The girl in the window

[foxymoonheart]

Maybe I'm a sap, but this story about a neglected girl in Tampa, made my eyes well up something awful.

Both very bad and very good. I'm not really sure how I feel about my faith in humanity right now, considering what the birth "mother" got away with, but I do wish the girl Dani and her new real family the best in all the world.

Comments

[brombear]

I don't think people really understand how bad it really is for child services until they hear stories like this. I've known cops who've gone on calls and found infants injured or burned from parental abuse, and they've told me that sometimes it's all they can do to keep from beating the crap out of the parents. Far too often with our "modern" society, we forget that it takes a community to raise children, not just parents...and we're all responsible for what they turn into...good or bad.

[maikujaku]

It honestly reminds me of Flowers In The Attic the series by V.C. Andrews, Though far far worse because it's real. Not sure why I went into being reminded of a fictional story. Possibly the description of her looking out of the window.

[slrdarien]

Andrews did some much more screwed up stories that are allot like this. I was thinking the same thing

Almost unreal. Hard to believe it really happens.

[wontolla]

What I think a lot of people who read this article don't pick up on is the mother's IQ was tested at 77 . She also shows signs from the way she talks and her living conditions, that she may have at least borderline schizophrenia. The first failure of the system is that nobody picked up on these things and so they allowed a severely impaired woman to attempt raising a child with no supervision or intervention.

Most people seem to think that having children is a "right". But if you are unable to care for them properly, you should not be allowed to have them. I'm guessing that the woman's husband (who died) was the main reason her sons are somewhat functional.

I'm very glad that Dani found a family able to give her the care she so badly needs. To a much lesser extent her mother is pitiable too though. The REAL villain of the piece is the apathy and red tape of the social service system.

HOLY SHIT!

[slrdarien]

Very sad but touching in the end. It's like something out of a VC Andrews novel.

[wildw0lf]

Yesterday a hospital employee left her 3-year old son in the car "by mistake" instead of dropping him off to day-care.