The PG Rating Applies to More than Movies
For the last week or so, I've been either kept awake or rudely awakened by a baby/toddler who lives within earshot of my apartment. Sometime around 11:30 each night, the voice of a small child crying, interspersed with baby talk, makes me want to get out of bed and shout obscenities out my window.
I'm long over the fact that most parents are bad ones -- I mean, no good parent would be putting a kid that young to bed that late. But the idea that they leave the window open so that all of us can hear him crying, and then try to calm him down by talking very loudly in goo-goo gaa-gaa baby talk -- it just makes me nuts. Honestly, my seething anger at the parents is only matched by my sympathy for the kid, because unlike his parents, he doesn't have any control of the situation.
It seems to me that most parents these days don't realize what they're getting into when hen theyide to have kids. As a feminist, I certainly don't expect every mother to choose nanny/housewife as a profession, but I do expect parents to live up to their responsibilities and alter their lifestyles accordingly. Because let's be honest, we're all going to pay the price for kids that are neglected, abused or treated as an afterthought in mom and dad's daily life. And with TV, video games and the internet to keep kids entertained, it's no wonder parents leave their kids to fend for themselves without feeling an ounce of guilt.
Of course, I do acknowledge that many working parents are in a bind. Sometimes there's only one of them, or they have to work multiple jobs to make ends meet. These are the ones we as a society should be helping, because at least they are making the effort. No one can deny that they are putting in the time to give their kids a better life, which is more than I can say for parents who let kids that can't even reach the sink to wash their hands go into public bathrooms by themselves. But no, rather than provide free or subsidized daycare for working single parents, Congress instead focuses its attention on blocking "social networking websites" from kid-frequented places like libraries and public schools. Lawmakers and family organizations are justifiably arguing that websites like MySpace.com are "virtual playgrounds" for pediphiles.
When I was a kid, back before the internet, my parents would never have allowed me to go to a real, physical playground alone. My parents wouldn't let me go to the mall with my friends without an adult until I was old enough to drive. And even then, only when I really begged and pleaded. Just because the location is virtual doesn't mean that parents are any less responsible for supervising their children. Because beyond us taxpayers footing the bill when their neglected kid grows up to be a drain on society, we are expected to fork over our hard-earned happiness by giving many of the activities we find enjoyable "for the children". Let's face it, life is PG, and "parental guidance" is more than suggested.
I have chosen not to have children because at this point in my life I'm not ready to modify my lifestyle to become a parent. Because being a parent is a big responsibility. But if parents aren't willing to step up to the plate when they choose to bat cleanup, well then they just shouldn't be allowed in the lineup.
Technorati Tags: Parents, Parenting, MySpace, Social Networking Sites,Sexual Predators, Pediphiles, Libraries, Congress
