Thursday, January 15, 2009


Parents So "Good" That They Are Horrible

So, I just finished watching a youtube video about some lady who let her kids go trick or treating, but when they got home she took their candy and traded it for 'approved candy' that she bought. From nasty sugar free cookies to some sort of crackers that she praised for being "salt free, food coloring free", I felt like throwing up just watching it.

I have to wonder sometimes about parents who go so freaking far overboard in the idea of 'protecting' their children. I remember when we first brought n' home, and how I was freaking out about the temperature of the formula, about whether to have a blanket in her crib, about how warm the apartment should be, etc.

Yah, I got over that within about a week. And now, some 18 months later, well, suffice to say I'm of the opinion that what doesn't kill em is going to make them stronger. This doesn't mean that I go out of my way to give my daughter terrible things, but when I'm feeding her and she knocks something onto the floor, well a liberal use of the 5 second rule is in effect. Toss your bottle on the floor? Yah, I'm not washing it off. Chewing on your shoe? Woopity doo, who cares?

Honestly, I can remember doing some crazy shit myself growing up, activities that would likely have got my mother into some trouble. I'm sure we had a child seat when we were like a month old, but we never used a freaking 'booster seat'. I can remember crawling all over the back of the car, getting yelled at for not having my seat belt on, being dropped off one mile from home along with at least one sibling because we wouldn't shut up, and it was our punishment the rest of the way, etc.

I guess I just don't understand parents that would raise their children in some sort of protective bubble of hyper overzealous parenting. "OH MY GOD you got your hands DIRTY OH NO, get into the bathroom so we can IMMEDIATELY put anti bacterial soap on it!!!" Yah, let's just fail to realize that by doing so you breed supergerms that survive the antibacterial onslaught and then multiply. Then your kids get sick from those germs, not only can you NOT kill them with the usual antibiotics, but your child has no immunity whatsoever because you raised them in a protective bubble, and they got no exposure to germs and no ability to build their immunity.

It seems like it is almost some sort of sickening contest as to who can be the best SUPERPARENT or something... "You let your kids watch TELEVISION??? NOOOOOOO!!!!" What the hell ever, I know I watched a good amount of tv growing up, and I turned out just fine (despite what some of you may think mwahaha). Therefore if my daughter is tuning in to Dora the Explorer, Ruby And Max, WonderPets, etc, I am not going to really worry about it. Hell the shows are a lot more educational than the Tom And Jerry or WB cartoons that I grew up watching.

So as I watched this goofy lady who took away all her kids decent candy and gave them pure shit in return, I think back to when I was a kid, and how irritating this would have been. I mean honestly, NO CHOCOLATE? How can you do that to your kids? I don't think growing up in a childhood like that would be fun at all, overprotective parents freaking SUCK!!!