Topic : 05/11 Behind the Headlines

This is in response to the woman leaving her kids on the side of the road. I understand where she was going with that but it was a little extreme. Her kids could have been seriously hurt. I am a mother of 3 myself and i know that it is hard to concentrate on your driving when kids fight in the vehicle. What i do is stop the vehicle on the side of the road and stay parked there until the issue is resolved. After being parked on the side of the road for one hour once, they know i will stay as long as it takes. Now, i only have to say i'm gonna pull on the side and it stop right there because they know i will do it. I think we need to find ways to show our children right from wrong without putting them in danger or even manipulating them. You have to be straight forward with them and showing them that actions will be taken.

The parents are looking for someone to blame other than themselves. Peter is 20 years old and guys his age don't react to situations like adults would. His reactions are justified. If the mom would not have said horrible things about him, he might have stepped up and tried to help. Once someone is accused of having something to do with the disappearance, the less they will be willing to help.

I feel sorry that she is missing but they need to stop blaming Peter. He was not responsible for watching and the safety of this girl.

Back in the 60's I dropped one of my three fighting grade school age boys out of the car in a rural area. We, with a friend and her two daughters had gone to a small farming community to visit a friend that had a dairy farm. All the kids were excited to go, as were we moms'. On the way home the boys began 'picking' at each other. After many, many miles, and warnings, I pulled to the side of the road and dropped my middle son off, much to the horror of the other two sons and my friends daughters. It is now a good 50 years later, and I have to admit I think of it frequently. A trucker picked up my son and dropped him off in our inner city neighborhood In Minneapolis. Tomorrow when I see this son, I am going to ask him about any 'scars' I may have caused him.

I have told my kids to get out of the car before on time. But before I have told this to them, I first checked to see if anyone is coming down the road or behind us. I have only had to do this once. I did not leave them, I just drove a little bit ahead of them. We were in the country on a straight road - and since then, I remind of them having them walk home and they quickly be quite. I did have them walk far, just about 10 car lengths and the boys were very sorry for acting up. I have never put my children in harms way.
I believe the mom in New York did not think things through.
You have to think things through before acting.
I believe the mom in New York should have looked at her surroundings. She was NOT in the country - she was in a LARGE city where danger is just around every corner.

 The 10 year old is old enough to help the younger one. No one said anything about the danger that the children fighting caused. The mothers attention is on the kids not her driving. I say good for the mother for following through.

I think that are too many people getting involved. The stranger had absolutely no idea what the girls had been doing to drive their mother to kick them out of the car. Parents would not have put their children out if they thought they wouldn't be able to make it home. The daughter probably knew where she was till a stranger took her to " get ice cream", that she did not deserve. I believe that this mother had every right to do what she did. Children these days know that they can do what ever they feel like doing and get away with it, and their parents have to pay for it. Dr. Phil says OWN YOUR MISTAKES and take action. Well I applaud her for taking action. Children are out of control these days. I am a young single mother and I will do what ever I have to do to make sure my daughter knows that I mean business when I tell her something. She will have respect and treat people as she would like to be treated. I do agree that unfortunately there is way more violence in today's world. But had parents not have gotten weaker and put down for their decisions on raising their children, then I personally believe that it wouldn't be as high as it is now. Parents aren't even allowed to fuss their children anymore without judgment. Children are constantly taking advantage of all the laws and treating parents, teachers, law enforcement, and other people in general like crap. I believe that children should have consequences when they do wrong, yes I think parents are responsible to make sure their children know right from wrong, and it it obvious that these girls knew that. this mother should be applauded and not put down. Children  need discipline, and to quit being babied. That is why we have so many criminals now, they have never had to be responsible for their actions.  

A Big Big Ditto to your response. Exactly what I was thinking. I would never let a 17yr. od girl go off on spring break knowing very well what goes on out there. Anything and everything happens. She is not of age and not on her own. Her parents are responsible for her well being not her friends. Having said that, I feel very bad for her and her family that she is missing and hope with every thread of my heart that she is found alive and safe. As for her friends, its a gray area as to her well being. As much advice she may have rec'd from her friends, apparantly  she didn't listen. What does everyone expect from them, to hold her against her will? They need to stop singeling out just Peter and putting him under a microscope. Sure they must investigate the situation, but it looks to me that he was being accused of her disappearance. The authorities are probably looking for someone to blame whether or not they're guilty, like they usually do to people, just in order to put a small amount of satisfaction on the table and a collar for themselves, when in fact they need to investigate throughly until they get solid answers no matter how long it takes. Way too many inocent people are in jail or imprisoned due to hastiness and carelessness with an investigation process. Perhaps Britanee isn't  fairing well at home and decided to get away. Who knows what goes on in some households, you just don't know unless your there. On the other hand, I understand it was not a good area and knowing that , she should have listened to her friends, furthermore none of them should have been there.  She is old enough to understand reason.  But just because she's 17 and one or more friends are 18 - 21, they are not adult supervision and are not her babysitters. Perhaps they themselves need adult supervision. This is an age category that hangs together. What are friends supposed to do ,say "I can't hang with you because your not 18 yet". That would be absured, although friends should look out for each other, but remember they are adolesants and do not think clearly at times as to precautions and dangers. It could also be that just maybe one or more of her friends know or did something. I hope not.

I have 5 children 2 girls 3 boys,all grown,  I don't think this boy did anything wrong.  If he had forced that girl to go with him he would REALLY be scrutinized.  that being said, my girls were about as bull headed as they come girls at 17 can be VERY ureasonable.  I don't know that I would have encouraged my son to force an underaged girl to take a ride with him.  If he offered her a ride that is all he could do

Watching this show made me extremely angry.  The parents sat there and blamed the boy for their daughter's disappearance.  He is a 20 year old and not her parent.  We would all like to think that kids of this age are kind and considerate to their friends but they are not.  He is working with the police and has offered all possible information.  It was not his responsibility to watch their daughter.  How did a 17 year old make it to Myrtle Beach without her parents knowing?  I would have never dared to do such a thing when I was 17.  As much as I feel sorry for this situation and would like to see it end in a positive way, these parents need to take responsibility for their daughter leaving.