This is why single moms need to never leave kids alone with boyfriends

When I wrote this the other day, I thought it was so logical that it wouldn't be a point of controversy. While most people who commented on Facebook or directly on the website were in agreement that single mothers need to be particularly careful about allowing boyfriends to babysit their children, not everyone felt this way. One person claimed I was ignorant, and still more email I received said I had no idea what it was like to be a single parent. Funny since after my divorce (in which I got physical custody) I raised a 4 year old girl and 6 year old boy all by myself as a single parent.

Since this story first published we have added a poll below to gauge opinion.

A tragic story out of Jersey City has me shaking my head. A mother left her 14 month old twin boys alone in the care of her boyfriend for 7 hours. The result? One twin had a bruised kidney, broken bones, a lacerated liver, multiple chest injuries, and a blood clot. The other twin received head trauma, cuts, chest injuries, and a lacerated kidney.

The criminal complaint against 23 year old Terrance Pernell states he was "known to by physically rough with young children" and is the sole person who injured these babies. This inhuman bastard better stay in prison for as long as possible.

Stories like this happen all the time. The names will shift, the ages and cities will change, but "mother's boyfriend" seems to be the common denominator. When you are a single mother raising very young children, especially so young they can't speak up for themselves, you have to be extremely cautious about who watches your children. Just as divorced parents of children of any age need to be slow in introducing someone they're dating for emotional attachment reasons, single moms of such young children should be even more wary of leaving them in someone's care for safety reasons.

Is it some twisted biological imperative in some men that they get rid of the offspring of a past competing male? I can't imagine what would lead anyone to do things this horrible to innocent little ones. All I know is it has happened far too often to completely ignore a mother's role in these cases. They need to ask themselves how long they've known the guy? Does he have a past? Does he have a grudge against her being tied down because of someone else's kids? And in this particular case, the fact that the criminal complaint mentions the man was "known to be physically rough with young children" is alarming. If she knew this, and allowed them in his care anyway, they ought to find a way to charge her with endangerment.

There's certainly precedent for charging her. Look at the Amber Bobo case of a year ago. The New Jersey mom was charged with neglecting her daughter by ignoring the 23 month old's injuries after boyfriend Michael Disporto Jr. was alleged to have sexually assaulted her.

Please, single moms, if you really can't stop dating for two or three years until your children are old enough to speak for themselves, get a sitter that you're not sleeping with.