Tina Richards Charged with Aggravated Assault and Injury for Hurting 10-Month-Old Son
In Georgia, Tina Richards, 19, is charged with aggravated assault and battery, and first and second degree child cruelty. Her ten-month old son remains in critical condition at a hospital in Savannah.
Emergency medical servives arrived at Richard’s home after receiving a 911 call that she fell with the child while getting into the shower. According to the call, the child was having trouble breathing.
EMS told the police that the baby’s injuries were not consistent with the story since he was completely dry and his injuries were not consistent with a fall. The boy had dried blood in its nostrils and could only breathe when held upright. EMS found the baby had bruises on his arms and around his head. He may have a broken nose and other facial injuries.
At the home, the sheriff recovered a onesie sewed into the bed sheet, yarn may have been used to maybe strap the child’s legs down, and duct tape.
Oh god.
They are investigating to see if Richards was suffering from post partum depression. Even so, this isn’t the first time she was found abusing her son. Richards was arrested last summer on cruelty to children and battery charges. At that time the boy, had a bruised eye and black and blue marks on both arms.
Richards plead guilty to both charges and was sentenced to five years probation and $1350 in fines.
Why did this woman get her son back? Needless to say, local officials are investigating.
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51 opinions for Tina Richards Charged with Aggravated Assault and Injury for Hurting 10-Month-Old Son
rockdoll_71
Jan 27, 2008 at 8:10 am
Stupid bitch should be horse whipped.
Why the hell did she get him back if she was abusing him before? God, somebody failed this baby. She should have NEVER gotten him back. I hope DSS isn’t stupid enough to give him back again.
I hope she gets a long jail sentence this time, not just a fine and probation like the last time she was caught abusing him, POS.
onthegowith5xy
Jan 27, 2008 at 8:31 am
I wish these mothers would just give their babies up for adoption before they hurt them! They are selfish ignorant little girls! Poor little boy, I hope he is okay and that she never sees him again! I cannot believe that she beat him once before and only got probation! That makes me so mad! If a person beats a child once, chances are, they will do it again!!!! I will pray for this precious boy!
rockdoll_71
Jan 27, 2008 at 1:48 pm
ONthegowith5, I agree with you totally. Most of these young girls (not all) are not ready to be mothers and only think of themselves. They seem to think that it’s romantic to have a baby, not realizing what it requires to be a good mother and guess who pays for their stupidity? Right, the baby. Social services are a joke here too. What the hell were they waiting for? For her to kill him? It’s just common sense to know that if she beat him before she would do it again. She should have NEVER gotten him back the first time. It’s just a good thing that she didn’t kill him. I hope that he goes to someone with some sense this time around. Maybe he’ll have a chance at a normal life if he’s away from her, that stupid bitch.
Ihavekidstoo
Jan 27, 2008 at 2:41 pm
You know in every state in the country, hospitals require you to DEMONSTRATE that you have an approved car seat installed in your vehicle before they will permit you to take your baby home. Why can’t we have some laws that require parents to DEMONSTRATE that they have jobs, stable home lives and some parenting classes before they’re allowed to take their babies home?
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I don’t think being a young mother precludes you from being a good mother, but I think being really young when you have a baby makes it 100 times harder to be a good parent. It’s hard enough when you’re mature, emotionally and financiall stable.
onthegowith5xy
Jan 27, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Rockdoll,
I agree with you also. Social Services is a Joke in most states, it is horrible! I know this girl who is 19 and has 3 children! She has been arrested for child abuse twice and she still has her children in her custody. It truly makes me sick! Children are not toys!! These girls have babies thinking it is all fun and games but parenting is hard work, it is not a game! I hope this little boy is okay. I hope this girl goes to jail and never sees that little boy again.
rockdoll_71
Jan 27, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Onthegowith5, I know exactly what you mean. My best friend’s daughter is 21. She has twins. They are beautiful twin boys, boys I would love to have. She doesn’t want them. She neglects them terribly. I have called social services three times! They are a joke, let me tell you. You know what they did? They actually called her to let her know that they were coming out THREE HOURS ahead of time! Needless to say, she had time to change their diapers, give them a bath (for a change) and clean her house. What kind of junk is that?!!! She still has custody of those boys. It’s going to take something horrible to happen before they really do something. I’m sorry for ranting but this is definately part of the problem as I see it.
