Child Abuse: It's everyone's problem....

I was talking with a friend this morning and we were simply discussing our mornings, when she turned my attention towards something ripped straight out of news headlines. Evidently, she and her husband are friends with a woman whose child recently passed away. They initially reported the death as SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). The child was 9 months old. As if this isn't sad enough, the woman now has to relive her pain thanks to her husband, who is now being arrested for child abuse and murder. He is being accused of shaking their infant, which resulted in his death.

This story makes me think of all the times I've seen, heard or read about child abuse, and it further validates my theory that individuals should have to take a test before they are allowed to be parents. We must take tests for most other things, but why not for bringing a life into this world and taking proper care of it? We have to take a written and driving test in order to obtain a license, and we do the same with operating heavy machinery. We must pass exams and demonstrate adequate knowledge in order to be considered suitable for applying said knowledge in a place of work. Most jobs require experience, or an abundance of education, yet the most important job requires nothing more than a viable egg and a sexual release? You've got to be kidding me.

Now, I embrace the fact that not everyone may agree with me on this, and this might be deemed somewhat of a dicey topic.....but this is my blog and I'm able to write about pretty much whatever I want...so if you don't like it...stop reading. Imagine, just for a few minutes, if there was some law implemented where we would have to take a test before becoming parents. With this, I envision a ripple effect of positive outcomes. A significant amount of individuals would most likely fail this test, thus resulting in less births per year. Less births per year plus more competent parents would probably yield a negative correlation involving that pesky foster care issue we have in America (negative correlation: as the number of competent parents increase, the number of children in foster care decrease). If the budget for foster care and money allotted for other services related to child abuse could be tweaked, then this would mean more money elsewhere.....like cancer and/or other types of important research, for example....or GASP!....perhaps even education pertaining to parenthood and childhood development BEFORE individuals have kids. I also wonder if this would provide some relief within the already overcrowded courts pertaining to family law, or even lend itself to more effective laws that actually hold parents accountable moving forward........before it's too late for another child? Just saying.