Parenting Ignorance

It's been a while since I've posted on this blog...busy year.  However, I did hear this morning that a "mother" placed her 5 year-old child in a tanning bed.  As if that isn't ridiculous enough, she left her in there so long that she had severe burns.  Really.  This is almost too ridiculous to comment about except that I think there are people out there who are probably defending her because it is difficult to know just how long a 5 year- old should be in a tanning bed to get that perfect 5-year-old tan.  Well, morons, a 5 year-old shouldn't be in a tanning bed.  What possible good could come from that?  I think most Americans would never even think of such idiocy, much less actually do it.  They're kids.  If they get a tan from simply playing outside, fine, but why would you try to make sure they have one.  They're children.  Treat them as such.  You have to take some kind of a test to become certain things in this country, a driver's test to become a licensed driver, the bar to become a practicing lawyer, a comprehensive exam to become a teacher.  Too bad there's no test that must be passed to become parents.