onthegowith5xy
Jan 27, 2008 at 4:01 pm
That is terrible!:( Those poor kids! I just don’t understand parents who can treat their children like this, and I never will! I can barely stand to see my boys cry!! I can’t imagine inflicting pain on them intentionally!
donnam
Jan 27, 2008 at 4:05 pm
This is horrible and no woman can call herself a “mom” that does this to her child. What a skank she needs to be beaten and sterilized sad thing of it is this woman can probably have more children. (and will treat them the same way)The system should just stop her now pull the plug on that uterus of hers and take away the baby now and for good! apparently the laws are waaaaaaaayyyy more lax in Georgia than they ought to be. With all the laws that are in place to “protect” these little ones it doesn’t seem that any of the parents have been educated on that fact either that or then they cannot “ride” the system. I agree with you Ihavekidstoo People should definatly have to DEMONSTRATE that they can be proper parents b4 they leave the hospital. Any idiot can make a baby, and sadly our system does seem to overlook that fact more often than not.
Kristy
Jan 28, 2008 at 3:27 am
Last summer? The boy is 10 months old! He must have been TINY last summer!
Poor thing.
angelfalls
Jan 28, 2008 at 7:04 am
I am posting updates everywhere I find this story online. I hope you don’t mind.
Aiden is still not doing too well. They tried to give him medication to help with the seizures, but he’s not responding to them…they’ve decided to call in a neurologist, and hopefully we will know the severity of his condition later on tonight! I’ve heard talk of them possibly taking him off of life support if he doesn’t progress…but there is still hope, and we’re praying for a miracle! PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR HIM! THANK YOU!
Also, a friend of the family in GA is collecting letters / emails to bring to the judge. If you could please take 5 minutes and write something, it would be greatly appreciated.
I want to thank the few people that have sent in the emails (april2208@gmail.com Subject: AIDEN) but I also want to encourage the rest of you to take a stand. We were told to write as many letters as possible to the judge in Effingham County GA. Tell him that we feel Tina Richards should get the maximum sentence possible for such an inhumane && violent act against a poor innocent helpless child! You dont have to know the baby or the mother….just know the case….&& if you are not up to date on any of it….read it on wtoc.com. Thanks
Patiently waiting,
April
april2208@gmail.com in the subject line type:AIDEN
onthegowith5xy
Jan 28, 2008 at 7:38 am
Thank you so much for the update on Aiden! I will continue to pray for him to pull through. And I will definatly write a letter to the judge. Please continue to update us on his condition! Thanks again.
sevencats
Jan 28, 2008 at 10:37 am
I’m really starting to see the value of mandatory birth control. Just because you have the equipment does not mean you have the right to use it however you damn well please. These ignorant little baby factories want a baby because babies are bling, just like little dogs and True Religion blue jeans.
rockdoll_71
Jan 28, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Angelfalls, thanks so much for the update and please continue to keep us posted. I am writing a letter now. Let us know if there is anything else that we can do.
jronthemic
Jan 28, 2008 at 2:28 pm
rockdoll 71, please try to monitor your friends daughter…I am so afraid that we will be reading another horrible article. YOU may be the one person to save those children’s lives through persistance. This is the “before” the incident occurred–time that is crucial. That is so heartbreaking. I am too agressive, if she was my daughter I would be in her house and just take them out that situation.
This baby doesn’t sound like he’s doing so well. I will pray and write letters, but it might again be too late for another tiny child. How on EARTH can a judge/agency or anyone give back a BABY to a teenager who has already been convicted of CRUELTY?!! WTF! The word alone makes you shiver…This girl knows right from wrong this was continued abuse and intentional — she deserves to fry!!!
