Quote:
Originally Posted by mousepod
I actually got physically ill and had to put the book down for almost a half hour.
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That was me reading
American Pshyco. Heh.
Kids will do the darndest and most dangerous things. I was swimming in a pool that was half covered by the winter pool cover. My Dad and his friend were standing nearby. I thought it would be cool to swim beneath the cover, and it was! The colors and the calm were amazing. I figured I get to the the end, and simply stick my head up, imagining the cover would be light enough to raise up along with me. I tried to come up for air and the cover was too heavy to budge. I was quickly running out of air and almost panicked, but instead swam as fast as I could to the open end of the pool. I emerged gasping for air. My Dad and his friend were still chatting away; had no idea I was in any danger. Reproached him later for not paying more attention, and he pretty much told me to be less of an idiot. Heh.
Anyway, I could have died, and I hardly blame lack of supervision. My father simply had a higher opinion of my intelligence than he should have.
For the record, I am not anti-child. I just don't want children of my own. (There are many reasons for this, and one of them IS because I know how hard it is.) I don't like how some people have tried to make me feel like this is a severe lack on my part. I've had a co-worker say, "You can never really know love until you have a child." I've had people who barely know me say, "Oh, but you will. Someday. Trust me." If some people feel those without children speak out of turn about parenting, it goes both ways. Parents often make non-breeders feel like there is something wrong with them.
My boss needing to take time off from work watch his daughter's ballet class is no more important than my needing to take time off from work to meet an old friend for dinner. He wants to be a good father, and I want to be a good friend. We mutually respect our different lifestyles.
So, I'm not anti-child. I love new baby smell and smart toddlers. I love playing with kids because I've always dreamed of playing with monkeys. And I love talking with kids because I find I often learn something new, too.
I don't think kids should be cleaning up lint in cotton mills with their tiny hands, but I also don't think they should be coddled and "cute"ified into prolonged adolescence. My aunt stays home from work if her sixteen year old has a tummy ache. I don't understand that. My favorite parents are the ones who don't make their children feel like they are the center of the universe, who treat them like like they are raising a future adult, and who take their newborns OUT of the movie theater as soon as they start crying because they recognize that other patrons may mind. A child crying at Disneyland? Fair game.
If anything, I'm anti-parents who think their more important for being parents, and who treat their children as though they are somehow more special than everything, everyone and anything else. I feel fortunate that most of the parents I know aren't like that, and they're raising some seriously awesome kids.