Wrong is Still Wrong

Okay I'm not trying to be a butthead here so bear with me.  I'm going to preface by saying that I think we, as parents, are often very judgmental of other parents.  Hell, before we have kids, we are the first to say, "Well my kid will never."  We tend to criticize in others what we fear most in ourselves.  Deep, huh?

That brings me to the topic of my post today: Wrong is still wrong and no it's not judgmental to say it sometimes.

What brings me to this?  Babies being left in cars and dying.  Allow me to explain.

Here is a short list of things that I consider to be accidents as a parent:
1-Leaving your kid alone with a sharpie and realizing they drew on your white sofa
2-Owning a white sofa with kids in the house
3-Hitting your kid in the face with the ball you're trying to toss gently in his open baseball glove
4-Giving your kid the sippy cup without the spillproof valve and watching it spill all over him
5-Letting him jump off the curb and watching helplessly as he somehow takes a header and breaks his collarbone
6-Not realizing that your little one has a diarrhea diaper for fifteen minutes and then nearly crying when you see the diaper rash they get from that short period of time.
.....you get the idea, right?

Here is a short list of things that are NOT accidents....
1.  Leaving your kid in the car....

I'm sorry, it's not an accident.  Accidents happen when you're doing the very best you can and you slip up.  Leaving your kid in the car is unacceptable.  I don't care what it's for.  I really don't.  The minute you turn your car off and leave your infant in the backseat alone while you go in ANYWHERE, you are making an active choice.  It's not an accident.  That brings me to my next point.....

WRONG IS STILL WRONG.

Yes, I said it.  Call me judgmental.  I'm okay with it.  It is WRONG to leave your baby in a hot car while you go inside and shop.  It just is.  It's not just my opinion.  It's fact....it's against the law!

"Well they get the worst punishment on the planet when their baby dies."  You're absolutely right but you wanna know something? That emotional torture does not negate their crime and they should absolutely be punished for it.  Sorry, not sorry.

So before you start in on a kumbayah-let's-all-just-accept-anything-that-anyone-does blog post, remember that wrong is not right simply because it's accepted by bystanders.  Accidents are accidents and we all make them.  Murder is not an accident.