How Many More Children Must Die?

Some things are simply incomprehensible. Another baby has died at the hands of a parent. She was only 3 weeks old and beaten to death by her father. It makes me ill and I literally feel a piece of my heart break off. There is no place in my brain where I can even begin to understand any part of this situation. It is natural for us to try to find reasons for bad things that happen, as if somehow that will bring peace to our minds and hearts. It is hard to accept sometimes that things "just are". Whether we can some how reason through the thoughts of people who do bad things or not, it does not change the horror of their actions. I heard, "He didn't now how to take care of a child." Oh my God. Basic level of care is something every person older than 5 understands. You don't beat a child. Simple as that. It is true, there is not one specific manual that has all the answers on how to be a parent. There are a lot of self-help books and advice books, but not one that answers every single question. It would be impossible to write. We all, mothers and fathers, learn as we go. We take the lessons that we have learned in our lives, the experiences we have had as children being parented, throw in some common sense and somehow we muddle through. Even the worst of parents know you have to provide the basic needs for a child; nutrition, bathing, medical care, and hopefully comfort and love. I cannot, for the life of me, understand what has gone terribly wrong in a parent's psyche that would allow them to hurt their own child. There is something so instinctual about being a parent, that to lose that is unfathomable to me. I am not so naive to think it doesn't happen, I am merely saying I cannot understand it. I think there needs to be more information and publicity, perhaps a movement, emphasizing to parents and even non-parents, the extreme importance of caring for our children. There are churches and places where it is okay to drop off a child if you feel they are in danger, no questions asked. My concern is, why only churches and a few other places? Why not everywhere? Makes me wonder if there were more options available to these parents, if more of our children would be saved. Hmmm, our children. We should all feel more responsible for the children of this country. Obviously, health care, education, nutrition, etc., are topics always discussed, but I am talking about safety. I wonder about all these children who have died at the hands of their parents. There had to be someone, anyone, in their lives that suspected something. A neighbor, a teacher, a person in line at the grocery store, a mailman, another child. I seriously doubt that one particular day these parents woke up, out of the blue, and said, "Today I am going to kill my child." Someone somewhere had to have had a sense that something was going on. I wonder, afterwards, if those people who didn't do anything, feel any sense of responsibility. There are no other 2 words in the English language that can affect a person's life more than "what if". What if I had called the police? What if I had taken the child home with me? What if I had talked to the spouse or other family member? What if I had intervened in any way? Would that child still be alive? What would I say to those volatile parents who "can't handle it anymore"? Bring your child to my house. Leave your child at your house and call someone to go get them. Take your child to a church, hospital, fire department, police station. Drop your child off at the library, grocery store, mall, anywhere. Leave your child in a parking lot or on street corner with a note. Anything, anywhere, anytime. There is no excuse you can come up with that will justify your hurting or killing your child. What would I say to those people who get "the feeling" something isn't right with a child's home life? Be aware of the children you see. Talk with them, be their friend. Be their advocate. Investigate. Ask the parent point blank if they are abusing their child, their reaction may answer your questions even if they don't. Call the police or Child Protective Services. Offer to take the child to somewhere safe. Follow through. Be persistent. Don't let yourself sleep peacefully until you know that child is safe. Today's challenge: Be acutely aware of the safety of those around you.