Atom
RSS 2.0Friday, October 17, 2008
adventures in parenting
We were getting a bit tired of chaperoning our older daughter to her school and back. A 4th-grader should be able to make the five-minute trip by herself and lo and behold, she can. In fact, she positively oozes ENTITLEMENT. I did follow her at a far distrance for a few days and met her halfway back, but she’s doing just fine. Over-cautious if anything, but this beats the alternative. She now also has her own key and yesterday she was home before myself and the younger sprout. It looks like this new arrangement is a win-win.
On a less pleasant front, what to when there’s nice folks with horrible kids? Their small one resembles a savage, the older one is a rude, reckless, inconsiderate, and self-absorbed brat. We feel that we have to follow our kids around to make sure they don’t hurt by the brat and the last time around, Geekmom had to actively step in. My impression is that their older’s behavior is worse each time we visit. I don’t know how to handle this other than to simply stop going there. I really like the parents, but it’s not worth the aggravation to keep going there. A pity.
And an example on how to not be a parent: Mother pedals naked toddler through chilly Munich
Authorities recently stopped a lawyer on her bicycle when they noticed her riding through town in chilly weather with her naked baby in the child seat, Munich police said on Thursday.
The one-and-a-half-year-old appeared miserably cold, according to police reports, with her “nose running down to her lips” and her “mouth blue at the corners.” A police car thermometer read 11 degrees Celsius (52 degrees Fahrenheit) at the time, with what the report describes as “an unpleasant wind chill.”
The mother, a 32-year-old lawyer from Schwabing, told officers her daughter had refused to let anyone dress her, explaining that children have individual rights as well, which is why she accepted her daughter’s wish to remain undressed.
There is indeed a school of parenting that she seems to subscribe to. They think it’s okay if their kids jump off the rooftop—it’s their own free will and a learning experience. Personally, I believe these folks to be criminally nutty.
Dumbfounded officers directed the woman to put clothes on the girl, and she complied without further discussion. The pair was then allowed on their way.
“The officers were clearly surprised, but the mother did have a thick winter jacket with her, plus pants and shoes, so officers only had to ask her to put them on the girl,” Munich police spokesperson Gottfried Schlicht, told The Local on Thursday.
A complaint has been filed against the lawyer for child neglect and abuse. According to Schlicht, the Munich Youth Welfare Office is also set to investigate whether the woman is fit to raise children.
If you ask me, she isn’t. A 1.5-year-old is in no position to make decisions like not to wear clothes for a bicycle ride on a cool day. You dress that kid the same way you would and if the kid’s fussy about it then that’s just too bad.
