I don't know what show you were watching, but I certainly did NOT blame Stephen's school for him skipping 17 consecutive days. I blame them for not calling me until the 17th day so I could monitor this situation more closely.
Stephen's school is 2 blocks from the beach. Every single day I watch the kids get off the school bus and walk to the beach instead of walking into school. So unlike most parents, I made the 30-minute drive to take Stephen to school each and every day. I sat in the car and watched until I knew that he was safely inside the school building. What I didn't know is that the students walk in the front door and out the back door and head to the beach.
Florida has a ridiculous number of child molesters and sex-offenders on its registry. Two 16-year-old boys were recently raped shortly after stepping off their school bus. Another young boy (14 years old) was murdered as he walked through the park near his home. If my son is wandering through the woods or on the beach or ANYWHERE when he is supposed to be in school, I need to know about it so I can protect him.
As for your ridiculous statement that some parents do not appear to want to be parents, watch where you aim your gun. I am a single mother with 3 children. My ex-husband does not want to be a parent. He does not write or visit, has absolutely no contact with his children, and does not
pay child support. I gave up a very good paying profession in the legal field because I felt the need to stay at home where I could be a better parent. I felt the need to be more available for my children and to be able to attend every school function, every parent-teacher conference. When my children have a day off school, they are home with me. Not home alone. When my children are out on Spring Break, they are with me, not left home alone to take care of themselves. But when I take my child to school and I go to all the extra trouble to drive him right to the school door and make sure that he goes inside, I certainly do expect the school to be responsible for him until school is out. If he is missing, I expect the school to contact me as soon as possible -- NOT wait until his dead body washes up on a beach 5 days later.
Although you seem to believe that the school does not have the responsibility to telephone the parents when the child skips school, the Pinellas County, Florida School Board disagrees. Thank God! According to the Pinellas County School Board's own rules, the school is REQUIRED to telephone me any time my child is absent for one or more classes. They did not call until the 17th day. Once they called me, there were no more skipped classes. Had they called me on the 1st day that Stephen was missing, there might not have been a 2nd. Much less a 17th.
Not only do I not expect the schools to raise my children, I would not WANT teachers raising my children. I have met most of the teachers. Some are not even qualified to be parents, much less teachers. Ever check the test scores in Florida?
As for your ever-so-enlightning news that "kids know how to delete messages from the answering machine" -- guess what? I do not own an answering machine. I have voice mail and my son does NOT have the security code so he can NOT erase messages before I get them. I am also self-employed and I monitor both my home phone and my business phone 24/7. In addition, the school has my home phone number, my work phone number, and my cell phone number. They also have my email address. They can reach me anytime, anyplace. The did not attempt to call because they did not even realize that Stephen was missing!
So thank you ever so much for the newsflash, but I am quite involved in the parenting of my children. All 3 of them. But all 3 of my children are totally different. Stephen just happens to be a liar, a sneak, incredibly creative and too gutsy. Sometimes just being involved isn't enough. Neither is being a good parent.
Colleen (Stephen's Mother)
(Original Air Date: 09/27/06) Parents, you might be your kids' drug dealer. They could be getting high from products in your pantry, under your sink, or in your medicine cabinet. Dana says her 16-year-old son, Josh, has been experimenting with over-the-counter drugs. She says he's downed bottles of NyQuil, packs of cold pills and an entire bottle of mouthwash -- all in an effort to get high. See what drastic measures she took to bring Josh to the show. Then, 21-year-old Christina says she can't start her day without taking half a bottle of cough medicine. Her four-year addiction to robo-tripping is spiraling so far out of control, she fears her days are numbered. What will it take for Christina to kick her habit? Plus, a mom whose son died from an overdose of over-the-counter drugs shares her tragic story. Share your thoughts, join the discussion.
