Cherish Peterson , the mom who forgot her 2-year-old baby in a grocery store shopping cart, is speaking out after her story made national news.
The 27-year-old Arizona mom felt the full wrath of the internet after she inadvertently forgot her baby was still in the shopping cart and drove away. Many expressed their outrage that such a thing could happen and condemned the mother of four in the harshest terms.
Now, Cherish Peterson is speaking out and defending herself, telling KPHO News she is “a good mom who made a horrible mistake.” Anyone with children would understand that things get overwhelming at times, but would you ever leave one of your children behind because you are too distracted?
Peterson said it was about 104 degrees, and her older kids distracted her while she was strapping everyone in the car after shopping.
“Normally, I put my cart away, but I didn’t need to because I parked at the front of the store, and I never park there. And I drove away…As I was pulling into the garage, my 3-year-old-goes, ‘Where is baby Huxton?’ I turned around and looked and realized he was gone.”
The mom immediately turned around and drove back to the store, but by the time Cherish Peterson got there, police had arrived and her child was taken to a local hospital to get checked out. After news that the mom left her baby in the shopping cart hit the internet, Peterson started receiving personal attacks and some even suggested she had left the child behind intentionally.
“There is nothing I love more in this world than being a mom and there is no one in this world that can love my kids more than me.”
Initially, police said no charges would be filed against Cherish Peterson, however, a misdemeanor charge of child endangerment has now been presented to the town prosecutor. Even so, the mom says that nothing the law does can make her feel worse than leaving her baby in the shopping cart.
“Nothing they can say can make me feel worse than I did in that moment I turned around and saw my car seat missing.”
After days of being vilified on social media for forgetting her baby in the shopping cart, Cherish Peterson’s tearful explanations have earned her the support of thousands, and a Facebook group called I Stand With Cherish has over 20,000 members, many of whom are parents themselves.
Do you think Cherish Peterson deserves to be supported after leaving her baby in a shopping cart?
[Image via Facebook]
