Debate: mother jailed for kids truancy - Good or bad?

Arthur Dent · 05-15-2002, 08:59 AM

Here in the UK, a mother has been convicted and jailed for 90 days because her two daughters (13 and 15) skipped too much school. After "exhausting all other options", legal charges were filed under a two year old law and the mother was sent to prison for 60 days.

This woman is a single working mother. There is a third, older daughter who looks after the other two during the day. The school's principal and others attempted all the usual threats, persuasion, parent teacher meetings, etc. but the kids still skipped school.

Now that the mom is in jail, the two girls are reportedly feeling real guilty and attending school regularly again.

So, do you think it's right to jail this woman so her kids will go to school?

Edit - I should prbably provide link.
BBC article on jailed mom

Edited By Arthur Dent on May 15 2002 at 05:03

IkeaBoy · 05-15-2002, 09:02 AM

Good question, I mean I don't know if she's a bad parent or anything but having her jailed will just have the kids lacking more supervision.

crack hitler · 05-15-2002, 09:04 AM

that does seem a bit extreme, but i'd assume that "exhausting all other options" included warnings. i'm wondering if they'd fined her before hand at least.???

oh yeah, this is still not him posting, i'm lazy

OAS · 05-15-2002, 12:10 PM

What was mother doing that she was unaware that the kids were skipping school? She apparently was not being an involved parent. Sixty days of womans prison sex should get her attentions focused where they need to be.

Danked · 05-15-2002, 12:14 PM

Quote:oh yeah, this is still not him posting, i'm lazy

It's brits like you, that get mums sent to jail.

Sloatsburgh · 05-15-2002, 01:05 PM

Fucking slut should have had the three shits.

and OAS, she's a single mother with three kids, two of which are assholes. Se has not had sex for a long time.

EDIT: I just read the article and seen pictures of this woman. Something must be wrong with the British people for them to be so damn ugly. If you are not sexually attractive on any level, how the hell do you continue to reproduce?

Edited By Sloatsburgh on May 15 2002 at 09:17

Skitchr4u · 05-15-2002, 01:13 PM

Sounds like the authorities are going a little overboard. I mean, if she gets them ready for school, leaves for work, and then they don't go to school what can she do? not work? wouldn't that get the kids taken away from her instead of her going to jail? seems like she is in a lose lose situation...

Sluggo · 05-15-2002, 01:18 PM

Quote:Sixty days of womans prison sex should get her attentions focused where they need to be.

Maybe you should rethink that statement...
I prsonally think it's rediculous, these kids need mom at home.

Arthur Dent · 05-15-2002, 02:02 PM

What about putting the KIDS in juvi for a week? Scare the shit out of 'em.

Sean Cold · 05-15-2002, 02:09 PM

Quote:She apparently was not being an involved parent.

Thats a load of dog shit. I skipped school constantly and my mother had no clue. And, she was beyond involved, I just knew how to cover my ass is all.

When a kid hits the teens, they should be the ones punished for thier actions. There is no fuckin way you should be able to blame a parent for a child's lack of going to school in the later stages of life. But, then again, i am an asshole so my opinion means absolute dick.

PollyannaFlower46 · 05-15-2002, 08:33 PM

They do this is some states down south too, I saw something about it on the news once. I think it's a good idea just because these kids don't learn from warnings, and obviously the mother's threats and or punishments were uneffective as well. Looking at the end result so far, it appears as if the children are going to school so the punishment was effective. Also, you have to think that they are doing this to try to scare more truants into going to school...kinda like what they were hoping to do with the Rockefeller drug laws. I do feel bad for the mother though, I know when I was in high school and cutting, it wasn't my mother's fault at all.

Sloatsburgh · 05-15-2002, 09:29 PM

Quote:What about putting the KIDS in juvi for a week? Scare the shit out of 'em.

They end up there eventually.....

As for those of you who ditched without your mother knowing, well what would happen to you if you mother DID find out? and might have happend if you blew it off after that. These kids are not at stage 1 tomfoolery that you are talking about, they are at stage 25 deliquency