Bad parenting is not a crime.

Many people feel that it should be, and there are certainly plenty of mothers and fathers who are guilty. But it would be a dangerously slippery slope if society starting throwing incompetent moms and dads behind bars.

Of course, there are some examples of bad parenting that clearly cross the line into criminal activity. People who physically abuse their children or who neglect them to the point of starvation or sickness can be charged with a crime. But the parents who never pay attention to their children, who allow them to do whatever they want, who feed them nothing but junk food do not get punished under the law.

Then there's a gray area, which brings us to the case of Denise and James Reitz, the Ira couple sentenced to 60 days in jail for failing to send their teenage daughter to the Cato-Meridian Central School District. The Reitzes had pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child after the district attorney's office brought charges against them.

School officials and the district attorney's office have said this is not a case of parents letting a child stay home from school on occasion. The circumstances were extraordinary - the Reitzes' daughter missed more than 200 days of school between September 2002 and December 2004.

Clearly, the Reitzes failed their daughter; if they loathed the education offered in Cato so much, they should have moved.

That said, it is fair to question whether sending these parents to jail is a wise use of resources. And it is also worth asking if the punishment in this case is doing further harm to the child - who is the victim of her parents' crime.

Ira Judge Paula Townsend probably struck the right balance when she staggered the sentences so at least one parent would be home and the father could keep his job.

If any good can come out of this case, perhaps it's this: Parents will be reminded that getting their children to school is a fundamental responsibility.