[Fredslist] Scarsdale Mom

[Ken Jewell]

I write in furtherance of Lucas' comments on this issue.  While I understand
that the mother simply overreacted, the important issue here is the effects
this kind of conduct can have on a 10 and 12 year old child.  To that end,
instead of thinking about the mother, a licensed attorney in a high-powered
prominent firm, think about how two minors, left on the side of the road,
must have felt under these circumstances.  Indeed, the punishment does not
fit the crime - particularly since what the mother did was potentially
expose these children to serious if not lethal physical harm - through
another car or a stranger.  These children were left 3 miles from their home
- apparently in the dark.  While I comment here as a childless man so I
cannot speak to the frustration parents feel when these things happen, I can
only imagine how I would feel if I were 10 or 12 years old left on the side
of the road because I was doing what every other child of that age was doing
- fighting with my siblings in the car.  One has to wonder what Ms. Primoff
would have felt if her parents did this to her (maybe they did for all we
know as I have heard parents say they abused their children because they
were abused).  Nevertheless, while I don't endorse the children's behavior
here, there are most certainly better ways to deal with these kinds of
issues than leaving these two children on the side of the road in danger.
The mother's actions are wrong.  She must be held accountable, if not to
learn herself that her conduct here is unacceptable, but also to send a
message to other parents who have had this thought AND seriously considered
acting upon it.  The punishment does not fit the crime where these kids are
concerned.  And these children must be protected from any punishment that is
unreasonable under the circumstances.  To be sure, for all that education
and wealth she has accumulated over the years, I am confident that Ms.
Primoff could have come up with one if not several other ways to deal with
her children if she only took the time to do so.  And what else shows better
judgment and love to a child than a well-thought out response to bad
behavior.

 

Thank you for hearing my thoughts on this issue.  Children, notwithstanding
how spoiled and bratty as they can be, are our future.  It's the tools we
give them that make all the difference in their future successes.

 

Have a great afternoon.

 

Ken Jewell, Esq.

The Lincoln Building

60 East 42nd Street, Suite 449

New York, New York 10165-0451

(V) + 212.807.5528

(M) + 917.608.5875

(F) + 212.721.9146

 

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