How many children have to die in each county, city, state, etc. before Social Servcies understands that a couple of I am sorry’s and an anger managment class do NOT generally change a violent offender (really being able to hurt a baby/child is not so common of normal human beings!!! Protection is)…certainly not in a small period of time. They give parents too much credit and assume everyone is OK, they passed the requirements…WELL THEY ALREADY SURPASSED THE REQUIREMENTS OF AN EVIL BEING and do not deserve these children!!! STOP GIVING THEM BACK
Jessica Says Grr
Jan 28, 2008 at 5:00 pm
okey so i was friends with tina.
i had no clue this was going on.
you would have never suspected it.
she always treated him with the best care.
i really hate myself for not knowing that she did this to aiden.
aiden is the most sweetest baby you could ever meet.
if i ever see her agian.
she will regret the day that she hurt my little aiden pants!
wendy
Jan 28, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Jessica Says Grr– I think you’re the first person who has ever known someone and not posted in their defense here. Don’t hate yourself, you’re on Aiden’s side like the rest of us. (And don’t do anything that could be considered assault if you do run into Tina, she’s not worth going to jail over)
This is just such a sick story; from the prior with cruelty, to the onesie sewed to a bedsheet, to the beating a child so severely he can’t breath– I just don’t have words for it.
rockdoll_71
Jan 28, 2008 at 8:50 pm
jronthemic, I have called and PLEADED with the social services to intervene. They are such a joke. What else can I do? I would love to take those boys and raise them as my own. If I could go in and just take them from her, I would. No, you aren’t too aggresive. You care. So do I, more than you know.
I hope that this sorry bitch gets what she deserves. I loathe people who mistreat kids, especially babies. He is only 10 months old. It just breaks my heart. I have a 6 month old son and I can’t imagine mistreating him in any way. He is my angel that fell from the stars.
angelfalls
Jan 28, 2008 at 8:59 pm
Aiden’s father was also arrested tonight for cruelty and obstruction charges.
His brain swelling has gone down and his eyes are now open. Last night he also had a bowl movment on his own. So thats progress!
We are also asking all friends and all you mothers out there to place a blue RIBBON outside of your homes in prayer for little Aiden to show that we all LOVE him and we are all PRAYING that he will make it through this! Things are not looking GOOD but all of our PRAYERS matter and will help Aiden. So please even if its a small blue ribbon on a small tree outside just to show we care! Thank You
sfdude_2008
Jan 28, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Look at this girl! Can you imagine what her angry face looks like? Poor baby must’ve been terrified! Babies are so helpless! That selfish, emotionless “f**ck you” faced asshat doesn’t deserve the chance to procreate ever again!
rockdoll_71
Jan 29, 2008 at 1:34 am
angelfalls, thank you so much for keeping us updated. This poor little guy hasn’t left my mind since I read about this. If I had my way, his uncaring POS “mother” would fry but it’s not up to me.
Please continue to keep us informed. It sounds like Aiden might make it through this…PLEASE GOD.
loving_mom
Jan 29, 2008 at 7:17 am
I am so sick and tired of moms hurting their children and using the PPD excuse to get off. I went through PPD SEVER PPD. I could not look at my daughter, I could not even been in the same room with her. I would make excuses to go to work just to get away from her. It even got so bad the I began to neglect my 2 year old. NOT ONCE EVER IN THE MONTHS AFTER HER BIRTH DID I THINK OF HURTING HER OR MY SON. I am also sick of hearing the excuse “Oh well I don’t have the money to go to therapy.” Neither did I. I called the church that is up the street from my old apartment and they gave me the number to an awesome therapist. She refused to let me pay anymore then $35 for the countless hours she spent working with me.
There is NO EXCUSE for straping a child down and breaking his nose. That is ridclious and if they think that is it PPD then people really have lost touch with what PPD is. Look at that women who SET HER HOUSE ON FIRE!! Burned her child ALIVE and she does not care. She just wanted her man back. MORONS!! Andrea Yates is a perfect example of PPD. She had “stairstep” children and was home with them ALL THE TIME. I promise I know how frustrating that is. I am not condoning what she did but, I can understand how she felt. Now she is spending the rest of her life in a mental hospital. Two kids in diapers is enough to make someone crack but imagine 3 or 4 in diapers.
