Giving thanks the child was not hurt and neither was anyone else. Sad situation though.

Wow...I'm sure glad he wasn't hurt...

I'm amazed he even knew how to start the car and make it go...

Shame on that mom.

I never ever sent my kids off on their own like that. And at that age I watched them walk into the school building.

But then I was kind of a freak about my kids.

patti

WOW sure hope they don't send him back into that home....glad no one was hurt...Stacy

Amazing, he said he learned to drive by playing Grand Theft Auto and other games!

Patti, it's not like the mom knew her child was driving to school! She slept in for crying out loud. LOL People do that. They make mistakes. I'm sure you have to. =o) And she won't do it twice, I'm sure.

I was amazed at his determination to get to school. I have a 6 yo that doesn't want to go.

My vehicle was in the shop a while back and I used a loaner with a smart key. To start it, all you had to do was push a button. Of course, you still needed to have the smart key in your pocket. I informed my dh that we would not be buying a vehicle with a smart key. We might wake up to a missing vehicle and child if my child ever figured out it was that easy.

The poor kid was hungry it sounds like! I say shame on that mom too- JMHO. And doubly shame on those parents at letting their child play those video games. GTA is NOT for little ones! DUH! It's been linked to violence before.

Blessings,
Haley

Debby, no I'm sure the mother won't do it again since she's now in jail. Did you read the entire article? Here's an excerpt:

"The boy's parents were arrested and charged with felony child endangerment. Wilkins said the father, David E. Dodson, 40, was under a court order not to leave the 6-year-old and his 4-year-old brother alone with their mother, Jacqulyn D. Waltman, 26, at their home in the town of Wicomico Church. But Dodson left for work at 6:30 a.m., and Waltman was still asleep when the 6-year-old missed the bus and then drove off at 7:40 a.m. for Northumberland Elementary School"

I read another article yesterday, so I didn't bother to click on the link above (why read it twice?) so no, I didn't see that. That paragraph was not in the article that was originally written yesterday.

Our Local TV News interviewed the Father. He said, as he smiled: "He (the boy) is slick. He is a slick kid."

Whatever that means.

IF this is the only instance of neglect I think they should be given a second chance. Taking two children out of the home they know and putting them somewhere with strangers is not the best answer. IMO

Sue

I felt so sorry for that little boy when I read the newspaper article a few days ago. I can't imagine a 6 year old getting himself ready for school while his mom slept. I also think that child is neglected if he is allowed to play violent video games.

how awful for that boy that his parents neglect him and he knows better and takes it upon himself to be the adult and get to school on time. charge the parents (surprisingly they actually did), jail them, make them miss work and pay a financial price for being such losers.

no one was hurt BUT the insurance co is going to suffer financially for this. hopefully they will pass on the costs to the owners (parents) but from their 'situation' it sounds like all the rest of us perfect/responsible/accident free insured drivers will be paying for this eventually...it always works out that way! ~ liz

I tried biting my tongue, but can't. Somehow I do NOT think it's awful that a kid has been raised to be responsible enough to get ready for school! Why do parents have to dress 6 year olds? To me, that demonstrates some GOOD parenting! Good grief, you say parents raising responsible kids these days are losers? Wow. What constitutes a responsible parent then? I guess they should be raising them to be truants, drug dealers, teenage parents, thieves, gang members and the like. Maybe that's what you want to see? And yes, of course it's the ones who have no claims that pay for those who do, that's the scam of insurance, be it car insurance, health insurance or any other type.

They don't go into any detail on what the prior problems have been, but with only what's been provided so far, I have a lot of other suggestions about parents who should be arrested and children taken away than someone who goes to work, or someone who happens to fall asleep! How many parents out there have HONESTLY never fallen asleep with your kids around? I thought so. My God, usually this type of chest thumping is only reserved for someone who had a beer in the house. This one bothers me a lot. I think there's a lot of people who should be strung up before people gainfully employed and raising their kids to be responsible. Apparently I'm wrong.

Face it people, there was a combination of issues that resulted in a bad situation. But you can't be crazy enough to think the parents conspired on this, and said I'll sneak off somewhere.... hey, I'll go to work, and you.... well, you fall asleep. Then we'll get the kid to steal the car and get in an accident!! Yeah, that's it! That's how we'll do it!!! Sheesh.

That said, I gotta say, he WAS one determined little fella! And you do have to chuckle about it.

Children who live neglected often find themselves striving to survive and grow up too fast. That's how I had to fend and many a day went by when I was little that I wished my mom and dad had helped me, provided for me or fed me. He's a CHILD for God's sake, treat him like one and love him like one. You don't wake up hungry one morning when your mom has slept in and just decide to take the car for a spin. The child has learned to fend for itself and to do what he can to feed himself. There is a serious lack of understanding if you honestly think, Cynic, that this is just a spritey little guy who has some guts.

Blessings,
Haley

Well said Cynic.

Jodi-

Haley, what understanding is it I lack? I'm open to learn. But you're showing a pretty active imagination to read all this stuff into this. If you had a bad childhood, I'm certainly sorry, but that does NOT mean that all parents are bad. And I don't agree with the premise he must "fend for himself" just because he can tie his shoes and brush his teeth.

I followed a link to read about it...it was a video with newscasters. I believe I heard them say there have been dealings with her before because of the kid or kids.

I came away thinking that she has been a neglective parent all along.

So I think Haley is right about what she is saying.

patti

I think Haley is right, a 6 year old shouldn't be unsupervised when getting ready for school. I don't think she meant he should be dressed by his mother, only she should be there and awake waiting with him, making his breakfast and making sure he gets on the bus. If not for the prior problems I would give the mother the benefit of the doubt on not waking up, once.

I still get my kids up and when I am home I stay awake till they get on the bus. They're older now but when they were younger they went to the neighbor's house on days I had to work or go to school so an adult supervised them. I still call most days when I'm at work to make sure they are doing ok and made it home from school. It's just not normal to leave a 6 year old to fend for himself.

When my kids were, maybe 7 and 11 (or so), their dad went to work early and I had to leave 20 minutes or so before the school bus came by. I paid an older, high school girl, to come and be with them during that time and then she just rode the bus from our house.

We only know what we read in the news. But that included the fact that for some REASON there was a court order against leaving the children alone with their mother. The father disobeyed the order. We don't know the reason for the court order, but it seems likely it is because the mother is known to have neglected or endangered her children in the past. Now she's in jail for doing it again.

This isn't about anyone accidentally oversleeping one time.

Anyone else think a 20-year age difference between the father and the mother is unusual?

Sorry, Cynic, but after reading the article, I disagree with you.

It's much more than that.

And I will add this...

they weren't awake when the child should've gotten on the bus.

So, Cynic, a 6 year old should be able to take care of all his needs by himself and get on the bus?

Again, I disagree.

Well Bless His Little Heart! He had to get to school for breakfast. He probably wouldn't get fed at home living with those two losers!Just shows how observant kids are. He knew how to start that car and get going.
IMO it was a good thing he did. Now he's out of there!