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April 23, 2008
Posted: 07:27 PM ET

NEW YORK — Last night my son, who is all of five years old, couldn’t fall asleep. He was afraid, he told me. And lots of kids are afraid at night. But he wasn’t afraid of monsters under the bed or in the closet. Instead he was afraid of kidnappers.

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And not the kind most kids worry about. “No, mommy,” he told me, “like the ones who took those prairie kids.”

The prairie kids he was talking about, of course, are the children removed from the polygamy ranch in Texas. And the monsters my son is afraid of are the state agents who took them from their mothers.

I wanted to tell my little boy not to worry. To tell him that the police don’t just take little children from their mothers without proof that a child is in danger. But I couldn’t tell him that because apparently they do.

So last night my son fell asleep in an America in which he felt a little less safe from the government that is supposed to protect him. And that makes me angry. As a mother and as an American.

And that’s the Last Word. Watch the Last Word on video

Jami Floyd, In Session anchor

Filed under: Jami Floyd • Last Word


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Gwen Arnold   April 23rd, 2008 9:03 pm ET

I cannot imagine an intelligent person allowing her 5-year-old to watch TV news. My great-grandson, who will be 5 this summer, has never been allowed to watch TV at all because of commercials and sensational news. Under supervision he watches some chldren’s dvds. Really, Jami, I enjoy you, but you should rethink this. I agree with you re the Eldorado children, but our children shouldn’t be traumatized because of them.

Lani   April 23rd, 2008 11:39 pm ET

Thank you, thank you, thank you Jami for saying what no one else wants to say or is too blind to see. Keep up the good work, I’m rooting for you!

Cloey   April 24th, 2008 1:49 am ET

I was surprised to hear that your son, Jamie, thought the kids were kidnapped. Someone had to have told him, because all of the videos hazed out their faces. The words kidnapped weren’t used. Had they shown their faces, it would have only looked like a bunch of kids were getting on a bus. So…..shhhhhh!

Tivo your news for later. I never let my kids watch the news, either, when they were little.

There is story after story from those who either escaped that compound or were kicked out, telling of the horrid abuse that went on.
I think the authorities should have listed to those that left years ago.

The women had a choice to stay with their children, but most preferred to go home. They could have stayed…. they abandoned them.

Rain   April 24th, 2008 12:15 pm ET

So… you didn’t take the five minutes it would have taken to explain to your frightened son that the police were moving the children for their own safety? That the police were worried that the children would be harmed, and were taking them somewhere safe until everything could be figured out? Or did he pick up the word “kidnapped” from your conversations?

Sorry, but the one that let your son go to sleep afraid wasn’t the news. It was his mother.

perceptual   April 24th, 2008 8:43 pm ET

Hmmm, well I don’t think a 5 yr old is going to say these things (those ‘prairie kids”? No, a 5 year old has no idea what a prairie is, let alone the author is trying to say the kid picked up the word prairie just from someone describing the women’s dresses? I don’t think so. I doubt a 5 year old is paying that much attention to the news anyway. This is just a bogus commentary written to insert a little sensationalism. Come on, “he felt a little less safe from the government”????? Does he even know there is a government?

Bunny   April 24th, 2008 11:44 pm ET

This is a manufactured story if I’ve ever heard one. Either that, or someone has been having highly inappropriate discussions in front of/with her child. Please. Ms. Floyd, if you want to take the position that the children were kidnapped, fine. But have the courage to say it’s your position and don’t use your child to bolster your viewpoint (which, obviously, you must not feel very confident about if you had to use your child to add credibility to your argument).

This is sickening. I will no longer watch your show if you intend to go to these lengths to try to bring credibility to your perspective via your innocent child. Like I said, this is either manufactured or you’ve behaved incredibly irresponsibly by discussing such matters in the presence of a pre-schooler. There is no way a five year old comes up with this on his own. Just doesn’t happen.

Sammi   April 26th, 2008 1:23 pm ET

I beg to differ about the capabilities of a 5 year old. I wouldn’t have been surprised if my son had used the word ‘prarie’ and recognized the clothes, and he turns 4 this month. Sometimes its a matter of what kinds of books they like etc. We don’t watch tv news at all ( or any other regular tv, just dvds) though the adults read it and limit our discussions in front of the kids. I can’t imagine how tricky that would get if the news was my job. A 5 year old has likely had his first warning about ’stranger-danger’ so kidnapping fears are no surprise. As for the actual news element, I disagree. this isn’t just a case of ‘we didn’t like their beliefs’ but one where there is strong evidence of child abuse, including sexual abuse. Yes, if a parent perpetuates these things on their children, then they are not ’safe’ from being separated by the government. And thats a good thing. But a tough one to explain to a many adults, let alone a 5 year old.

Jessica   April 27th, 2008 3:41 pm ET

I am a mother and I can tell you this, no govt. agency is going to take my children without an investigation of some sort. Seems to me there would be an uproar if some regular mothers child was taken with no proof of abuse, but because these mothers belong to a religion that people don’t like it is ok.

I really hope that after they get their children back these mothers sue the hell out of the govt. and win.

I don’t care who you are, if you are an American you are supported by the constitution, apparently some people need to read it, because it says nothing about taking your children away for religion.

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Sidebar takes you behind the scenes of the day's legal headlines with breaking news and in-depth analysis from In Session's anchors and correspondents.

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Former defense attorney and anchor of her own daily program Jami Floyd: Best Defense
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