You Don’t Need To Be A Sanctimommy To Get That Cracking A Windshield With Your Kid’s Head Is Abuse, Not Discipline

mom-discipline-daughterThreatening to pull the car over on your screaming kids is a right of passage for most parents, but one Florida mom took it a step too far when she slammed on the brakes and sent her 12-year-old daughter flying into the windshield. According to ABC affiliate KTRK, Lorena Simpson stomped on the brakes to get her kids to stop fighting and seriously injured her daughter, who police say was not wearing a seat belt. The girl’s head flew into the windshield with such force that it actually cracked the glass. Simpson now faces felony child abuse charges and has no idea why:

Simpson says she had no idea anything was wrong until police showed up three days later.
“I didn’t (do it) on purpose or intentionally harm my daughter, you understand,” Simpson told ABC affiliate WPBF-TV. “If she ever once complained to me and said, ‘hey mom I think I have a headache,’ (but) she didn’t. I’m heartbroken. My kids are gone.”

“There was no bump, so I’m sorry but I guess I did the wrong thing,” Simpson said.

She cracked a quarter-inch thick sheet of glass with her cranium, but there was no bump so obviously we’re all good here.

Police report that contrary to Simpson’s blather, her daughter did in fact complain of a headache and dizziness, but that’s neither here nor there. I think it’s a safe assumption that some sort of head trauma occurs when a skull bashes into thick glass hard enough to crack it. This mom’s utter confusion on that point is alarming enough that it leaves me wondering what other parenting dots she fails to connect on a daily basis.

I have two sisters and my mom threatened to stop the car as we fought more than a few times when we were growing up. I even remember her slamming on the brakes dramatically once or twice when we were going 15 miles per hour on an empty residential street in our own neighborhood. It was honestly pretty effective and always let us know that mom meant business. There were some crucial differences, though, such as seat belts and our mom having common sense.

I have no doubt that this woman is honestly as heartbroken as she says, and I’m sure she loves her children tremendously, but there is no excuse for failing to look out for their basic welfare. Slamming on your brakes in a fit of frustration is not abuse. It’s maybe not your proudest parenting moment, but that’s okay. We all have moments where we act as idiotically as our toddlers.

What is abusive is rolling around town with your kids unbuckled, possibly gravely injuring one of them, and then not seeking help because you either lack sense, aren’t even involved enough to realize something is wrong, or both. Simpson’s children are living with their father until further notice, and I think that’s for the best, provided their father is not some sort of heinous abusive monster. I wish them the best and I hope Lorena can get her shit together.

(Image via Shutterstock)

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