ext_98485 ([identity profile] richenza.livejournal.com) wrote in [personal profile] jducoeur 2012-08-23 08:34 pm (UTC)

They often don't listen like they used to. They often don't follow directions like they used to. They often don't understand consequences like they used to.

Yeah, maybe. Then again, maybe not. I remember knowing "that kid" from when I was a kid, and my experiences in my neighborhood don't really make me feel that there are that many more of "those kids" now than 30 years ago.

In my opinion, what has really changed is the immediate vilification of the parent any time anything bad happens to a child. I'm not saying there aren't really truly neglectful bad parents, but all of us have done something we "shouldn't have". Maybe we left the kid in the tub alone for thirty seconds. Maybe we drove to the store not realizing the kid was in his car seat but he was not buckled in. It's pure statistics that our one or two moments of "parent-fail" don't end in tragedy. But look at the comments in every news story. This one is a real gem:
http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2012/08/16/united_airlines_loses_10_year_old_girl_enters_social_media_hell.html

Note how many people are outraged, not that a company failed to provide a service that was paid for, but that a parent would allow a child to fly alone at all, without a cell phone and a GPS tracker chip and a can of mace.

Post a comment in response:

(will be screened)
(will be screened if not validated)
If you don't have an account you can create one now.
HTML doesn't work in the subject.
More info about formatting