Woman faces Felony Charges after baby found in park (too many kids to watch?)

[The Village Idiot]

Where’s dad or dads?

See anything not mentioned in this story. (hint d-a-d)

http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/crime/bridgeport-baby-found-alone-in-the-park

Bridgeport, Conn. (WTNH) - A Bridgeport mother of nine is facing a felony charge after one of her kids was found wandering alone in a city park.

The Connecticut Post reports the mother didn't find out the child was missing until the next morning when a good samaritan found the 3-year old and called police.

The paper says the boy's three teenage sisters went to the park and left the playground without him. A woman nearby noticed the boy and called police when she realized he was alone.

The newspaper says Tonya Odom, 37, who has nine children and is pregnant with her tenth, didn't realize he wasn't home and didn't report the boy missing until the next morning.

It turns out the playground outside the Tisdale School is right around the corner from Kelsey Street apartment where she and the boy live. Odom wasn't home when News 8 went to the apartment, but The Connecticut Post says she told police she was asleep when her children returned from the park.

The older sisters may have been watching their little brother, but in the end it is the mother responsible for his well-being. Odom is charged with risk of injury to a minor. The State Department of Children and Families is currently caring for the child.

[jinxmchue]

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=7463297

No comment.

[vesta111]

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=7463297

No comment.

I will comment on this one.  My neighbor when I lived in Hawaii left her baby at a grocery store.  She was an Islander civilian had 4 children.

Very traumatic for her. she came home sent her 3 kids into the house, unloaded her car, put the food away, made the baby her bottle grabbed a diaper and went looking for her.  She ran to her car, not there, searched her apartment, not there, then came running to my apt asking me to watch her kids while she went back to the store. 

She found her baby asleep in the shopping cart in the parking area.    Poor woman had nightmares for weeks after.

Me, I lost my youngest son at a rest stop driving across country.  He was 3 years old.  I had 3 kids and an 18 month baby, I all ways counted them when we got into the car, but the little stinker got out of the car on the drivers side looking for his dad who was in the men's room.   When dad got back we took off, it was one of the kids that quite matter of fact said," Mom we left Andy behind."  Panic time, I had seen him get into the car, not seen him sneak out.

If you have ever had a child go missing, you will know that the panic is mind bending.  One of my kids after being put down for a nap decided to sleep in the closet in a laundry basket, going into the room to get him up for dinner and seeing the bed empty, the search of the house, by the time I found him I was so upset I vomited.

Worse case scenario is at a family gathering, everyone thinks some one else is watching the kids.  This is when tragedy strikes.

Kids are very fast and can be, now you see them, now you don't.  I see parents at the Mall with their kids on a tether like a dog harness. great idea.

Then occasionally we read of kids left behind while on a school or scouting trip. More then a few kids have wandered away while camping with family.

My heart goes out to any mom or dad that looses a child even for a few minutes, this is perhaps the most emotionally charged moments they have without having a heart attack.

[rich_t]

What kind of idiot can forget a child at a store, park, in a car etc???

The type of idiot that should never have had kids to begin with, nor allowed to keep them if they do.

There is never and I do mean NEVER any valid excuse for that sort of idiocy.

[vesta111]

What kind of idiot can forget a child at a store, park, in a car etc???

The type of idiot that should never have had kids to begin with, nor allowed to keep them if they do.

There is never and I do mean NEVER any valid excuse for that sort of idiocy.

Damn if I know rich, but it does happen.

Now this child in question was intrusted to his older sisters to watch him.  I don't know their ages but I do question how they forgot about the poor kid.  Obvious the mother expected her children to keep an eye on the younger kids,  in a family that large everyone has to chip in to help each other.

Hubbys family had 7 kids, not only did the kids get jobs mowing lawns and babysitting and turn their money over to their parents to ---help out their family--but they were very protective of each other.

As an only child I did not have the advantage of of being part of a large family.

[rich_t]

Damn if I know rich, but it does happen.

Now this child in question was intrusted to his older sisters to watch him.  I don't know their ages but I do question how they forgot about the poor kid.  Obvious the mother expected her children to keep an eye on the younger kids,  in a family that large everyone has to chip in to help each other.

