Comments on: Mothers Who Kill

By: Nancy Smith

Nancy Smith — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 02:50:59 +0000

Excellent article on a subject of long-time interest to me: In student housing, many years ago, we lived next door to a nurse with an infant son. She routinely gave her son a reddening blow on the buttox when he cried and couldn’t be satisfied. She explained to me, without apology, that it induced apathy which led to sleep. A good idea? When he was 10 he fell down the cellar steps and impaled himself on a spike which went in under one arm and came out at the opposite shoulder. They medevaced him to the nearest trauma center. His life was saved but he was left with severe disabilities which sentenced my nurse friend to care for him for the rest of her life. Synchronicity anyone? I am so thankful for the current, improved state of birth control though it seems that, like many other industrial countries, we may have to pay intelligent women to bear (interesting word that) children.

By: kburg

kburg — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 02:10:06 +0000

The best advise I ever got from a mom, ‘put the baby down when he/she is crying, especially if it’s making you mad, and relax for 5 minutes, the baby will be fine,’ and he was and I love him more than anything still!!!

By: Bronwen

Bronwen — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 01:06:14 +0000

I found this really interesting, it’s something i’ve never really thought about. I usually just think “oh, that poor child” and move on.
In the wild, when animal mothers have too many children she will kill one or two, when one is born weak and unlikely to survive, she will either kill it or leave it to die. But humanity is obsessed with saving every single life, and of course in some ways this is a good thing, we have so many interesting amazing people that would otherwise be dead, but we still have those instincts like the wild mothers, because we are also animals. I forget to sympathise with the mothers, who I suppose are victims of society.

By: RedHeadFashionista

RedHeadFashionista — Fri, 07 May 2010 15:41:58 +0000

Amazingly brutal yet some really interesting stuff. I find it hard enough to handle disobedient or sickly pets so I have no idea how I’m going to handle a crying child. Thankfully I’m 22 and modern medicine is a wonderful thing, so I am safe for now.

By: Ginger

Ginger — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:18:28 +0000

My mother has borderline personality disorder, I was painted black growing up so can totally relate. I’m at the point in my life where I’m thinking about having kids but it’s hard coming from a legacy of child abuse and neglect.

The thing I find odd now is that my eldest brother (her golden child and perfect son) is now the person I relate the most to. On the extremes (perfection and the devil), she was impossible to please/live with.

(I wish more people talked about their families of origin)

By: d

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:35:33 +0000

But I mean, do you think mothers have a right to kill their kids if they want to?

I’m not saying they do, at all, just something I thought of the other day.

And yeah, great post.

By: Jules

Jules — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 17:18:05 +0000

wow. you are an amazing writer. that really hit home in more ways than one. i never quite realized how thin the line is until i had children. it amazes me that we don’t hear about mothers who kill more often. i’m also amazed that i managed to survive my crazy mom, also a divorced mother of two. she did a pretty good job of raising us though. thanks for the thought provoker

By: Kitty

Kitty — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:02:41 +0000

All true. That’s the horrible thing, no one wants to read it, but it’s all true and there – right in front of our faces yet no one wants to see it.

I don’t know a single mother who hasn’t “been there”. I appreciate your honesty.

By: Eliza

Eliza — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 15:50:50 +0000

I felt so bad for Andrea Yates. Her husband condemned her to motherhood because women have no other use in Quiverfull, and the public condemned her for the same thing because they’re too stupid to blame religion.

By: The Raisin Girl

The Raisin Girl — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 15:44:45 +0000

I keep riding the line between “I see where those women were coming from” and “holy shit I don’t want to see where these women are coming from!” At any rate, it further cements my feeling that I don’t want to be a mother. My temper is already murderous and I have zero patience with obnoxious, loud people. Also known as children.