up for all of y'all to be discussing because it is none of y'alls buisness. and another thing the kids are not in custody with DCF right now, so do not go and believe everything that you read or see on the news.

[are you kidding]

that14yr oldzbff wrote:

y'all do not even know what you are talking about. first off her mom doesnt do cocaine..the reason why it was in her purse is none of y'alls buisness and the mother had dropped off her two daughters that morning at the bus stop where as the 5yearold went back to her house and decided that she wanted to go to the store and then burger king. yes their mother is really really messed up but not that messed up for all of y'all to be discussing because it is none of y'alls buisness. and another thing the kids are not in custody with DCF right now, so do not go and believe everything that you read or see on the news.

Sorry honey but you aren't helping her case any here with your verbal abuse. Cocaine is illegal it doesn't matter why it was there.

[Delusionole]

that14yr oldzbff wrote:

y'all do not even know what you are talking about. first off her mom doesnt do cocaine..the reason why it was in her purse is none of y'alls buisness and the mother had dropped off her two daughters that morning at the bus stop where as the 5yearold went back to her house and decided that she wanted to go to the store and then burger king. yes their mother is really really messed up but not that messed up for all of y'all to be discussing because it is none of y'alls buisness. and another thing the kids are not in custody with DCF right now, so do not go and believe everything that you read or see on the news.

Obviously a post from a OCPS student.

[A female opinion]

Rocko the Magnificent wrote:

<quoted text>
The 14 year-old was tasked with more than just getting the younger siblings ready for school in the morning. It appears that the mother completely abrogated her parenting responsibilities in favor of the 14 year-old daughter. The problem is that the mother apparently completely shrugged off her responsibilities for raising these children. The fact that mom forgot that the 14 year old was sleeping somewhere else is beside the point.
A mother is responsible for more than "double checking" with her children to "make sure things went smoothly." She is responsible for raising them, providing for them, protecting them and setting an example for the children. Unfortunately, mom did nothing here but set a terrible example for her children. Now, I understand that she is apparently in a tough situation, but her first responsibility is to her children. She failed in this aspect of parenting.

I agree, the 14 year old should never be an absentee parent in any situation. I am not now, nor am I ever, giving that particular mother a pass on her blatant disregard for ensuring the safety and well being of her children.
All I was pointing out was that a 14 year old is plenty capable of handling getting the younger siblings ready for school in the morning. Just as that same 14 year old is plenty capable of getting the kids from the bus stop in the afternoon and watching them until Mom gets home from work. This is essentially baby-sitting and should NEVER replace actual parenting.

[Hardworking mom]

It is very sad for these little girls. I am a single mother of two young girls and I am physically and emotionally drained on a daily basis from working full time and taking care of my girls. I do know how hard it is to raise children alone - thank God I have a tremendous amount of help from my family. Their grandma takes them to school daily and I pick them up daily. Maybe this mom doesn't have any help available and was doing the best she could do. But there is no excuse for the drugs - when you are a parent - those children come first. If there are substance abuse issues - get the help needed - but take care of those children.

[volusia]

Old Timer wrote:

<quoted text>
Fathers are parents too. Where is the father in all of this?

The Mother and Father are divorced and he lives in Jacksonville. He is only the Father of the 14 year old. The Father of the other two, I have no clue.

[are you kidding]

Just_One_Voice wrote:

<quoted text>
Really?!? Didn't want to waste the space completely quoting your illiterate rant. Mom has a substance abuse problem that is impacting more than just her own life. If you cared so much, then help her get back on her feet and drop the cocaine habit. Come on, 2 DUIs and then busted with coke? You don't see a trend here?? No is the obvious answer, you chose to waste your breath displaying your ignorance to the world.

Come on don't be so hard on the poster. Obviously she is a young teen. She will realize with growth how wrong this was on so many levels.

[Oh My]

are you kidding wrote:

<quoted text>Come on don't be so hard on the poster. Obviously she is a young teen. She will realize with growth how wrong this was on so many levels.

The problem is she will not realize. This life at the level of the "lowest common denominator" is accepted, celebrated, excused, and way too much understood.

[are you kidding]

Oh My wrote:

<quoted text>
The problem is she will not realize. This life at the level of the "lowest common denominator" is accepted, celebrated, excused, and way too much understood.

She may grow up and see what went wrong there either way she is very young. That was obvious. She will grow with guidance but not by someone ranting about her ignorance.