A sickening case from Novi of a stepmother brutally torturing a two-year-old girl to death brings home again the sad realization that many people are vastly underqualified to care for children. You have to get a license to get married, drive a car, go hunting, etc., etc. The most important job ANYONE can do is care for a little person. I cannot imagine someone taping this little girl's mouth shut, then burning and beating her to death.

My own children make me crazy sometimes, and heaven knows, I could pull my hair out because of many a student, but, I AM THE ADULT HERE. I cannot do these things, nor would I want to. Children depend on us as adults for EVERYTHING. When will people quit putting their own selfish needs ahead of these little beings that didn't ask to be created? When will people be held accountable for their actions in a proactive way? So what if this woman was charged and convicted of first-degree murder. That doesn't bring this baby back. If she hadn't been allowed to care for her in the first place, the death could have been prevented. How on earth could Dad not have an inkling about the possible evil in his new wife? Furthermore, how could they already be married? The little girl is only two - that would mean the divorce and remarriage took place in less than four years (from conception to the end of her second year). I think that the stepmom isn't the only guilty party here.

Please, please, if you have children, think about what your actions and desires will do to them. If you don't have children, don't have them unless you're prepared to give up your self for them! I see the result every day in my classroom of the damaging actions of adults. When you become a parent, you give up your right to think of your own needs first. Maybe we'd all think a lot harder about having kids if we had to go through some rigorous training and certication process. It's hard enough to parent when you're always trying to do the right thing (because it's impossible not to fail at times) - without proper preparation and motivation, it can be tragic for the child.