[Cerek the Barbaric]

I think Azred hit the nail on the head....the parents were just too "self-absorbed" with thier OWN schedules. With 5 children, it can be assumed that the oldest is at least 7-10 yrs old. Yes, that IS old enough for them to "help bring the baby in", but nowhere near old enough to bear the responsibility for seeing that it's actually done. My oldest isn't even 6 yet, and he is always wanting to carrying his baby brother to and from the car. We let him help, but either I or my wife walk right with him in case his arms get tired.

HOW COULD A PARENT [NOT NOTICE THE BABY WAS MISSING????? OK, granted the child was almost 2 yrs old, so he/she is past the "bottle" stage...and may even be out of diapers. But it's a garaunteed fact the kid is going to be hungry SOON after getting home from church.

With a 4yr old and a 5 1/2yr old running around the house while we take care of the baby, there HAS been a time or two when my wife and I have "lost track" of one of the older boys for a few minutes. But it never took us long to realize that we "hadn't seen him run through here" in the last few minutes....that's when we would start your basic "room-to-room" search. Most of the time, they have either sat down to color or deciced to play with a "quiet" toy (and ANY parent worth their salt can tell you that the time to worry about what your child is doing is when you CAN'T hear him or her - that's when they're into something they shouldn't be).

While I disagree with /)eathkiller's "insistence" that it was deliberate, I DO agree that it is incredibly negligent and completely inexcusable.