Hubbys family had 7 kids, not only did the kids get jobs mowing lawns and babysitting and turn their money over to their parents to ---help out their family--but they were very protective of each other.

As an only child I did not have the advantage of of being part of a large family.

Oh bullshit.

Did you or did you not post:

Me, I lost my youngest son at a rest stop driving across country.  He was 3 years old.  I had 3 kids and an 18 month baby, I all ways counted them when we got into the car, but the little stinker got out of the car on the drivers side looking for his dad who was in the men's room.

You failed to pay enough attention as a parent.  What were YOU doing while your 3 year old "slipped" out of the damn car?

I never misplaced one of my kids.

Why?

Well I suppose that would be because I was a responsible parent and made sure I kept track of them when they where young.

[vesta111]

Oh bullshit.

Did you or did you not post:

You failed to pay enough attention as a parent.  What were YOU doing while your 3 year old "slipped" out of the damn car?

I never misplaced one of my kids.

Why?

Well I suppose that would be because I was a responsible parent and made sure I kept track of them when they where young.

No excuses from me Rich, I dropped the ball on that one.  I did take steps to insure that never happend again, all the kids wore shirts of the same color when we traveled with their birth order on it No.1-No.4.  Oldest looked out for youngest and the boys who loved to tell on each other kept an eye on each other.  Airports were difficult when I traveled alone with the kids, if you have ever been to a Commissary to buy food you know what a mess that was with 4 little kids in tow. Back then there were no scanners every item was manually rung up. most everyone had 3-4 baskets to get through the check out ---Nightmare.

These things come out of the blue, when we least expect it.  My grandma lost ME one day, she took me with her to the hair dressers and I in the past at 3 years old had sat quietly waiting.  One day for some reason I made a dash for the door and ran down the street.  When she noticed I was not in my seat she had to run out of the salon with product in her hair and running down her face.  She found me sitting on a door step lost and crying.

You and wife were indeed blessed to have raised children and never had that heart stopping moment of asking, " Who's watching the baby.???

[jinxmchue]

Well, one thing's for sure.  What she did doesn't hold a candle to the stupid bitch who left her 3-year-old in her car while she gambled for 9 hours.  She claimed she checked on him, but when the child was rescued by the authorities, he had wet through his diaper, clothes and carseat.

http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=203119&catid=28

[MrsSmith]

Kids can and do go missing no matter how careful a parent is...unless, of course, you lock them in a cage all the time.  I had an 18 month old who had just learned to climb out of his crib 3 days before take off once while I was washing dishes in the kitchen.  I had my back to the front door, and it wasn't fully closed because his siblings had left for school just a few minutes before and it was a lovely day out.  He was following his siblings to school when he was discovered and brought home.

A year later, that same kid was playing on the swingset in the back yard with both gates shut while I was in the driveway changing the oil in my car.  I didn't worry for about 2 minutes after he got off the swing and went around the back of the house, but when he didn't come right back, I crawled out from under the car and checked...he'd figured out how to unsnap the back gate and took off.  My older kids and I, along with a neighbor, searched all over for about 1/2 an hour, and I was on the point of calling the police when we found him 2 blocks down the alley, in another yard, on that swingset. 

A few years ago, my next door neighbor was outside with his younger son...went in his shed and dug his weed eater out...took maybe 3 minutes to find it and the cord...came back out and the boy had gotten off his trike and disappeared.  They came running over to see if he was at our house, and we all started searching instantly...fanned out in every direction.   My daughter found the boy and their dog nearly 2 blocks away, heading out at the kid's top speed.  Both parents broke down in tears.

It does happen, and it can happen to the best parents.  If you've been lucky enough to avoid that, it's likely because your children weren't inclined to go adventuring, not because a parent can actually watch a child 24x7.  Thank God for giving you kids that didn't wander and stop patting yourself on the back.

[vesta111]

Kids can and do go missing no matter how careful a parent is...unless, of course, you lock them in a cage all the time.  I had an 18 month old who had just learned to climb out of his crib 3 days before take off once while I was washing dishes in the kitchen.  I had my back to the front door, and it wasn't fully closed because his siblings had left for school just a few minutes before and it was a lovely day out.  He was following his siblings to school when he was discovered and brought home.