I just hope this is not going to be another one of those “Oh poor pitiful me I have ppd so let me off” cases.
Pak67
Jan 29, 2008 at 10:51 am
Nothing against unwed mothers because not all are bad but these certain young unwed mothers, who I am sure don’t get pregnant intentionally, are not ready to be parents. Why not just give your baby up for adoption if this is how you are going to treat him??? The time and effort she puts into torturing and hurting him could be used doing other more useful things. Who are these people??? Get that little boy out of that home and give him a chance at life. I don’t care how much she was annoyed at him or whatever the case might have been, how does someone have that in them to harm a baby like that?? How can you do these unspeakable acts and not feel bad about it???
Pak67
Jan 29, 2008 at 10:55 am
Another thought. This probably wouldn’t work, but instead of or addition to sex ed, young girls should have to see on film or be educated what it’s like to actually have a child. Let them know that life as they know it will never be the same. They can forget about everything, the focus on their teen years will not be going out and having fun, it will be taking care of the baby etc….. It may not work but it would have to hit home with someone at least.
wendy
Jan 29, 2008 at 11:18 am
Pak67 it’s a thought, I don’t think watching movies would do the trick but something more intensive and hands-on might reach a few of them.
Honestly, the best reason I had for not being a teen mom was working with infants and toddlers for minimum wage– at the time when it came to babies I thought “Imagine doing this for free all the time!” Come to think of it, none of my coworkers ended as teen moms either.
loving_mom
Jan 29, 2008 at 12:54 pm
I had the “take care of an egg” thing for a semester in high school. It did nothing to show me what it was really like to take care of a baby. I think what schools need to do it make girls AND boys volunteer at a day care every saturday and sunday for a semester. That will show them how hard it is to go to school all week long and then on the weekends have to be in one place and not out with their friends. Not only will that help keep down on unwanted teen pregancy and disgusting abortion but that will also show responsiblity.
PAK67 “How can you do these unspeakable acts and not feel bad about it???”
I am not going to say all but I do know a lot of the time the abuser was abused when he or she was a child. They think it is ok to do this sort of thing. Take a drive through the low income part of town one day. Look at all the “Mothers” and “Fathers” in designer clothes, nails dones, hair done, ect. Then look at their kids. Running around in 3 day old diapers, nasty clothes, filthy. I am not the best mom ever but, my kids have plenty of clothes to wear and I have more food and juice in my kitchen then Wal-Mart. Just the other day was the first time in 3 years I bought a new pair of shoes. It has been almost a year since I have gotten my hair “done” which I sent off to locks of love. Sadly we live in a society where people think it is ok to have a $80,000 brand new car while their kids starve, have on horrible clothes, and live in a house with a condemend notice on the door (YES I HAVE SEEN THESE HOMES!!). How many times do you see social workers in those araes of town? Almost never. They are to busy or overloaded. I said it once before and I will say it again. If you are a social worker and you can’t find the time to tend to each child in a timely manner then you need to consider another job. The long they take to process a case that is just one more day that child has to suffer, that is one moment closer they are to death and if that child dies becasue you did not do your job then it is on your head. You can go to the funeral and tell the family “Oh I am so sorry but, I did not have enough time to process your loved ones case.”
I ended up as a teen mom and I don’t regret a moment of it. My kids saved my life. If it was not for my kids I would be in a ditch somewhere wasted and I am not even 21 yet. I work hard, my kids are happy, healthy, and well taken care of.
Amy
Jan 29, 2008 at 1:09 pm
It’s so wonderful that Loving_Mom could find counseling. It would go a long way toward helping if we could make mental health services easily accessible to overwhelmed and unqualified parents. There’s no mechanism in place. Every girl in America knows where to go to get a safe, legal abortion. But I bet very few have even a clue what to do if they’re overwhelmed parenting. And if they haven’t yet hurt the child, what help can they hope to get?
