Tuesday 16 August 2016

Parents charged after boy, 7, found trying to sell his teddy bear for food



Two parents from Ohio in the US have been charged with 10 counts of child endangerment, after their seven-year-old boy was found trying to sell his teddy bear for food on Sunday.

Franklin police discovered the starving little boy in a busy area outside a pharmacy, trying to get money so he could buy something to eat.

"It broke my heart," Officer Steve Dunham told 5 News. "He told me he was trying to sell his stuffed animal to get money for food because he hadn't eaten in several days."

Dunham took the little boy across to the local Subway restaurant, buying him a meal before taking the seven-year-old back to the police station.

"We said a little prayer and ate dinner together," Dunham said.

According to a police report, when officers visited the Bethel family home, they found it full of garbage, cat urine and alcohol bottles. The report noted that the parents had created "a substantial risk of health and safety by neglecting the cleanliness in the residence, having a large amount of bugs and spoiled food throughout the residence, and allowing a seven-year-old child to wander from the residence without their permission or knowledge, in an attempt to locate food."

Tammi and Michael Bethel, the little boy's parents, told Franklin police they didn't realise their son wasn't at home. On a post to the Franklin Police Facebook page, Tammi, denied the severity of the allegations claiming, "the cop just popped in on the wrong day."
Her seven-year-old son and his four brothers, aged 11,12,15 and 17, have all been removed from the home and are being cared for by relatives, reports Journal News in Hamilton.

"(Police) treated them like their own kids, and that's exactly what law enforcement does in situations like this," Police chief Russ Whitman said. "How would we want someone to treat our kids?"

Tammi and Michael Bethel will face pre-trail hearings on September 16. They have been ordered not to have any contact with their children.

37 comments:

  1. Predict what might have happened if the police had not found out about the negative situation the child was living in.

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    1. the child could have got really sick and possibly died as it was not a safe enviroment and the parents could have left the child.

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    2. The child would have felt very unwanted and would probably end up starving because he has no food.

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    3. If the police officer had not found the boy, he could've carried on trying to sell his bear, and maybe die if nobody bought it. The parents would've probably continued living with their children in that unhealthy environment.

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    4. If the police had not found out about the negative situation that the boy was living then he could get very sick because of the poor conditions that he was living in.If the police had not found out about it then no one would know and the boy would still be living with his parents.

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    5. The children might have run away from home and lived in the streets begging for food which may have gotten them more food than at home. Or the children could've died or gotten severe health problems ultimately resulting in death.

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    6. If the Officer had not found the child he could have starved to death or he could have been abducted. If he was able to sell his teddy then he probably wouldn't have gotten much money to survive for very long and he would have most likely had to start stealing. This could also lead to him picking things out of the trash and he could get food poisoning.

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    7. They boy could go back to living in an unsafe environment with his parents and he might have become sick. If his parents continued to neglect him and not feed him, he might run away. If he were to run away, he could be kidnapped or even more sick than if he stayed.

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    8. i predict that if the police had not found the boy he would have sold the teady bear really cheap and would not have been able to afford the food and would probbaly not have found the boy and he would have dised alone without his teddy.

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    9. He would of sold the teddy but gotten not alot of money out of it so he would find the cheapest food out of it, probably a small sandwich then he'd save the sandwich then one day eat it.Then may go back to living in the bad environment and probably end up getting sick then having to go to hospital.

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    10. There children could get really sick or they could run away without the parents knowing or caring and then it mite not end well,like them getting sick,injured or even kidnapped and nobody would find out.

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    11. There are lots of quality answers here! Well done to those of you who started your answer with a phrase like, "I predict that," or "If the officer had not found the child..."

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  2. Why did the police officer say a prayer?

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    1. Maybe to send help for the boy and hope that he would get better and have a good future life excluding the place he lived in when he was young.

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    2. Possibly to ask for help from God so that the boy can get better and have a better life and living environment.

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    3. I think he said a prayer to ask God that the boy would get healthy food on a daily basis and that the boy wouldn't have to sell what could be his favorite thing to get what he needed to survive. I think that the police man may have guessed the situation the boy was living in and prayed that his parents would either make a suitable living environment or get relatives or foster care so the boy can have a better life.

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    4. I think the police officer said a pray because the boy had obviously had a hard up bringing. So I think that the police officer was just trying to make the boy feel better and give him some hope for the future.

