Huffington Magazine Issue 22 | Page 26

Voices family—even with a stay-at-home mom who does all of the day-today care herself—who will never pay someone to watch their children. Honest parents know—and fear—that disaster can strike their kids, no matter who is in charge. That’s one reason this case has resonated with so many people. A trusted nanny having a sudden mental breakdown—as appears to be the case with Ms. Ortega—is as random and uncontrollable as a freak accident. Child care is a universal need— and concern—for all families. That makes the Krim case not just another example of rich people problems.  Indeed, if any parents should be worried about the possibility that “this could happen to me,” it is not well-heeled women who can afford to pay a premium for nannies who come through agencies that provide extensive background screening. Lower-income families are at even greater risk, often having little choice but to leave their children with shady caregivers, sometimes with devastating results.  Last year, a worker left seven children alone in her home daycare facility in Houston to go shopping; a fire broke out while CAROLYN EDGAR HUFFINGTON 11.11.12 she was gone, killing four of the children. If the Krim case is going to start a conversation about nannies and childcare, the focus should be on providing greater controls, for the benefit of both families and nannies alike, to what is now a shadowy, underHonest regulated market. parents In any event, the know—and focus on Ms. Krim’s fear—that parenting choices is disaster can misplaced. Whethstrike their er Ms. Krim was kids, no a model mom or a matter who is neglectful one is irin charge.” relevant. By all accounts, Ms. Krim was a wonderful mother—but even if she was awful, her kids didn’t deserve to die. When senseless violence takes the lives of young children, judging another family’s parenting choices allows us to delude ourselves into believing that random evil can be avoided. That, of course, is a fallacy. Lulu and Leo Krim are not dead because they had a bad mother. If anything, this case shows that wealth and privilege have no power to protect our children from unpredictable harm.