Help me out here…
Have you seen the TV commercial that features the ultimate helicopter parent?
The ad stars a mom who follows her kid around all day trying to protect him from the big, bad world.
In one scene, helicopter mom is at her son’s school answering a question posed to the class by a teacher. She raises her hand, provides the correct response, and then gives the credit to her son. In another scene, the mom uses her body as a human shield when it’s her son’s turn to be the target during a dodge ball game. Next, you see her hovering over her kid in the school hallway lest some other child breathe on him the wrong way.
I have no clue what product or service the commercial is trying to sell or which company sponsors the ad, but I certainly found the content to be highly relatable… not to mention downright hilarious.
Ironically, shortly after viewing the commercial, I ran across a news story that stands in direct contrast to the helicopter mom featured on TV.
According to the Detroit News, a suburban Michigan mom is facing jail time for allegedly forcing her 11-year-old daughter to shoplift goods from an Old Navy store, and then ditching her when police were called in.
Police told the paper that the 49-year-old mother coerced her daughter, a young boy, and a 61-year-old woman into shoplifting clothing and other items from an Old Navy in Troy, Michigan, on Saturday night. According to officers, the store’s security camera footage showed the four entering the store shortly after 8 p.m., walking to various departments, and then stuffing items into bags.
Store security guards busted the 11-year-old in the act, but the others got away, including the girl’s mother.
That’s right; the kid’s mom ditched her own flesh and blood.
A local TV news crew reported that the girl had more than $120 worth of stolen goods in her purse, including baby clothes, jewelry, and women’s shirts. The 5th grader told police that her mother instructed her to snag the items, and then meet her out by the car.
The mom’s plan didn’t exactly unfold the way she wanted, and in the end, an innocent girl had to pay for the sins of her wayward parent, but that’s not the worst of it.
Reports claim the girl’s mother added insult to injury when she failed to pick up her daughter at the police station. Officers say when they called the woman at home she initially denied being at Old Navy that night, but then called back and admitted that she lied about the incident because she was scared.
Apparently, the mom’s fear of being arrested was greater than her concern for her daughter because, according to reports, the woman refused to pick up her daughter from police. According to newspaper, the kid was finally retrieved by an aunt late Saturday night.
The mom is reportedly wanted for retail fraud, child neglect and contributing to the delinquency of a minor… and the daughter wants to swap her parent for the mom in the unidentified commercial.
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