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Wednesday, October 1, 2008 - 11:07 pm ET
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On Oprah - An Overwhelmed Mom's Mistake

 oprah-logoBrenda Slaby appeared on Oprah today and it was one of the most gut-wrenching episodes I’ve seen in a while.  You might remember Brenda’s name because of the tragic story she is connected to – a year ago, the former assistant principal left her 2-year-old daughter, Cecilia in the backseat for 8 hours on a hot August day.  Her husband normally drove the little girl to preschool but he had a dentist appointment and, being the first day back at work after the summer break, Brenda explains that she simply forgot she had the little girl with her since it was a departure from the family’s regular routine.

Brenda said that the police were empathetic with her and that her co-workers were understanding but the school board and other families in her community wanted nothing to do with her.  She became “the most hated mom.”

Honestly, this is horrible and I know it’s easy to blame her but I can’t.  I have made about a million stupid mistakes as a mother of three and I can believe with 100% certainty that this could happen to anyone. 

  • Do you think Brenda Slaby is a bad mother?
  • Do you believe that you could never make the same mistake?
  • Was it right for her to lose her job?

image credit: oprah.com

Wednesday, October 1, 2008 - 11:07 pm ET
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1 Comment

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  1. Dee

    I was totally overwhelmed when I had to leave an abusive relationship with a 5 month old son and my older son. I may have forgotten so many other things but my kids I ALWAYS looked two or three times even after I knew I had dropped them off to make sure they were safe and well taken care of. As a newly single mom that had to go undercover to protect my children from my ex-husband I was totally overwelmed but never did I ever forget the most important people in my life. If people can’t remembers something as important as their children they definitely do not need to have any.

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