Saturday, June 26, 2010

Baby with Bong Picture Sparks Outrage


Be careful about posting funny toddler pictures, or you might get the attention of CPS. Here is the latest bad mother media outrage:
Hats off to the Florida mother who posted a picture of her baby "smoking" out of a bong on Facebook.

Not only has she managed to outrage mothers all over the world, she has also gotten the attention of the Florida Department of Children and Families who have in turn launched an investigation into her parenting skills - or lack thereof - reports Sky News.

The 19-year-old mother from Keystone Heights, northwest of Gainesville, is defending the photo. She claims it was taken as a joke and posted on Facebook so that she could show one of her friends.
Here is typical TV news coverage.

Just what is the CPS concern? Bongs are usually used for smoking marijuana, and marijuana is illegal. But that baby in the picture is not smoking. You could not teach a baby to smoke even if you tried.

The real problem here is that a teenaged girl is trying to rear a baby without a father. But CPS ignores that, of course.

8 comments:

Matt said...

"The real problem here is that a teenaged girl is trying to rear a baby without a father. But CPS ignores that, of course."

Yes, exactly, you really nailed it here, excellent point.

I stumbled on your blog because I'd seen this story in the national news, but NONE of the articles answered two basic questions I had: 1) Was this 19 year old girl married? 2) Was she receiving any form of 'public assistance,' aka welfare?

The news agencies reporting the story don't seem to want to TOUCH the fact that maybe throwing money at women to try to raise kids without the father is not such a good idea for the kids.

To me THIS kind of thing is just the inevitable result of 45 years of activist feminism in the legal profession and legislative bodies.

George said...

You said it better than I did. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

I see raising a child without a father as an issue, but that alone does not excuse her behavior nor does it have anything to do with CPS do what needs to be done. There are more than enough women who have raised children alone and did just fine without welfare or fathers.

Anonymous said...

to raise a child without the father is not an issue. lots of people do it i did it at 17 and i had a job and everything else i provided everyday for my child. the real issue is that weather this was a joke or not she was putting something to due with drugs into a childs hands and took the picture. that is the real issue. it is irresponsible to do drugs when you have kids let alone put something in their hands that has had drugs in it. you say that the problem is that she reared a baby without a father would that still be your opion if this girl was 45 or 50 years old no it wouldn't then you guys would be more disgusted at the actual picture rather then her having a kid with no father. i look at myself yes i was young when i had my daughter who cares i provide for her and still do and i also have two more kids and am now getting married

Anonymous said...

Just curious, did any of you stop to question WHY the father wasn't in the picture? Some mothers don't have a choice and getting away from the fathers may have been in the child's best interests.

Some men become abusive over time: physically, emotionally, and verbally. None of these are safe for a child to grow up with either.

Some men take off the minute a baby is mentioned. They never try to do anything to help.

Sometimes things happen to the father that leave them unable to be in the picture. Examples: military, jail (which is probably a blessing to the child to not have in their life), death, extreme illness, ect...

There are many situations that may leave a mother to raise a child without a father and vice versa.

Having a father there for your child doesn't make you any less or any more of a mother. You can only be a good mother if you do what is best for you child, provide what they need, and do all in your power to keep them safe...which can all be done without a father if need be.

I had my first son at the age of 20. My exhusband began drinking when my son was a little over a year old. When he was 16 months old I came home from work to discover my ex passed out drunk and my child stumbling around and smelling of beer. I left with my son. I soon found out that I had another baby on the way...which was to be raised fatherless because I wasn't going back to that. I wasn't able to work much longer due to pregnacy related medical problems. In the time I wasn't able to work (starting the 4th month of pregnancy and ending 6 wks after csection) I did recieve help from the government, aka welfare. I didn't have much of a choice. It was either ask for help or not provide for any of us.

