I let my kid do some pretty crazy things.

Like, run around in the woods unsupervised or play in the mud, if she feels the need. Sometimes, I don't hear a peep from her for hours.

Insane, I know. I even let her go to the restroom by herself if we are in a public place and have sent her off on her own in the grocery store with instructions to locate and bring back certain items. Crazier still. From time to time, she even stays home by herself for a little bit.

But, for some things, I have to draw the line.

Like getting a tattoo, smoking a bong or drinking booze. I must be a mean mom.

I regularly visit a few online parenting sites, follow the news and am aware of things that make their way around the Internet, especially viral videos involving kids.

Most recently, a video of a mom sharing a bong with her 3-year-old son has been making the rounds and raising hackles. It was enough to earn her an arrest and charges.

Earlier this year, there was a video of a mom holding her screaming infant down while a tattoo artist went to work. Still another woman was arrested for giving her 2-year-old son beer in his sippy cup, and a woman tried to sell her kids on Facebook to raise money so she could bail her boyfriend out of jail.

My only thought when I see these videos or read the articles is: What is wrong with these moms?

Of course, I read and watch these things with a Mack truckload of skepticism, pretty sure there has to be some other story to go along with what I'm seeing. It's incredulous to think a parent would actually do these things and think it's perfectly OK. So, I do my due diligence, researching to find out background and learn if its some sort of joke or scam. I am even more disgusted when it turns out the videos or stories are the real deal.

These moms have apparently lost their minds. So much that video taping the craziness seems and posting it for the world to see falls within their socially acceptable parameters.

Most of the moms are under 30. I don't know how much age has to do with their actions or whether they don't think they are doing anything wrong. I know I was a little bit crazy in my 20s, and did some not-so-smart things, but even I knew that giving a kid booze or drugs pretty much topped the "not right, very wrong, don't do it, ever" list.

Parents are supposed to protect their children from harm. It's supposed to be hard-wired in moms that we become angry momma bears when someone does something that could harm our children. Are these moms genetically missing the drive to protect their progeny? I wonder if these women are genuinely shocked when they are arrested and charged after putting such damning evidence online for everyone to see, or, is it a subconscious cry that they need help raising this kid?

Maybe some segments of our society have reached a point where some parents are so desperate to be friends with their kids, not parents who set rules and act responsibly, that sitting down to smoke pot or have a beer with them is just something friends do. I wonder if this type of behavior has always been around, just not as publicly widespread and immediately known as it is in the Internet age. Perhaps, once upon a time a long time ago, the woman down the street did share a beer with her toddler, but nobody ever knew about it so it was just no big deal.

I guess when it comes down to it, moms who do fruit bat crazy things involving their children do one thing right: They make normal moms feel like superstars when it comes to figuring out this child-rearing thing.