Kids need parents, not more friends

To people who do not know what child abuse is – not abortion, burning them with anything, locking them in a basement or closet, not loving them.

I was not happy with the neighbor who took a cell phone photo of a stepfather giving his stepson a swat with a belt or the news media that made a story out of it.

We raised three kids, none of whom ended up in prison or on drugs or homeless. They all raised families and don't expect society to take care of them.

When our 3-year-old daughter came home with a half-eaten candy bar, which she didn't have the money for, I switched her little legs all the way back to the store. When the owner, a friend, said that's OK, I said, no way. To this day she has never “five-fingered” anything else.

Come on, society, wake up and smell the roses. Your little darlings don't need a friend. They need parents that will say no, not, “What can I do to make you happy?” Punishment is not timeout in your room with a television and whatever else kids have today, in my humble opinion.

Kids do not need you to be their friend, they need you to be a parent.

Mind your own business unless you see real abuse, then call 9-1-1.

I am a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother of 10 great-grandchildren.

JERI KASTE
Yuma