Safety of children depends on adults acting like adults

For few minutes, a Hickman woman was the most popular mom among the Norris High School cheerleaders.

If news reports are true, however, it probably didn’t take long for her to realize how foolish she’d been.

Perhaps “foolish” is too kind of a word; how about “stupid”?

Driving a school van full of cheerleaders on the way to a football game in Nebraska City, the woman reportedly drove the vehicle in such a way that her daughter could grab a beer from a passing SUV full of boys.

If that weren’t irresponsible enough, she allegedly then allowed the girls to pass the can of beer around.

Someone told someone in authority, and now the mother faces charges of procuring alcohol for minors, contributing to the delinquency of minors and reckless driving. Regardless of the outcome in court, we doubt she’ll be driving the cheerleaders anywhere again any time soon.

We have to wonder how many similar incidents go unreported.

Sports are one of the few things parents and children can enjoy together. School activities are great for uniting the community and giving everyone something to get excited about.

But even while we’re sharing the emotions associated with winning or losing a game, parents have to be parents, and adults have to act like adults. The safety of our children depends on it.