So many of our evils today are supported by culture. Who could deal with the stigma (or legal issues) of giving up a baby? No help, heavy stigma, so they swallow till they pop.
For all these evil acts, I’d like to see people respected and supported when they come for help before they’ve committed evil acts. I’d like to see it celebrated as an admirable act to go for help because you feel like shaking or hitting your baby. The babies deserve the best we can muster, even if that means respecting a mother who says “I want to hit him and am afraid I might.”
Ihavekidstoo
Jan 29, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Amy, I wasn’t aware there was a stigma associated with giving a baby up for adoption. I always thought it was a generous, loving thing to do, but I’ll admit I am WAY out of step with what teens today think.
As for the legal issues of giving up a baby, those are totally 100 percent avoidable. Nearly every state in this country now has laws in place that allow a parent to walk into a police or fire station or hospital, hand the baby over and walk out with no questions asked. Of course, this must be done within a certain time frame from birth, but I’d be willing to bet that the people who REALLY don’t want a baby know they don’t want it while they’re still pregnant, so they’ve had plenty of time to think about getting rid of it.
loving_mom
Jan 29, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Amy sadly even the mothers, like myself who have reached out for help are still put under the evil eye. We are looked at like savages for having such feelings for our children. I once even had a women compare me to a dog. When female dogs give birth they must be monitored or they will eat their puppies. I have nor had any intentions on eating or harming my children. I take great pride in myself for realizing that I need some help and finidng it. I also have the up-most-respect for any other mother who comes forward and says “I HAVE HAD ENOUGH”.
loving_mom
Jan 29, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Ihavekidstoo
There is a certain feeling there. When I was 17 I got pregeant with my first baby. I was watching a show on the Discovery Health Channel and this girl, same age as myself, had decided to give her baby up for adoption. She was ok with this. She was going to therapy and visiting the family ect ect….When it came down to the moments after she had her baby and she saw the baby and she held the baby she refused to sign the final papers. She was screaming hysterically that this was her child and how dare anyone try and talk her out of it. Which I feel that statement was towards her mother. When she was upset her mom said well it is to late now and you have to do it. I believe she kept the baby, finished school, and that was the last I remember.
You are correct in saying that you can go to any police station, fire department, or hospital and leave your child. I am not so sure there is a time frame but, I know you can do it. I have even heard of moms or dads leaving their child in their home and calling the police and saying “Hey my neighbors moved out 2 days ago but, I keep hearing their baby crying.”
wendy
Jan 29, 2008 at 1:45 pm
loving_mom I have few huge issues against compulsory “volunteering” First is that it isn’t actual volunteering unless someone volunteers without having it enforced as compulsory.
My other issue is that it puts kids off campus, and forces them to work with small children regardless of their ability to handle stress and exposes them to all sorts of new and wonderful diseases that will interfere with attending school. (Trust me, no prior vaccination is going to do any good when 20 little kids are spewing measles germs everywhere, you will catch measles.)
I agree with you though, on some level, I think if schools would offer some kind of incentive or intern program for both boys and girls to work at a day care, hospital nursery or animal shelter– many of them would rethink taking on additional responsibilities.
Now, I do think that home ec and budgeting classes should be compulsory for every student.
jcczma
Jan 30, 2008 at 8:38 am
now see my high school offered classes such as child care where someone like my cousin who had her first baby at 15 could take her daughter in that room go to school and also take that class where she could spend quality time with her daughter now if you take that class for two years you are certified to work at a day care my cousin is now 26 married with 3 kids and runs an in home day care my high school also offered classes such as relationships, parenting, child development i took all those courses and it helped me alot granted i didn’t have my daughter until i was 21 but i still remember things i learned in those classes (those courses are not required) but i feel that they should be along with math, foreign langauges, english, and other such classes. then cases like this wouldn’t be happening everyday. poor aiden your in my prayers.
Alexandra
Jan 30, 2008 at 9:22 am
Sickening. I am the mother of a six-year-old boy myself, and I can’t imagine hurting the little guy!