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    5. Maybe toand that he will have all the basic needs for the years to come.I think that he may have prayed that the little boy would always have and be healthy,fit,have food,have clothes and have a warm shelter for the rest of his life. make sure that the little boy would never end up like that again and to make sure that he always ha enough food to last the rest of his life.He may have also said a prayer to make sure that they found someone in his family to live with so he has a warm shelter to always stay warm and never freezing.

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  3. In your opinion, what is the most important thing parents should do for their children?

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    1. Give them food so they can live and love so they feel welcome.

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    2. Give them care and love so that they can thrive and have a good life. Make sure their home is safe and clean for them to live in so they will not get sick.

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    3. look after them and make sure they are living a happy life.
      Hoping that in the future the child would have a career.If you know your place isn't suitable and you wouldn't want to live there why make your child live there let them live with a cleaner friend while you sort out your life.

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    4. I think that the most important thing they should do is care for their children. He is only seven and they don't even realise he is gone. The parents should be trying to get the food for the child because he is too young to be out on the streets selling things. By caring for the children they should have a clean house because that is bad for their health, looking after them and knowing where they are going, and asking for help, when they need help looking after the children or when they need food/money. I feel sorry for that little boy because he is selling the only things he has, to get food for his family.

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    5. The most important thing/s parents should do for their children is provide shelter because they need somewhere where they can be safe, warm and dry. Another of the most important things that parents should do for their children is provide food that is healthy and substantial to keep them alive, energized and happy. The last most important thing that parents should do for their children is be able to comfort them because children need someone to talk to and express there feelings with.

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    6. In my opinion the most important thing that the parents should do for their children is give them food so they are not hungry and do not starve,give them the shelter so they can be safe and dry and give them love so that they feel happy and loved.And if they can not look after their children then they should ask for help to look after them or let some one else look after them.

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    7. I think that the most important thing that a parent should do for their child is give them love and make them feel safe. Even if they don't have much money the parents need to show that they care about the children. It doesn't have to be with something they buy with money it should be something like spending time with them.-Amy Dunn

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    8. i think that the most important thing is to care and keep warm and fed and make them feel safe even if you don't have much money you should be spending time with them and make them happy love them with all your love and be happy with them all the time

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    9. I think they should provide a good habitat for the child or children to live in.

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  4. Which habits of mind did the parents NOT use?

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    1. Thinking about thinking- thinking what they could have done to stop this from happening.
      Persistence- trying as hard as they can to make there house a suitable environment.

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    2. The parents did not use thinking flexibly because they didn't think of different ways to deal with their children.
      They also didn't use the habit of mind 'stop and think' because they didn't think before they act.

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    3. I think the parents didn't use Work With Others because they were not helping the boy because they were not connecting with the boy and were not loving him or giving him anything. They had not cared for the boy like a parent should. The parents did not use listening either because the boy probably asked for food lots of times but the parents did not listen which is why the boy had to try and get food for himself and was so desperate for food.

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    4. Stop and think,because they didn't think about how their home would affect their children,make it right,because they didn't change their living conditions, questions,because they didn't ask themselves how their home would affect them and thinking about thinking.

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    5. listening because the boy probably kept asking for food but the parents would not listen and he would not have any food.
      Make it right because they didn't have a healthy environment for the boy to live in and they didn't think about how they could make it better.

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  5. In your opinion, what is the most important thing parents should do for their children?

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    1. I think that to be a good parent you don't need to give your children heaps of presents and gifts. Parents should shoe love and compassion towards their children, and let them know that no matter what happens, they will always be there for them.

      The second thing parents need to provide for their children is a basic eating plan, consisting of breakfast, lunch, dinner and plenty of water. No need for expensive, unhealthy snacks. Have fruit as a healthy alternative.

      The last thing I think parents should provide for their children is a roof over their heads. A roof to keep them safe and warm from rain and wind.

      Those are the three most important things a parent should provide for their children. Food and water, a roof and most important, love.
      Bella E.

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    2. A good parents should always know were there children are.Don't give them heaps of gifts and not all at they same time not saying you should not give them treats you should give healthy food and snacks. It is fine to go to a fast food place but only a few times a year as a treat parents should do the best they can to their child.If they are poor they should just do the best they can to make there child feel loved.

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