Mom allegedly leaves children home alone while sexually assaulting boy down the street.

A Texas mom of two is in jail, accused of leaving her children alone while she carried on a six month affair with a 13-year-old neighbor boy.

Amanda Ann Nabers, 25, allegedly confessed to having sex with the boy several times beginning in February. She even told police she shared pot, Xanas and alcohol with the boy during her first encounter with him. Continue reading »

Tweet

10

Pin It

photo credit: stevendepolo on Flickr

Let me make one thing clear: I am not “a cook”, at least not with a capital C.  While once in a while I have fun trying out a new dish in the kitchen, most of the time I just want to get something on the table that I know most of my kids will eat. With time and effort I’ve learned to make a handful of dishes that are fresh, healthy, and reasonably tasty, and I save my experimenting for food-preparation tasks I enjoy (like baking and canning.)

So I understand that cooking for fun is not everybody’s cup of tea. Still, I am always a little confused when I hear other parents say they “don’t cook.” I always want to say…so then, what does your family EAT? Continue reading »

Tweet

26

Pin It

Erica Ryan's mug shot. She has no prior criminal record.

Witnesses jumped into action after watching a young mother allegedly punch her baby for refusing to eat.

I know, I know. Nobody wants to read a story about a baby getting punched in the face. This might be an exception if only because the crowd reacted so admirably and made me wonder what I’d do if I witnessed the same thing they did.

Would you?

Here’s what happened.

Continue reading »

Tweet

21

Pin It

I could if I had to, but thinking of that last second before letting my baby's hand go terrifies me.

I live in an old farmhouse built in 1901.  One of my biggest fears is my 2-year-old daughter falling from one of our second story windows.

It’s a long way down.

But as fire raged in her Portland apartment one Maine mother had to make the split-second decision to drop her three children from a second-story window to neighbors waiting below. Continue reading »

Tweet

2

Pin It

Harriet The Spy

Earlier this week I posted about female characters who foster girls’ confidence, imagination, or at least give them the opportunity to think. So when I opened my twitter window this morning, I was pretty pleased to discover that my feed was peppered with posts tagged #childhoodfeminstheroes.  I hate that the word feminist is so polarizing. But whether or not you identify with the word,  I think we can all agree that strong role models are undeniably important for girls.

To me, a #childhoodfeministhero  is anyone who helped you see the wide world of possibility or helped you to achieve your dreams, whatever they might be. The Twittered ones I featured below come from movies and TV, though not always from the most obvious places.  But they also come from real life: family members who provided support and taught by example.  Did your personal hero get a shout-out?  Add her to the list!

Continue reading »

Tweet

13

Pin It

Did a judge sentence Raquel Nelson to jail?

A Georgia mother who was convicted of vehicular manslaughter after her 4-year-old son was hit and killed by a driver while the family was jaywalking across a 4-lane street in an Atlanta suburb has been sentenced.

Unbelievably, Raquel Nelson, a single, working mother, potentially faced more jail time than the driver who struck and killed her son and then took off.  He later admitted he was the driver and was sentenced to five years in prison, but served only six months. He is serving the remainder of the sentence on probation. Additionally, as Babble’s Stephanie Precourt reports, he admitted to having alcohol and pain meds before driving AND has also previously been convicted of a hit and run.

As if seeing her child die as a result of a hit and run wasn’t bad enough, Nelson, 30, was charged with three misdemeanors — second-degree vehicular homicide, failing to cross at a crosswalk and reckless conduct.  Last week a jury convicted her. Each count carried a potential sentence of one year in jail so Nelson initially faced up to three years in jail  — a sentence six times longer than the time served by the driver that hit her son.

So, what was her sentence?  Did a judge order her to jail?

Continue reading »

Tweet

5

Pin It

Excuse me, ma'am? Um, your baby just rolled off the train...

Another mom behaving badly, caught on tape. Here’s the thing though, I’m not quite sure how this one got caught on tape unless the person who was recording was in on the action. You’ll see why when you watch the video. The person is recording well before the incident starts, as if waiting for it to go down.

Here’s what happened – I’ll explain it to you because it’s kind of hard to take that all in on the first viewing.  Two women are riding the L train in Brooklyn. You’ll see the woman in blue holding onto a red stroller containing her baby. At some point she whips out mace and sprays the other woman who is in white.

They begin to fight and the stroller rolls out the subway doors at the stop. You can hear people shouting “The baby! The baby!” but the woman pays them no mind and continues to kick, bite, scream, pull hair…  You know, the usual errands moms have to get done in a day.

If there is one good thing about this story it’s the fact that people jump off the train to care for the baby while mom fights. Another group of people finally break the women up. I’m not sure why the woman maced the other one but it was probably about a dude who isn’t worth their time.

What kind of mother decides to mace a woman while on the subway WITH HER CHILD?  Also, what kind of mom is more interested in brawling on a train then chasing her baby that’s in a stroller that just rolled out the door?  This one, I guess.

Another head-scratcher, that’s for sure. Video after the jump: Continue reading »

Tweet

7

Pin It