As parents, we are wary of our children’s proximity to danger because we believe that the worst must always come from outside our homes.
We believe that predators can only get to our front door because we would never knowingly let a wolf into our hen house.
But the breakdown of the nuclear family and marriage in America has created a great vulnerability for our children.
The wolves of the world exploit our family separation by providing the illusion of a loving relationship to gain access beyond our doors.
One of those wolves, 28-year-old Tyrese Minter, allegedly ate her stepson, 15-year-old Cord Scott, after a suspicious argument at their Westchester Square apartment in the Bronx.
Minter, who had been released from prison on parole just a month before Scott’s death, allegedly put his stepson in a chokehold, cutting off his oxygen supply, and wrapped his legs around Scott. continued until he lost consciousness.
Despite the gruesome nature of the child’s strangulation, Judge Naita Semaj released Minter immediately after his arraignment Wednesday, although he was on parole for a felony-assault conviction.
After the Post put Scott on Thursday’s cover, Gov. Kathy Hochul stepped in.
“My top priority is public safety. Earlier today, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision issued a warrant for Tyrese Minter, and she is now in custody,” Hochul said Thursday.
“DOCCS is initiating parole revocation proceedings due to charges of criminally negligent homicide and manslaughter.”
We have neglected to understand how our children’s proximity to danger correlates with the strength of our family structure—the most important risk factor for child maltreatment.
The American view of the family has become tainted by the selfishness of what benefits adults at a given moment, rather than what benefits our children for life.
We tell each other that our children are resilient and adaptable enough to rationalize choosing family dysfunction through divorce to pursue potential romance rather than pursue our children’s needs.
Even as adults, we often act like queer children, pursuing our sexual desires and never questioning whether the quality of our sexual partners is equal to the quality of parental figures our children need.
Our children are the ones who suffer the most from our choices, because their chief advocates for safety and prosperity have unwittingly become those who transfer this threat directly into their own homes.
The statistics are clear: children are 40 times more likely to be sexually or physically abused if their parents live with their biological parents than if they find a new partner.
And even more tragic, they are 50 times more likely to die from injuries in households with unrelated adults than children living with their biological parents.
Children living without parents (foster children) are 10 times more likely to be sexually abused than children living with both biological parents.
Children who live with a single parent who has a live-in partner are at greatest risk: they are 20 times more likely to be sexually abused than children who live with both biological parents. are
The American nuclear family is rapidly disintegrating, and opportunistic vultures have long been patiently waiting for our children to feast on their innocence.
The list of children murdered by their parents’ partners is disturbingly long.
Eight-year-old Sophia Mason of Merced, Calif., c Allegedly murdered by her mother’s boyfriend; Police found her lifeless body in a bathtub, battered by prolonged abuse and malnutrition.
Houston 5-year-old Samuel Olson was allegedly killed by his father’s girlfriend; his body was found In a black bag with a lid secured by a zip tie.
We had a hand this fall because nearly a quarter of America’s children are growing up in single-parent homes—the most in the world.
But if we have the power to destroy, we have the power to rebuild.
Rebuilding our homes will only help prevent a child like Cord Scott from becoming another tragic victim and statistic.
If we are going to make America great again, it has to start in our own homes.
Adam B. Coleman is the author of “Black Victim to Black Victor” and founder of Wrong Speak Publishing. Follow him on Substack: adambcoleman.substack.com.