You don’t want your child, there are loving couples who want to give a child a loving home!
Betty19
Jan 30, 2008 at 11:31 am
Thats a terrible thing!! How can they expect her to change??? She should be branded with a hot metal rod as a baby beater. I can’t believe the part about the onsie and the yarn…I just imagine some one trying to do that to my little 8 month old.
I am 19 and I am a wonderful parent. What the hell got into her mind (drugs probably..) to make her think its ok to put marks on her kid like that…giving and infant bruises! and black eyes!!! thats terrible. I hope she confesses and never sees that boy again.
angelfalls
Jan 30, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Ok we made aiden a myspace page, so anyone that would like updates ect you can add him here: http://www.myspace.com/aidenwaller
*UPDATE* Aiden’s grandmother called the hospital this morning to see how he was doing, and they said they can not release any more information over the phone, as requested by DFCS! DFCS is the one who allowed this to happen in the first place, how dare them!
There is also a petition that was made.
WE ALL KNOW THAT AIDEN WAS TAKEN OUT OF THIS ABUSIVE HOME AND PLACED SOMEWHERE THAT NO ONE COULD HURT HIM. HE WAS THEN REMOVED FROM HIS SAFE HAVEN AND PUT BACK IN HARMS WAY! LETS STOP THIS FROM HAPPENING TO OTHER CHILDREN. THIS PETITION WILL BE SENT TO THE SUPERIOR JUDGE THAT IS HANDLING THIS CASE. PLEASE PLACE YOUR NAME AT THE BOTTOM AND FORWARD TO OTHERS! LETS STOP CHILD ABUSE!
Click below to sign the petition!
http://www.petitiononline.com/aidenw/petition.html
rockdoll_71
Jan 30, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Angelfalls, I signed the petition and also wrote a letter to the judge. I just hope that he sees them all and what I really hope for is for that bitch to get the harshest possible penalty.
When you find out how he’s doing, please let us know. I have thought about him daily.
yoshi
Jan 31, 2008 at 7:09 am
Most of the people you read about here aren’t sadists, and they aren’t doing this because they enjoy it. They’re doing it because they acclimate to “discipline”, and the older a child gets the worse it gets. Some people acclimate faster than others, and the “discipline” they use escalates. It starts as spanking, then progresses eventually becoming full fledged abuse, and the parent really doesn’t know what’s wrong until they’re caught.
As for a stigma, there always has been and always will be a stigma surrounding parenting. People accept that you need training and education to drive a car, you need training and education to do a job, but parenting is supposed to be natural. Asking for parenting help is seen as weakness or implies you’re a flawed person, especially if you’re female. People will do anything to avoid feeling alone or alienated, or if they can’t avoid it they proceed to blame the source, regardless of whether this source is valid or not. If this leads a parent to resent their child, the recipe for abuse is already laid out. Everyone has the capacity to be this woman, it’s simply a matter of being in the right place at the right time, and having the right variables in your life. People aren’t unique, they’re a result of variables applied to the same basic initial process throughout life.
Here’s an interesting story about human alienation:
A young man, against the wishes of his family, wanted to become an artist. By making the choice to follow his dream, he was alienated from his current friends and family. He already resented his family for an unhappy childhood as well as making him choose between what he loved and them. He was regularly whipped and abused as a child, and out of 6 siblings, only he and one of his sisters survived to adulthood. He failed as an artist, and when he lost his new friends he had made, was completely alienated from society as a whole. He developed survival mechanisms like deceit and manipulation during this period of alienation, and later used them to get revenge on the people he felt betrayed him and let him down. By using these mechanisms he presented false charisma and became a politician, gaining the power he always wanted. In order to avoid losing this power and returning to a normal, alienated shell of a human he utilized legal resources to combing the office he currently held with another major office in the nation’s governing body. Every step he took from that point on was about one simple concept: the more power he had, the less likely he was to lose it. Eventually when he was on the verge of losing his power, he chose to take his own life rather than go back to the way he was or face his peers and be held accountable for the atrocities he committed to achieve his power.
