The DUI mom is going into bad parent infamy today. The Associated Press reports on a 10-year-old who called 9-1-1 to report that his mother was drinking and driving. Of course, this sounds like a joke. Sadly, it’s not.
When I first read the headline I thought that maybe the mother had told the child that they couldn’t do something or have something, so they called the cops just to be a pickle. That’s not at all what transpired – it’s far more serious than that.
49 year old Jamie Hicks was busted when her 10 year old called the emergency number, claiming that her mother was speaking incorrectly and driving out of control. They were on I-84 in upstate New York at the time.
Authorities intercepted her car, and then arrested her for DUI. She was also charged with violating a law that makes it a crime to drive drunk with anyone under the age of 15.
Although it’s not reported whether or not Jamie Hicks is an alcoholic, driving drunk with your child is never a good sign. According to Hope Networks, there are approximately 11 million children under the age of 18 with alcoholic parents.
This comes with a lot of risk. Children are truly innocent, but because of their parents vices they are more likely to become addicts as well (2 to 9 fold increase) because of genetic factors and the family environment.
Also, “Families affected by alcoholism report higher levels of conflict than do families with no alcoholism. Drinking is the primary factor in family disruption. The environment of children of alcoholics has been characterized by lack of parenting, poor home management, and lack of family communication
skills, thereby effectively robbing children of alcoholic parents of modeling or training on parenting skills or family effectiveness.”
And think of how the DUI mom would feel if her daughter was somehow injured because she chose to drive drunk? The report sounds like she was driving out of control. Who knows what would have happened had the daughter not called 9-1-1.
While the “DUI Mom” may be a quirky story to blog about, or a headline that raises eyebrows, it really showcases a sad family situation. Although mom is out on $2,000 bail and likely won’t spend time behind bars, she’s going to have to work hard to ensure that the 10 year old daughter who called 9-1-1 doesn’t grow up with alcohol issues.
Source:
Associated Press: Mom charged with DWI after girl calls 911 from car
Hope Networks
