What did you learn from the Slaby tragedy?
I'm not looking for more heated debate over the actions of Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby, whose 2-year-old died after being forgotten in her mother's vehicle. But I am interested in hearing if the tragedy changed YOUR life in any way.
Did any of your start rethinking your own priorities, or have even a moment of pause over how the demands of your job compromise your family life? Do you wrestle with being "everything to everybody," pressure Mrs. Nesselroad-Slaby said may have contributed to the tragedy?
If you are grappling with these issues, do you feel you have the power to change things, or is the struggle to do it all simply the reality of modern life? Please share your thoughts.
posted by Krista Ramsey at 12:40 PM
10 Comments:
at 7:37 AM, September 15, 2007 
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at 8:13 AM, September 15, 2007 
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at 11:08 AM, September 15, 2007 
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at 8:48 AM, September 17, 2007 
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at 12:13 PM, September 17, 2007 
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at 9:00 AM, September 18, 2007 
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at 12:22 PM, September 18, 2007 
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at 6:53 AM, September 21, 2007 
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at 9:26 AM, September 21, 2007 
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at 10:00 AM, September 21, 2007 
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Post a Comment*I learned that to be a "super-mom" or super-parent is really just being an arrogant fraud.
Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby's actions will have no impact on most behavior. She is the exception to normal behavior.
Perhaps those with poor common sense instincts and upbringing may change their risky child rearing inclinations.
What I learned from Slaby issue is that justice system in Clermont County is corrupt and if you have enough money, you can buy your way out of just about everything. I learned I forgot is a legitimate excuse and no one questions how or why you forget in Clermont County. I learned that in 3 short weeks you can get over the death of a child that you are solely responsible for and move on, going back to the job that caused the stress of "forgetting" the child in the first place. I learned that a $77,000 salary for a school admininstrator is not justified in cases where that administrator is incapable of prioritizing and multi-tasking and not to trust adminstrators just because they have a degree. I learned that if I am unfortunate enough to commit any criminal act in Clermont County, Croswell is the go-to guy for defense as he can make things go away. I learned that Slaby can still give advice and sometimes even the death of a child will not humble you into asking for advice not giving it. So many lessons in the Slaby case I cannot list them all. If you doubt my sincerity, I am being totally honest about what I have learned and I think my post should be allowed to stand.
I learned that if you have the right connections, you can get away with child neglect, endangerment, and maybe even murder in Clermont County. And you can probably still keep your job.
I learned that we should try to use this tragedy to prevent similiar ones in the future. My suggestion is to start a national campaign to encourage any parent, grandparent, or child care provider to ALWAYS take 10 seconds and check the back seat before getting out of the car. It should just become a habit and then no one will ever leave a baby in a car again.
A lot of women have developed the habit of checking the backseat BEFORE they get back into their car. It's a good idea - you can develop the habit of checking the backseat every time before you get out just as easily, I'd think.
This is not the first time this has happened in our country by a long shot. But it takes Cincinnatians to turn it into something it's not: murder. And we wonder why we have race riots. Talk about a confused lot...
To momwhocares: That is one of the level-headed ideas I've heard since this all began.
You're thinking of something along the lines of "Click it or ticket?" I would think that there must be a foundation that could underwrite a grant for such a campaign. Or maybe Mrs. Slagy's new foundation could use its funds for a campaign along these lines, rather than toward playground equipment.
I learned that Cincinnati's response to most things does not follow rational thinking, and that we're never too far from the whims of a lynch mob mentality (or sentimental dismissal of the issue). If we could only master the "golden mean", many, if not all, of our civic planning, political and social problems could be solved. It's our city's character and personality. But there's hope. People grow and change as individuals, so perhaps with inspired leadership, Cincinnati can too.
The rational thing in this instance would be to work to change the law or the leadership in Clermont County, if yout hink it's flawed, and to allow Mrs. Slaby to get on with her life. But most of us will go right back to our desks, factories, etc. and a few of us have made telephoned threats - how savage.
I learned that people act like they care about Cecilia and that something like this never happen again, but really, all they care about is making sure that "justice is served". (Until it happens to them, of course. Then they’ll be shouting “injustice!”) I've also learned that many people are so SURE that they’ll NEVER do this to their child because they are so vigilant in EVERYTHING they do and they actually CARE about their kids, unlike BNS.
I also learned that there are a lot of ignorant people who thing that women (or any stay-at-home parent) should absolutely not work because you cannot raise children if you work. Whomever you are, I challenge you to stay at home and see how viable this is for yourself before you spout off about this subject. What you should be spouting off about is trying to make the workplaces in this country more family-friendly...less hours, more vacation, more flexibility, etc.
Brenda had her priorities. Unfortunately, her child was not high on the list. She should be turned over to a grand jury a let THEM decide if she's innocent or guilty of child endangerment or negligence. I don't feel Don White acted responsibly in this case. There are Ohio laws that CAN be applied and I don't appreciate the mother of this poor child downplaying the significance of her babies death. It's happened before. How can anyone be sure that it really was an accident?
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