I’ve always found that story interesting for how clearly it shows the innate human fear of being alone or feeling powerless. No matter what we do in life there’s always the very real fear that we’re constantly being judged by those around us, even if they don’t know who we are or will never see us again, and some people simply can’t get past that. There is a very real fear in asking for help, that others will and often do judge you as inferior or “broken”. In fact, i’d best most of the people you see posted on this site HAD asked for help on several occasions, subtly, and in their own way. They’d never come right out and ask specifically though, because that would leave them vulnerable and open to judgment. That’s why being able to recognize the signs both as the parent in the situation and as a friend, colleague, or neighbor is so important. Knowing when someone is asking for help may be the difference between life and death.
Oh, and the artist? Adolf Hitler.
teenshock
Jan 31, 2008 at 11:20 am
I’m from this girl’s area and it’s quite the news story every day. And just the other day, the father was also arrested because of Tina’s mother. Apparently, she told police that Philip (the father of Aiden) knew about it and also contributed. But she hasn’t told anyone how Aiden has been taken away because of her. But now Philip is in jail and it’s complete nonsense. Philip worked two jobs to support Tina and his child and came home when Aiden was asleep and left when he was asleep. He was home for a few hours if that. Tina’s friends were over more than Philip. Philip used to be a huge partier but after Aiden was born, he stopped. He didn’t have the time to with two jobs. Well, Aiden is still on life-support and Philip has been at that hospital all day, every day since this has happened, and until the police came to arrest him as he sat by his son’s bedside. (Or looking through the glass, I’m not sure.) He resisted, naturally. And now he’s sitting in jail because his crazy girlfriend hid the abuse. Yes, I’m sure he looked in the crib, where Aiden’s onesie was sewed to the mattress, but there was probably a blanket over him or maybe it was sewed down inconspiciously. I just know, Tina and her mom are crazy and THOSE two should be the ones in jail.
(PS: I have never had a personal relationship with either, but I know both and I know tons of people who are personally involved in their lives. And everyone says the same story, even people who don’t know each other but know Philip and Tina.)
msolsen05
Jan 31, 2008 at 12:54 pm
It would be also an idea to show the brutal reality to young teens of the aftermath of child abuse. Have them talk to survivors of SBS, or to family members who have lost their children to an abusive partner or by there own hand. If that doesnt make them stop to think then show the pics of those poor little souls who suffered and the aftermath of someone losing their control and hurting someone that trusted them the most. Sounds horrifying but I feel people need a shock to their minds at what the end result looks like. All of course with permission and done with the utmost respect. I know when I was going through some medical courses I saw some of those pics and they have haunted me. Worth the thought.
msolsen05
Jan 31, 2008 at 1:02 pm
I have 3 girls and soon to be an additional one come June 8. I cring each time I see anystory involving children being hurt or neglected, or murdered. Just look at the little baby that was tossed out of the car presumably by his father and died. Thats just ONE story out of thousands per year. When does it stop? It never will sad to say….
Alexandra
Feb 1, 2008 at 8:05 am
I tell my six-year-old son that he’s blessed for having a family that adores him. His father (to whom I’ve been married 14 years) and I love him, my mother and sister adore him and are always buying him things, and my in-laws love him.
It’s sad that these children grow up abused and neglected. I guess that’s to be expected with the mindset nowadays that children are not blessings but burdens. Mothers with ten children get criticized constantly for having so many. Then people have sex constantly and don’t keep in mind that NO birth control method is 100% effective.
Amy
Feb 1, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Very young women like Tina Richards do think of their children as blessings. They take great joy and pleasure in them, show them off, shop for them, as one of Tina’s friends shared here. But they often aren’t capable of much more than babysitting, not parenting. Parenting takes a complex set of skills to do even adequately. These young people love their kids, but they do it much the way they’d love a doll or a pet.
People break under the intense emotional strain of parenting all the time. That’s what we’re looking at here.
I appreciate Yoshi trying to examine how people come to this state where they can commit such atrocities. It may come off as soft, misdirected compassion for a monster, but unless we understand and address how a teen girl who others saw being a loving mother could come to such violence, we won’t be able to protect children. Change requires understanding.
