reality_check's Blog

Considering that the couple was expecting the baby sitter, how did they expect her to gain entry?

I think I heard that the babysitter was indeed afraid to come to the house because of what the couple said regarding immigration officials being in the neighborhood and therefore chose not to come. And even though the mother was running late for her job, that's no excuse to leave two young children in the house alone. Why not call the babysitter back to confirm that she was coming. I'm wondering if they've left those children alone before.

I'm no bleeding heart and in no way defend her behavior or ANY parent leaving underage children home unsupervised. And I know that she's not the first one to do so. But one has to wonder just why parents do this. For this woman, one reason may be that she HAD to go to work to help support her family. So, she had to make the choice of going to work and leaving her kids alone or staying home and possibly not being paid for the day. And the fact that she had an illegal immigrant working for her suggests that this babysitter charged much less than a day care center or other babysitter. And for those that aren't aware, daycare is unbelievably expensive these days. Even for those people who are making a somewhat good salary.

But saying that, people really need to think about what it is to be a parent. Kids need food, clothes, and someone to watch them when they are small. If forever reason, they can't provide this, they shouldn't assume someone else will do it for them..