I am writing this in the midst of thoughts of one of my best friends getting engaged, my sister recently married, etc. I come from a large family, my mother was one of sixteen children, I have oodles and oodles of aunts and uncles and cousins.
I suppose I've spent most of my life around kids.
But my parents have never really "devoted" their lives to me. My mom did some of the soccer mom thing, but more in the sense of taking turns with other working mothers. My father never did anything with regards to fathering, other than visiting him occasionally. (we are getting closer, however) My mother went back to work after my brother and I were four or five months old, I think.
So it always came as a surprise to talk to friends whose mothers stayed home from their birth until they were ten or eleven. I never understood the mentality behind it. My mother and I are close, we trust each other, and we respect one another; I don't ever recall any angst or anger while I was in daycare or after-school activities. Not to mention that many of the adults I meet seem to be on the same emotional/intellectual level as some of the teens I used to work with in church groups.
The driving force behind all of this was a Bill Maher bit on children, talking about how the entertainment industry has been suddenly geared entirely towards children - most adults are hard-pressed to find a movie that is on an adult level (in terms of humor, content, etc, you perverts
), much less most new music. I am hardpressed as a young adult to find any movies of sufficient worth, especially since most of the crap spewed out is made for teens (or, even if made for adults, is still supposed to be "kid friendly")
Not to mention some of the bits I see on television or from other young people, how kids are supposed to be the most important thing for everyone, how they're so precious, blah blah blah. What's the line from Dilbert? "No one wants to hear that they have an ugly baby."
The fact is, no, babies are not always precious, they're not always cute. They're whiny, messy brats who think the world revolves around them. Kids and teens are the same way. Not only that, most adults like to have *gasp* adult fun - that includes jokes, reading, movies, food; we aren't all fans of Shrek and Britney Spears, and we certainly don't like to have some two-year-old with bad parents screaming while we're trying to enjoy our nice Italian meal.
I'm learning this myself, so don't shoot back with some smart-assed reply in that vein.
I would like to hear other peoples' thoughts on this.
I suppose I've spent most of my life around kids.
But my parents have never really "devoted" their lives to me. My mom did some of the soccer mom thing, but more in the sense of taking turns with other working mothers. My father never did anything with regards to fathering, other than visiting him occasionally. (we are getting closer, however) My mother went back to work after my brother and I were four or five months old, I think.
So it always came as a surprise to talk to friends whose mothers stayed home from their birth until they were ten or eleven. I never understood the mentality behind it. My mother and I are close, we trust each other, and we respect one another; I don't ever recall any angst or anger while I was in daycare or after-school activities. Not to mention that many of the adults I meet seem to be on the same emotional/intellectual level as some of the teens I used to work with in church groups.
The driving force behind all of this was a Bill Maher bit on children, talking about how the entertainment industry has been suddenly geared entirely towards children - most adults are hard-pressed to find a movie that is on an adult level (in terms of humor, content, etc, you perverts
), much less most new music. I am hardpressed as a young adult to find any movies of sufficient worth, especially since most of the crap spewed out is made for teens (or, even if made for adults, is still supposed to be "kid friendly")Not to mention some of the bits I see on television or from other young people, how kids are supposed to be the most important thing for everyone, how they're so precious, blah blah blah. What's the line from Dilbert? "No one wants to hear that they have an ugly baby."
The fact is, no, babies are not always precious, they're not always cute. They're whiny, messy brats who think the world revolves around them. Kids and teens are the same way. Not only that, most adults like to have *gasp* adult fun - that includes jokes, reading, movies, food; we aren't all fans of Shrek and Britney Spears, and we certainly don't like to have some two-year-old with bad parents screaming while we're trying to enjoy our nice Italian meal.
I'm learning this myself, so don't shoot back with some smart-assed reply in that vein.
I would like to hear other peoples' thoughts on this.
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