The human mind is a complex and fragile thing. When you have good resources, people, support, a healthy upbringing, it’s tremendously hard to imagine how someone could become so overwhelmed as commit such acts. But they do. Over and over again. We’ve got to be able to see them as people, accept that this is within the range of human capability if we are ever to make progress toward removing it from human capability. Maybe not this woman, but the child she bore and the others she may bear, deserve this from us.
Alexandra
Feb 1, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Can’t help but think that back in the old days, a sixteen-year-old girl KNEW how to care for a child. Now it’s like we have to let kids be kids for as long as possible, and see how well that works. You have children in adult bodies. College is referred to nowadays as “extended adolescence.”
While it’s good for a child to enjoy childhood, at the same time they need to be learning, as they are able, how to take care of a child, take care of a house, etc. They need to take on responsibility as they are able.
I had my child at the age of 28, after having been married for eight years.
Amy
Feb 1, 2008 at 10:36 pm
In the old days, 16 year old girls were work animals. They died young, repressed, diminished, dulled by disillusionment…… as long as we’re generalizing.
Amy
Feb 1, 2008 at 10:37 pm
28, 8 years of marriage. Sounds perfect. Happy marriage?
loving_mom
Feb 2, 2008 at 5:02 am
Amy,
Very young women like Tina Richards do think of their children as blessings.
I am a very young women like Tina and yes my children the best blessing I have ever had. The first time I saw my son (when I was still in the OR) I cried and kissed him and I just wanted to hold me. Although I could not move my arms I tried hard. My children have showed me how precious life is and how wonderful and absolutley brilliant innocence is. My kids have showed me that no matter how much evil happens in this world there is still good out there.
yoshi
Feb 2, 2008 at 7:05 am
The old days? In “the old days” 16 year old girls didn’t have kids. As soon as the parents found out she was pregnant, she would “go stay with her cousin” for a week or two and come back magically not pregnant. If for some reason she DID have the child, she wasn’t the one taking care of it. It’s hard to screw up as a parent when you have 3 generations or more living in the same household.
We no longer live in that time, we live in a new time where it’s practically mandatory for 18 year old kids to move out on their own, whether they have family support or not. They live alone, work alone, and if they have kids, they raise them alone. They still glean experience and pointers from parents and siblings through conversation or visits, but it’s NOTHING like having your mother and grandmother living with you to help out with on-hand experience whenever an issue comes up.
Amy
Feb 4, 2008 at 7:45 am
Amen, Yoshi. We are not born knowing how to parent. We need teachers and support. Soooo many mistakes to be made….
I hope that someday this shit about leaving young women on their own to work and take care of a baby is the bad old days. Women have won a great deal of freedom and independance on the road to equality with men, but equal doesn’t mean same. We’ve taken kids out of the equation and they’re suffering for it.
angelfalls
Feb 7, 2008 at 9:19 pm
GOOD NEWS!!
The only thing he is hooked up to now is an IV and feeding tube. They took him off of everything else and he is breathing on his own! BIG MILE STONE! Now we need to pray for him to beable eat on his own. When he starts eating on his own his little body will get stronger. I am so happy!!!
rockdoll_71
Feb 7, 2008 at 10:03 pm
angelfalls, you have made my day. Thank you for the great news! BIG HUG
heatherlindsays
Feb 8, 2008 at 7:09 am
Just to update, Aiden’s myspace page said this morning that he is breathing on his own now. He still has to be feed with a tube, but he is doing better.
As for the mom, she deserves what she gets. And then some. This story disgusts me, and I don’t see how ANYONE can sew a onesie to a bed. This poor child. She needs her ass beat. I’d be glad to do it. And she should have NEVER got him back in the first place. This stuff makes me so mad.
rockdoll_71
Feb 8, 2008 at 7:35 pm
heatherlind…, you are right. The “mother” (what a joke) deserves everything that she gets and more.
Surely DSS won’t be stupid enough to give him back to her again.
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