Tuesday, November 1, 2011

A Mother's Nightmare

As if having a husband away in Afghanistan is not enough, one poor woman had to face a visit from CPS based upon something she wrote on her blog. I hope that the person who made such a frivolous report is troubled by their conscience for the rest of their life. Mommy Bloggers, please be careful what you share with the public! To quote:
I've been sitting here for a couple of hours. Writing. Deleting. Thinking. Fuming. Shaking with rage. Debating. Writing some more. More furious shaking. More deleting. More debating.

I know that logically calling attention to a troll only feeds their ego and gives them ammunition. In this case, however, we're talking about something much more sinister than a troll. We're talking about someone out to hurt a family. My family.

I received a knock on my door this afternoon, and when I answered it I was met by a small, blonde woman who announced that she was from child protective services and she needed to talk to me.

If you've never had that experience (and I hope you never have), let me try to describe how it feels. Your heart starts racing. Your mind starts spinning, frantically trying to recall something -- anything -- that could warrant a visit from CPS. I was in full panic mode, but trying my very best to hold it together. Or to at least not pass out.

We sat down in my living room and she informed me that the office had received a call from someone claiming that I wrote a blog post that was mentally abusive toward my oldest son, Ben. It was THIS post. Take a moment to read it.

Yes. That caused someone to feel justified to call CPS.

The woman from CPS then said, "I'm not here to take away your kids."
And I couldn't hold it together anymore. I guess just the idea that she could have been there to take them away was too much. I totally lost it. (Read entire article.)
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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

HOw awful for that poor Mom and her kids to have gone through that trauma!

But, honestly, her post reads like an example of what NOT to do in terms of Internet safety. She makes it easy for trolls to send out the CPS because she uses hers and her kids' real names in her blog, for goodness sake! And she makes it known that her husband is deployed, so she is home alone with the kids. She's lucky it was a CPS agent and not a crazed maniac that showed up at her door. Yikes! And speaking of doors, she puts a picture of hers (?) with the house number clearly displayed, so any potential ax-murderers don't miss her place!

She seems like a great mom, but how can she teach her kids internet safety if she is so foolish about it herself? Well, let's pray for them and hope it's true what they say, that God helps fools and children!

elena maria vidal said...

You and I are so cautious with the internet, Gette, that we can hardly comprehend the blithe approach that others have s far as safety goes. I feel so sorry for that poor woman.

Julygirl said...

In these days of reality TV where anything goes, and commercial advertising about one's most private problems, it is easy to slip into relating information which in past times one would be more discreet about.

Dymphna said...

I'm shocked that anyone would call CPS over that post. However, I do wish mommy bloggers would be more careful. Do not use your own name unless you are prepared for your family to pay a price for what you write and do not give out too much personal info.