Girl wins contest with false essay about soldier dad...

[Boyz_Mum]

Yes, I believe a spokesperson for the company said that ... which is what made me think it all may not be as deceitful as it looks.
I could even see the mom letting her mail the letter...
I mean who really thinks they are going to win something like this??

The "essay" was not really about her dad dying but about her mom.
I am going to guess that this little girl somehow lost her father this year.
Whatever the cause she is just a 6 yo little girl.
I am really truly stunned at some of the comments about her and that no one thought there may be a perfectly innocent reason behind the "lie".

You are quite insightful, and I did think the mother was behind it. Thanks for letting me see another viewpoint and a most sensible one at that!

 

[Amraann]

I taught first grade for 20 years. Most are NOT writing like this by Christmas. She would need help with the spelling at the VERY LEAST! They do NOT know how to address an envelope correctly at this age...another indicator that she had help. The mother or some other adult in her life was the primary instigator in this. I have no doubt.

DeanWS I respectfully disagree.
Although many 6 YO's could not ... I have known many who could..
They would need help with spelling ...
And lets remember we did not see the actual essay so its possible the writer of the article cleaned it up for punctuation.

Even still I don't see the problem if she was told her father died in Iraq to cover something far worse.
I am not saying I agree with the lie but I could understand why a parent would tell a young child something like that and not think much of some little entry in a contest.

 

[deanws]

Yes, I believe a spokesperson for the company said that ... which is what made me think it all may not be as deceitful as it looks.
I could even see the mom letting her mail the letter...
I mean who really thinks they are going to win something like this??

The "essay" was not really about her dad dying but about her mom.
I am going to guess that this little girl somehow lost her father this year.
Whatever the cause she is just a 6 yo little girl.
I am really truly stunned at some of the comments about her and that no one thought there may be a perfectly innocent reason behind the "lie".

I am not blaming the litte girl. She is ony 6! I blame the mother for mailing the letter that was a lie. I feel sorry for the child.

 

[deanws]

DeanWS I respectfully disagree.
Although many 6 YO's could not ... I have known many who could..
They would need help with spelling ...
And lets remember we did not see the actual essay so its possible the writer of the article cleaned it up for punctuation.

Even still I don't see the problem if she was told her father died in Iraq to cover something far worse.
I am not saying I agree with the lie but I could understand why a parent would tell a young child something like that and not think much of some little entry in a contest.

I guess you are correct. They could have cleaned up the spelling. Usually they keep it messed up because it is cute that way!

 

[ljwf22]

I think this 'mother' should do the right thing and decline the trip.

 

[Trino]

While I don't at all approve of what the child or the mother did, I can understand why they did it. The real problem is ticket scalping. Within minutes - even beating those who are physically in line - ticket scalpers use the Internet to buy up tickets, leaving nothing for ordinary people.

Although I don't like the idea of the young girl keeping the tickets, did the promoters actually state the essay needed to be true? If not, I don't know how they could legally declare her the winner, then take the tickets away.

 

[STEADFAST]

The news just said that the father is alive and is a carpet cleaner. The parents are saying they didn't know the essay had to be true. Of course, this doesn't explain why the mother would tell company officials the lie about the father's dying in Iraq.

 

[Amraann]

Being that the company spokesperson said the truth was worse then the child's father dying in Iraq... I don't think they should return the tickets.

If as I suspect the 6 yo has no idea what really happened to her father then she is not being taught to lie nor be deceitful.

 

[STEADFAST]

Priscilla Ceballos, the girl's mother, telephoned FOX 4 reporter Brandon Todd Friday night to clear up what she said were misconceptions about their side of the story. She claims they never represented the essay as truth, and claims she stormed out of a media photo opportunity in Garland on Friday only because a reporter "accused" her of lying.

"When [contest organizer Robin Caulfield] asked me if this [essay] was true, I told her no," Ceballos said. "We never said this was a true story. We do essays all the time. My daughter does essays at school all the time. It never did say it had to be true, but [Robin] said, 'That's what we expected.'"

Ceballos says her daughter knows the submission was a work of fiction. "She's aware of what she wrote, and she knows that that wasn't true," Ceballos said.


http://www.myfoxdfw.com/myfox/pages...n=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1

If she never said it was true, what was the deal with telling the company that the father died in a roadside bombing on a certain date? That wasn't in the essay.

 

[STEADFAST]

If as I suspect the 6 yo has no idea what really happened to her father then she is not being taught to lie nor be deceitful.

Nothing has happened to the girl's father. He is fine.

 

[Amraann]

Upon reading your quote above it seems that the company did not say the essay had to be truthful and that the little girl is aware that what she wrote was a work of fiction.

An outright lie is certainly different then writing an essay based on fiction.
With this all coming to light I still feel the child deserves the tickets.

I do understand how such a work of fiction would upset some but if the contest did not specify then I do not see fault with making up a story..
Furthermore the mother has a point... children ARE encouraged to write and make up essays at school all the time.

 

[STEADFAST]

Upon reading your quote above it seems that the company did not say the essay had to be truthful and that the little girl is aware that what she wrote was a work of fiction.