So, in closing, before you try to judge a person based on their marital status or whether or not they have a father for their child, please consider WHY the father isn't there AND try not to judge all of the single mothers based on actions that immature people (notice I didn't say YOUNG)take. There are some pretty decent single mothers out there that actually do the best they can for their children and would NEVER put them in harms way like this mother seems to have done. I consider myself one of them although I am no longer a single mother. My children now have a stepfather that provides that fatherly role but there were 2 years that they didn't have him. Oh, and just another fact, I also have a third son (which belongs to my current husband) that is being raised no differently than the first two. My morality remained uneffected by being divorced and raising a fatherless child. I have always set high moral standards and will continue to do so...even if for some reason my husband is no longer part of the picture.

Anonymous said...

So, in closing, before you try to judge a person based on their marital status or whether or not they have a father for their child, please consider WHY the father isn't there AND try not to judge all of the single mothers based on actions that immature people (notice I didn't say YOUNG)take. There are some pretty decent single mothers out there that actually do the best they can for their children and would NEVER put them in harms way like this mother seems to have done. I consider myself one of them although I am no longer a single mother. My children now have a stepfather that provides that fatherly role but there were 2 years that they didn't have him. Oh, and just another fact, I also have a third son (which belongs to my current husband) that is being raised no differently than the first two. My morality remained uneffected by being divorced and raising a fatherless child. I have always set high moral standards and will continue to do so...even if for some reason my husband is no longer part of the picture.

Anonymous said...

I have to say that I was amazed that instead of being outraged that a mother thought it was funny to allow her baby to even be within 2 blocks of a bong...you are thinking that CPS should be more outraged that she is raising this baby without a father !! The fact of the matter is that NO COURT can FORCE a man to be a father.. I live in Ireland and my ex cancels and shortens his visitation whenever he wants (breaching the terms) and I am left being the one lying to our sons about why he isnt coming.. LEFT...TO...ME !! He and his new wife punish my boys for referring to me in anyway while in their home. I just constantly turn the other cheek over and over again and just pray that God will make sure that I only act in ways that will make my sons proud and that I embody what it means to be a woman of integrity, courage, honor and common decency. More good men need to come forward and tell crappy men to stop ruining it for the good dads...call out the guys who don't give a damn and are irresponsible and tell and show your daughters what an honorable, good man looks like !!Come on guys instead of talking about how much we single mothers suck.. rage against the men that make babies and run off !! My best friend's hubby ran off to another country and stopped ALL child support (he wont even tell his kids where he lives, when he bothers to talk to them via facebook) for their 5 children and there is NOTHING she can do about it and no one gives a damn either. And she wasn't mean, bitter or ignorant to her ex either...even after they broke up he was free to come and see the kids whenever he wanted ...( i saw that with my own eyes). The fact is that it is more socially acceptable for a man to leave his children, then it is for a mother to walk away..and that is the truth!! And as far as welfare mothers are concerned, I know some mothers who ENDURE the humiliation of welfare so that they can actually SEE and RAISE their children instead of passing them off on other people! There is NOTHING good about welfare, but there is something great about being ablet to bring your baby to school, eat dinner with them and put them to bed everyday and if you are a single mom, more often than not if you work all the hours you can to financially support your child, you will HARDLY ever see them. Most of us would rather see our mother everyday then have a house full of new STUFF !!

Cannabis & Canyons said...

I find it HIGHLY offensive, arrogant, sexist, and ignorant that ANYONE thinks the problem with this pic is the fact that there is no Dad around. I raised my daughter just fine alone and young with no bong hits or terrible pictures such as this. If anything you should be looking at her age and the fact that she is not ready nor responsible enough to be a parent yet. This pic (joke or not) is serious! It has nothing to do with the father! It's all on her and she needs to spend some time in jail to think about why what she did was wrong and at least have the child temporarily removed from the home until the girl can meet some requirements. I am none other than outraged that you all are so blind to the problem and want to blame the problem on the father not being around. I think that statement alone is an offense to any teenage mother or single mother out there and should be! Yes, raising a child without a father has its downsides that can be resolved easily. I believe children have the right and deserve to have a father figure in their life, but it is NOT required for a child to grow up and live a normal, healthy life - no bongs involved.