A year later, that same kid was playing on the swingset in the back yard with both gates shut while I was in the driveway changing the oil in my car.  I didn't worry for about 2 minutes after he got off the swing and went around the back of the house, but when he didn't come right back, I crawled out from under the car and checked...he'd figured out how to unsnap the back gate and took off.  My older kids and I, along with a neighbor, searched all over for about 1/2 an hour, and I was on the point of calling the police when we found him 2 blocks down the alley, in another yard, on that swingset. 

A few years ago, my next door neighbor was outside with his younger son...went in his shed and dug his weed eater out...took maybe 3 minutes to find it and the cord...came back out and the boy had gotten off his trike and disappeared.  They came running over to see if he was at our house, and we all started searching instantly...fanned out in every direction.   My daughter found the boy and their dog nearly 2 blocks away, heading out at the kid's top speed.  Both parents broke down in tears.

It does happen, and it can happen to the best parents.  If you've been lucky enough to avoid that, it's likely because your children weren't inclined to go adventuring, not because a parent can actually watch a child 24x7.  Thank God for giving you kids that didn't wander and stop patting yourself on the back.

  Thank you, my dear, There is also the point that a child that is too timid to leave the side of a parent may have issues of anxiety similar to some dogs that get nuts when their owners leave.

Kids that are escape artists tend to have very high IQ's, they act on curiosity and are fearless.  They are willing to leave the safety and familiarity of their lives to explore the unknown.

What is a parent to do, they need to use the bathroom, clean their home, do yard work, do we tie our children up to the close line as we hang clothing to dry ??

We can build a 6 foot chain link fence in the back yard but a 3 year old can climb that.  So only thing left is to put razor wire on top but smart 5 year olds will throw their jacket over the wire and head out to explore the world.

When push comes to shove, I was happy that my kids were instinctively brave and curious, a hand full sure but they went into the world as adults as curious and  willing to take chances.

None of my kids live in my cellar afraid to leave my TIT.

[NHSparky]

Oh bullshit.

Did you or did you not post:

You failed to pay enough attention as a parent.  What were YOU doing while your 3 year old "slipped" out of the damn car?

I never misplaced one of my kids.

Why?

Well I suppose that would be because I was a responsible parent and made sure I kept track of them when they where young.

Sorry, rich--but I've got to side with Vesta on this one.  Give the woman a break.  I know I was a friggin TERROR at 2-3 years old.

Ever heard of a 2 year old who unscrewed a baby gate to get out of his bedroom?  Yo--right here.  Mom had to put a TENNIS NET around the crib so I wouldn't get out.

[rich_t]

OK.  Perhaps I over reacted.

I just get so tired of news reports about blatantly negligent parents that I am becoming less tolerant in general when some kid gets "misplaced".

[vesta111]

OK.  Perhaps I over reacted.

I just get so tired of news reports about blatantly negligent parents that I am becoming less tolerant in general when some kid gets "misplaced".

I will need Sparkys memory for this one.

Last year a Tenured Professor at UNH was charged with leaving his infant in the car while he went into a store, bought a sandwitch and sat on a park bench to eat it out of sight of the car and child.

[Chris_]

37 and pregnant with #10?  Wow.......

Anyway, my daughter is turning a year old in three weeks.  She's not walking yet, but she crawls really fast.  We are having two family gatherings (one with over 140 people) the weekend of her birthday.  I will NOT take my eyes off of her.  First of all, I do not expect other people to watch MY child when we are out.  Second, I cannot trust everyone.  Yeah, they might be family, but still.  You never know.

There was a young mother (20 yrs old with THREE kids) who decided to watch television instead of her three year old son.  Her son's grandmother came home and asked where he was.  The daughter said, "I don't know."  They searched the house, nothing.  They went outside and found the boy in the pool.  He died.  After the mother's arrest, she said she was "glad he was gone".

I do NOT understand how anyone can be so careless.  That mother was more selfish then anything, but it's just so sad.  I feel so bad for children these days.  They have parent's in the ME generation.  Mommy has to buy that iPhone before anything else. 

Sorry... did I go off a bit?