An outright lie is certainly different then writing an essay based on fiction.
With this all coming to light I still feel the child deserves the tickets.

I do understand how such a work of fiction would upset some but if the contest did not specify then I do not see fault with making up a story..
Furthermore the mother has a point... children ARE encouraged to write and make up essays at school all the time.

The mother obviously knew the essay was supposed to be truthful because she provided false background facts to the company about the father dying in Iraq. She didn't merely say the work wasn't true as she claims.

Now, as far as the child goes, I can completely see how she might not know the essay was supposed to be true. I wonder if she really has an Angel pendant?

The mother, IMO, was trying to gain something by fraud. The daughter? I doubt it. Frankly, I've seen the note, and I don't think the daughter even wrote it.

ETA As the wife of a service member who has been in Iraq and knowing families who have actually lost fathers in combat, I do not appreciate this woman using the sacrifice that many have made for her own greedy purposes.

 

[JanetElaine]

Here is the contest-winning essay, purportedly written by a 6-year-old Garland girl:

"My daddy died this year in Iraq. I am going to give mommy the Angel pendant that daddy put on mommy when she was having me. I had it in my jewelry box since that day. I love my mommy."

I just wanted to point out something that I thought was interesting, in light of the discussion about if the little girl really wrote it, or did the mom write it.

Second sentence in the essay:
I am going to give mommy the angel pendant daddy put on mommy when she was having me.

I = the little girl
me = the little girl

Third sentence of the essay:
I had it in my jewelry box since that day.

that day = the day mommy got the angel pendant
I = an unborn baby with a jewelry box?
or... I = mommy and we slipped up?

What do y'all think?

 

[angelmom]

I just wanted to point out something that I thought was interesting, in light of the discussion about if the little girl really wrote it, or did the mom write it.

Second sentence in the essay:
I am going to give mommy the angel pendant daddy put on mommy when she was having me.

I = the little girl
me = the little girl

Third sentence of the essay:
I had it in my jewelry box since that day.

that day = the day mommy got the angel pendant
I = an unborn baby with a jewelry box?
or... I = mommy and we slipped up?

What do y'all think?

Unless..."that day" was the day the little girl was born "when she was having me" and it has been in a jewelry box since then until she is old enough to wear it.

Just playing devil's advocate. :angel:

I don't care who wrote it. I think the child could have, but the mom obviously maneuvered this to try and win through fraud. BS on "we thought it could be a made up story." She gave a date and details about when her husband was killed. She a liar and a thief, and she's teaching her daughter that it's okay.

 

[deanws]

Being that the company spokesperson said the truth was worse then the child's father dying in Iraq... I don't think they should return the tickets.

If as I suspect the 6 yo has no idea what really happened to her father then she is not being taught to lie nor be deceitful.

I agree with that. But when the child grow up and she finds out her mother lied to her all those years (if the child believes he is dead) WOAH!!! I bet the mother will have a mess on her hands!!!!

 

[Amraann]

I agree with that. But when the child grow up and she finds out her mother lied to her all those years (if the child believes he is dead) WOAH!!! I bet the mother will have a mess on her hands!!!!

Its now being reported that the child knew this was fictitious and was written with that intent since the contest did not indicate it had to be a true story.

Again I totally understand anyone being offended about the nature of the fiction but children are asked to write fiction in school all the time and if the child wrote with that intent and it was within the rules of the contest????

 

[deanws]

ETA As the wife of a service member who has been in Iraq and knowing families who have actually lost fathers in combat, I do not appreciate this woman using the sacrifice that many have made for her own greedy purposes.

Yes Steadfast, that is a slap in the face for those who REALLY HAVE lost loved ones in war.

 

[deanws]

Its now being reported that the child knew this was fictitious and was written with that intent since the contest did not indicate it had to be a true story.

Again I totally understand anyone being offended about the nature of the fiction but children are asked to write fiction in school all the time and if the child wrote with that intent and it was within the rules of the contest????

Again, with my experience of 20 years...children don't usually make up stories about their parents being dead. I don't believe this was the work of a child. JMO. I feel sorry for the little girl. I would love to hear the rest of the story.

 

[Texana]

Club LibbyLu (the corporate sponsor of the contest) is considering not giving the girl the tickets.

The mother said, "We did whatever we could do to win." (emphasis mine.)

Sadly, that sounds like she was very much aware that what she was doing was morally wrong, even if the essay did not clearly state "Your story must be true."

I don't think the mother should be rewarded by her child being allowed to go. She might be the sweetest child (and most six year olds are) but since her mother will have to take her in all likelihood, mom will get to have a great time with the daughter all the same....

 

[Amraann]

Again, with my experience of 20 years...children don't usually make up stories about their parents being dead. I don't believe this was the work of a child. JMO. I feel sorry for the little girl. I would love to hear the rest of the story.

I agree Deanws..
I was willing to look at another motive but now that more info has come out I can only say that if it fell within the guidelines of the contest then she deserves the tickets.

As for the mother helping her?? I don't like it one bit but having four children in school you see this with all kinds of projects... Like the science fair..
Totally annoys me since I make my children do them on their own with minimal help and the kids that win mostly and obviously the parents did the entire project.