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lurkette · 09-14-2003, 08:04 AM

Sixate, regardless of whether your mom used these things or not, that doesn't mean their use is not appropriate for other parents and other children. The "my parents did/didn't do X and I turned out just fine" argument had been used to justify everything from letting kids drink beer to whopping them with a belt. Bottom line, there's no evidence that using leashes hurts the kid in any way, and the lady who commented in the store was out of line, IMHO.

Another thing to note is that these "awful parenting practices" go in trends. 20 years ago letting your kid eat sugar was tantamount to child abuse. 30 years ago, you were supposed to let the kid lay in their crib and scream to teach them independence. Now there's this whole movement against any kind of restriction - playpens are seen as evil, leashes are demeaning, and children should be given choices in everything from what they eat to where they sleep. There's no evidence for any of this stuff, in fact there's plenty of evidence to show that kids turn out pretty much ok regardless, unless you're locking them in a closet or abusing them. People are anxious about kids, and everyone thinks they know best. I agree with whoever said that we should all pretty much STFU about what parents are doing with their kids, unless it's clear that they're doing something to harm them or raising little brats. But face it - all kids are pretty much brats at one time or another. I was. I'm sure you were, despite your memory otherwise. Kids are inherently selfish, they want what they want when they want it and they generally haven't learned all the rules about when not to scream about it.

And parents pretty much can't win. If they let the kid run, they're careless breeders. If they have the kid on the leash, they're demeaning the child. If they have the kid in the cart and the kid is screaming bloody murder because they want down, the parent can't control their kid and would you PLEASE take your screaming child outside? I think we should all cut them a bit of slack.

/rant

09-14-2003, 08:04 AM	#50 (permalink)
lurkette My future is coming on Moderator Emeritus Location: east of the sun and west of the moon	Sixate, regardless of whether your mom used these things or not, that doesn't mean their use is not appropriate for other parents and other children. The "my parents did/didn't do X and I turned out just fine" argument had been used to justify everything from letting kids drink beer to whopping them with a belt. Bottom line, there's no evidence that using leashes hurts the kid in any way, and the lady who commented in the store was out of line, IMHO. Another thing to note is that these "awful parenting practices" go in trends. 20 years ago letting your kid eat sugar was tantamount to child abuse. 30 years ago, you were supposed to let the kid lay in their crib and scream to teach them independence. Now there's this whole movement against any kind of restriction - playpens are seen as evil, leashes are demeaning, and children should be given choices in everything from what they eat to where they sleep. There's no evidence for any of this stuff, in fact there's plenty of evidence to show that kids turn out pretty much ok regardless, unless you're locking them in a closet or abusing them. People are anxious about kids, and everyone thinks they know best. I agree with whoever said that we should all pretty much STFU about what parents are doing with their kids, unless it's clear that they're doing something to harm them or raising little brats. But face it - all kids are pretty much brats at one time or another. I was. I'm sure you were, despite your memory otherwise. Kids are inherently selfish, they want what they want when they want it and they generally haven't learned all the rules about when not to scream about it. And parents pretty much can't win. If they let the kid run, they're careless breeders. If they have the kid on the leash, they're demeaning the child. If they have the kid in the cart and the kid is screaming bloody murder because they want down, the parent can't control their kid and would you PLEASE take your screaming child outside? I think we should all cut them a bit of slack. /rant __________________ "If ten million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing." - Anatole France