Can't stand it.  Shit like this can make me go on for days.

[Chris_]

That's horrible.  Sounds like the mother who had two of her children die in a house fire last year and she was asking about her purse.

[bkg]

I ran away at from 18 months to 3 years all the time. And I was an only child at the time. Sucks for Mom... I raised hell.

[soleil]

37 and pregnant with #10?  Wow.......

Anyway, my daughter is turning a year old in three weeks.  She's not walking yet, but she crawls really fast.  We are having two family gatherings (one with over 140 people) the weekend of her birthday.  I will NOT take my eyes off of her.  First of all, I do not expect other people to watch MY child when we are out.  Second, I cannot trust everyone.  Yeah, they might be family, but still.  You never know.

There was a young mother (20 yrs old with THREE kids) who decided to watch television instead of her three year old son.  Her son's grandmother came home and asked where he was.  The daughter said, "I don't know."  They searched the house, nothing.  They went outside and found the boy in the pool.  He died.  After the mother's arrest, she said she was "glad he was gone".

I do NOT understand how anyone can be so careless.  That mother was more selfish then anything, but it's just so sad.  I feel so bad for children these days.  They have parent's in the ME generation.  Mommy has to buy that iPhone before anything else.  

Sorry... did I go off a bit?

Can't stand it.  Shit like this can make me go on for days.

That is extremely tragic. Some people should never have kids. Poor child.

I have a 20 month old, and boy just wait... It gets interesting. They get quick after they master the walking. Oh, and the climbing!!! A thorn in my side right now. The balance isn't all there, so it can go bad in a second. You really do have to watch them like a hawk, but I can see in some instances where it can go bad accidentally. My husband and I had our wires crossed once about who was watching my baby girl. I was cooking, and he thought she was in the kitchen with me. I thought she was in the back of the house with him where she was before he went to the bathroom. Nope. She made it out the doggie door. Luckily, I caught it in less than a minute, and we have a fenced in yard. But it scared the hell out of me. She was outside playing with the dogs. That won't happen again I can promise you. Doggie door stays shut if we are all in the house now. I only open it when we leave for the day. And we make certain one of us has an eye on her.

[Chris_]

One of my friend's told me her mother used to put bells on her shoes because she would walk/run away so quickly. 

[soleil]

One of my friend's told me her mother used to put bells on her shoes because she would walk/run away so quickly. 

Not a bad idea. There is a brand (as well as others) called Wee Squeak. They are squeaky shoes, but you can remove the squeaker if they get a bit much. They make really cute shoes too. My dogs think they are  one of their toys, but they were a big hit with me and with my baby girl.

[vesta111]

One of my friend's told me her mother used to put bells on her shoes because she would walk/run away so quickly. 

Funny you mention bells, I bought sleigh bells and placed them on all doors inside and outside my house.  Strange thing was it was not the kids that got my attention one day when I heard the jingle from the livingroom, I had just come out of the shower, heard them and ran [ J ] bird naked into the room to find a very dirty male with my TV ready to leave my house.

The kids were napping and I was alone so I yelled out, Henry, get the gun we are being robbed.  The dirty male put the TV down and ran for the hills.

Strange but to this day I have those same bells on my doors and the kids live elsewhere.

[NHSparky]

I will need Sparkys memory for this one.

Last year a Tenured Professor at UNH was charged with leaving his infant in the car while he went into a store, bought a sandwitch and sat on a park bench to eat it out of sight of the car and child.

Therein lies the difference between a, "Gee, aw shit, I forgot," and outright neglect/abuse.

[vesta111]

Therein lies the difference between a, "Gee, aw shit, I forgot," and outright neglect/abuse.

My favorite were the husband and wife in LA. who held PH D's in child development and were way up on the social scale as doctors to the mixed up kids of the Stars.

They were arrested and charged with child abuse for chaining their 16 year old daughter to her bed.  They teafully  told the jury that they could not controll their daughter any other way.   

Then there was that Gem of a head shrieker that treated the Mendez boys.

[rich_t]

I ran away at from 18 months to 3 years all the time. And I was an only child at the time. Sucks for Mom... I raised hell.

You'd have only done it once if I raised ya.