2008-03-19

I should go to jail

According to all accounts from some mothers, I should be in jail for child endangerment.

This is all based on the assumption that these things are severely endangering your child:

1. Leaving your children in the car within sight a very short distance away for less then 5 minutes, locked, in a small sleepy town.

2. Allowing children to be babysat by a teenage couple.

3. Allow said teenage couple, or any teenager, or any person not the parents, to drive my children in a vehicle.

4. Allowing children to stay a 24 hour period with anyone other than mom or dad.

5. Allowing the older children to play outside, without the parent being there, in a sleepy little town, in a fenced in backyard.

6. Allowing the older children to cross our road (that like 2 cars an hour may go down) to get the mail. While being watched out the window or from the front yard.

7. Considering sending my children to camp overnight before they are 18.

8. Allowing the children to use the stove (supervised) or the microwave (unsupervised).

9. Allowing a young child to test their boundaries in a indoor playground by trying out the "big kid" tubes.

10. Allowing a toddler to walk down the steps by themselves without sitting on their butt.

But, sorry I don't feel that any of them are severely endangering my children. I think some of it is allowing them to grow up. I think some of them are teaching them how to be self-sufficient. I think some of them are giving them some respect for their abilities.

And to threaten to call the cops on me? And then suggest that I would leave a 3 and 5 year old ALONE at the house, for any amount of time, is offensive.

I love my children. I do what I feel is best for them in all circumstances. And I'm sorry you don't agree. But I don't agree with things in others lives, either.

So unless you see me beating my child down with a club, stay the hell out of how I raise my kids.

6 comments:

Author said...

Call the cops? Are you F*#king kidding me???? Sure, I cringe a bit at a couple of those, but that's your right on how you raise your kids. They are safe, happy and cared for.

Fuck those people!

Anonymous said...

What about "Allowing your children to, oh, I don't know ... BE children?" or "Teaching your children about that thing called LIFE?" ... in my opinion, that's all you are doing.

Who ARE these people?? Where do they get of threatening to call the cops?! I do not understand why any of those things would warrant calling the police!

Julie Julie Bo Boolie said...

Yikes! Honestly, I think you're in the best position to decide what your children are and are not ready for. That's insane!

Anonymous said...

Wow, that's how it's getting here in NZ! Geesh, sometimes I think older people just forget what things were like/are like. Yes, I admit some of those make me cringe as well only because I am super paranoid and I grew up in a town of 1200 but still know of some of the bad things that happened there! But like everyone said, you know your children best and what they can/can't handle. Whoever is threaten should realize you wouldn't put them in harms way. Wow, I am just blown away.

Ashley said...

Wow, that's crazy, did someone actually make that threat?!!!!

Although we all may differ on how each other raises their children, I think most of us learn the second we have our own kids all our "Opinions" and "Perfect Parenting" goes out the window and we're flying by the seat of our Mom Jeans.

I don't think any of those things makes you a horrible Mom, not even a questionable Mom.

Ranni said...

Amen!

And yeah, f*ck them. Can't stand the judgemental 'I'm so perfect' asses.

 

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