Mother Arrested For Putting Margarita in 2-Year-Old’s Sippy Cup

A drunken mother has been arrested for putting margarita in her 2-year-old daughter’s sippy cup. Sheldy Nelson, 41, is a Massachusetts mother who was at a restaurant with her two-year-old daughter in August. The workers of Brodies Seaport restaurant told police that they had noticed the mother giving the child sips of her margarita drink and purportedly asked her to stop. They then called police when “both mother and child looked lethargic,” but the woman had taken her child and headed back to her hotel by the time police arrived. When police found them, the woman was vomiting and slurring her speech, and both she and the child were taken to a local hospital.

At the hospital, alcohol was found in both the mother and the child’s bloodstream, although an exact blood alcohol level has not been released. Police also discovered margarita in the child’s sippy cup in a handbag that smelled like alcohol. The child made a complete recovery, but was removed from Nelson’s care and placed in the custody of Child Protective Services, as have other children who have been given alcohol.

On Thursday, the mother appeared in court and pleaded not guilty in the Salem court district. She was held on $1000 bond, according to the Daily Mail.

At the restaurant, when questioned by the waitress, Nelson apparently told waitresses that she was pouring ice from her alcoholic beverage into the child’s sippy cup, but restaurant workers revealed that they saw her pouring the alcoholic drink itself in the child’s sippy cup, and watched the child consume it before they called police.

Nelson’s lawyer has asked that she be released on personal recognizance, but that has been denied. Court reports reveal that following her arrest, she was allowed supervised visitation with the toddler. She reportedly became angry when the social worker entered the room, and then began to handle her daughter roughly, undressing her, shaking her violently, and even nearly causing her child’s head to hit a wall. She was charged in that incident with child endangerment, and further visitation was stopped.

The woman was said to be enrolled in a junior college prior to the incident, and it is unknown if she has other children or if the toddler’s father has a role in her life.

Many people have commented on articles about the mother in a negative light, but a few have said that what she needs is help, not judgment from people. Readers, what do you think about this situation? Share your thoughts.