What Was She Thinking!

[Richard in Smithville]

Boy gets bad grades; mom gets extreme!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...012201192.html

[cabinetman]

Incredible. If the kid gets over it, it will be a long time.
.

[phi1l]

From what you hear on TV, that's how serial killers are made.

[BerniePA]

You have to wonder what else this kid has had to put up with in his life!!!

[Uncle Cracker]

If she did it, I hope she rots. That said, I have seen parents made to suffer because of a hoax perpetrated by a child too young to understand the consequences. While society wants to believe everything a child says, some flat-out enjoy lying to get attention, or just to see what happens. Unfortunate fact. I hope the authorities have the means in this case to determine what is the truth.

[LCHIEN]

what was she thinking?

"I hate rodents. I hate rodents. I hate rodents. I hate rodents. I hate rodents. I hate rodents. I hate rodents. I hate rodents. I hate rodents. I hate rodents. I hate rodents. I hate rodents. I hate rodents. I hate rodents. I hate rodents. I hate rodents. I hate rodents. I hate rodents. I hate rodents. I hate rodents. ..."

[herb fellows]

Really, man! This is called getting somebody else to do your dirty work! If it's true, she probably thought of it as 'killing 2 birds with one stone'....ok, maybe a bad analogy there...

[crokett]

My guess is she wasn't really thinking. That would not be a problem in our house, we would never have a hamster. My wife hates mice, rats and any reasonable facsimile thereof.

[alpha]

And she is next . . .

Bob

[vaking]

Actually - I don't think it is that simple.
People in rural areas often have pigs/goats/chicken and are accustomed to killing cattle for food. I don't see a big difference between a rodent and a goat. And in fact pigs are often treated as pets. It is only perception of a pet vs cattle that is different.
When parents want to punish a child they take away a favorite toy - this is very common.
Hampster was her son's pet (and favorite toy) and possibly the distraction that caused grades to drop. Forcing the son to give up a pet was viewed as effective measure by the mother. Hampster is not something you can easily give for adoption (my guess) and it is not likely to survive on its own. In this context killing a hampster might be more humane than letting it be eaten by a neigboring cat. Killing animal with a blow of a hammer is the standard way for cattle. So her actions did have some logic - to a point of course.
As for criminal charges brought against the woman - killing a domestic animal is normal for rural area. Killing animal with a blow of a hammer is normal too - charge for cruelty to animal will not stick.
Battery does not seem to be appropriate either. She did not use any physical violence against her son.
The most tricky part is forcing her son to kill the animal himself as punishment for something her son did wrong. This may cause some trauma for a kid. Is 12 year old big enough for that - unclear.

[Gator95]

Pretty sure that a pet like a hamster is in a different category than animals intended for food. The intended use of an animal plays a role in emotional attachment.

If the animal in question was a dog, would the 'country people kill and eat pigs, cows, and chickens' apply?

However I totally agree that the kids claim should be investigated- 12 year olds are not always a source of pure truth.

[billwmeyer]

Actually - I don't think it is that simple.
People in rural areas often have pigs/goats/chicken and are accustomed to killing cattle for food. I don't see a big difference between a rodent and a goat. And in fact pigs are often treated as pets. It is only perception of a pet vs cattle that is different.
When parents want to punish a child they take away a favorite toy - this is very common.
Hampster was her son's pet (and favorite toy) and possibly the distraction that caused grades to drop. Forcing the son to give up a pet was viewed as effective measure by the mother. Hampster is not something you can easily give for adoption (my guess) and it is not likely to survive on its own. In this context killing a hampster might be more humane than letting it be eaten by a neigboring cat. Killing animal with a blow of a hammer is the standard way for cattle. So her actions did have some logic - to a point of course.
As for criminal charges brought against the woman - killing a domestic animal is normal for rural area. Killing animal with a blow of a hammer is normal too - charge for cruelty to animal will not stick.
Battery does not seem to be appropriate either. She did not use any physical violence against her son.
The most tricky part is forcing her son to kill the animal himself as punishment for something her son did wrong. This may cause some trauma for a kid. Is 12 year old big enough for that - unclear.

I can't say how much I disagree with you. I am from the country, and this is horrible. I have killed many domestic animals, in my life, and none of them were for fun, usually to end their suffering. I have helped butcher animals for food also. What ever the circumstances, I treated the animal with respect and made it as painless as possible.

In this case, if you are going to take something away from a child, it should be something that can be handled with dignity and respect. That is the only way to make sense out of the punishment. I wouldn't have any problem of taking the pet away, if you have some place for it to go. Killing the hamster would be bad enough, but to inflict the trauma on a child by making him kill it, and kill it messily with a hammer is obscene. I still remember having pets killed accidentily as a child. I could not fathom having to live with an episode like this. The only lesson I can see coming out of this is to have a complete disregard for living things.

Bill