According to Floyd County Jail records:
Melissa Catherine Smith-Means, 37, of Gaylesville, Ala., was arrested by Rome police around 12:30 p.m. She was charged with felony first-degree cruelty to children.
Police say she was observed by customers and employees at a store on Broad Street, dragging a small child around by a backpack leash. The child had visible marks on the neck from the incident.
I still think it’s going to be hard to top the mother earlier this week who was snacking on the brains.
Do what my mom did walk away. Hide in plain sight, soon as the little monster figures out their “alone” she would have to pry it off her leg. Hell even works on my dog. But then again my parents, were parents, not breeding stock. Oh and they were qualified pick up truck driven, bass boat owning, redneck trailer trash, things like this give us bad names, cut it out.
Too bad… she created the monster.
The first time I saw a child on a leash, I hated the idea. I don’t like it any better nowadays. Still, if you’ve ever had a child, you immediately see the back story here: kid has a tantrum, mom says okay we’re going home, kid says no – lies on floor – mom says yes and proves she means it. Good parenting? No. Abuse? I doubt it.
Animby,
I tend to agree with you — as long as the floor was polished, and it seemed to be so.
My had a little concern the way she dragged him around the sharp corner and never even checked to see if he was OK.
Still, I think this is a case for a Social Worker, not jailers.
I would suspect either low IQ or drugs for such poor parenting style but you can’t be sure just from a video.
If it is simply low IQ, she would probably be very responsive to parenting class.
I dunno….seems to me a mix. Easy to jump to the conclusion that kid is probably a borderline idiot, and the mom, a full-blooded idiot. However, yeah, kids DO push buttons, and they do that tantrum thing, and then they go limp, so it’s near impossible top pick them up. You have two choices….so stand around and wait it out, or dig your fingernails into them and try and get them upright. Either way, everyone around you thinks its child abuse.
I’d say this mom had it up to her ears, and was mad as hell, and just wanted to get the kid out of public, and get whatever she needed to get done done. She was walking fast because she was mortified, and the kid had all the power. The people watching could have HELPED HER…but, nooooo…we’d rather be voyeurs and watch the spectacle. The person filming, the person calling the cops…should all have their head examined. Way to go society.
Arresting her for child abuse…is stupid.
Getting CPS and that nightmare into her life is horrid.
The problem is that nothing prepares you for motherhood, and the ideal of some happy child skipping next to you is not always the reality you end up with. In our over indulgent, loosely knit, lack of family support, everyone jumping to conclusions (abuse, abuse abuse!) …but no one using their heads. This woman was at her wits end…and EVERY parent (except absent and estranged ones) have been there….
Meet,
WOW, someone read my post..
Yes, I agree..
it takes EVERYONE to help to raise a child.
DONT STARE, dont POKE FUN.. HELP her.
You cant DEBATE with a child,
you cant TELL a child what to do,
you cant Explain, or ASK a child,
Logic has NOTHING to do with a child..
Child=I WANT+I NEED+ITS MINE AND NOT YOURS+WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING HERE??
you have to TEACH them..
Years ago, I was dating a girl that had a very bright, but stubborn four year old son. The kid threw a tantrum while we were in the main walkway of a shopping mall. We told him he wasn’t going to get his way, and he continued to throw a fit. About 5 minutes later, he got it out of his system, and we continued our shopping.
There’s no reason to drag the kid around by a leash, ever.
#26, meetsy,
I agree with the theme of your post. I disagree that the spectators should have gotten involved. That would have the detrimental effect of educating the kid that if he screams abuse whenever he feels like it, people will come running.
One thing I think you overlook about so many of the above comments, they were written by men who have little compulsion about controlling what a woman can do with her body.
I have a two year-old, and I get all of the melt-downs and fits which occur in the least-convenient places. I know better than to comment on someone else’s parenting techniques, but this is an suitable example. There is no reason, whatsoever, for dragging a kid through a store, even if you are leaving. If the child is having that bad of a fit, where you have to leave, then put down whatever you plan to buy, pick up the child and walk out. If the child is two heavy to pick up with both hands, you need to get stronger or have a lighter child.
This woman doesn’t need to be thrown in jail, she needs someone to say to her, “you can’t drag your kid through a store”…
#30,
“you can’t drag your kid through a store”…
Why not? It cleans and polishes at the same time. The store should encourage it.
#31, Cleaning the floor is a union job. I don’t think Mom or child are union members…
I’m disgusted at the people who are blaming the kid in this situation. As a parent of 3 extremely active, anarchistic little boy furies, I can assure you that there is no tantrum or behavior my children could come up with that would make me act like this. She’s the grown-up here, kinda.
And those of you who suggest she’s doing this because the child has made her life difficult- WELCOME THE HELL TO PARENTHOOD. You figure this stuff out, you picked to have the little people. They aren’t sane, they have a partially-formed brain with no experience to give them reference points. They’re narcissists, and that’s OK, they learn by patience and example over years. An adult is supposed to be over all that. Anyone who says it’s deserved because the kid did -something- is a person I truly hope never has kids. I hope to god you’re all posting from study hall or something, and hopefully have a chance to grow up before you inflict your attitudes on a child that’s “inconveniencing” you.