Over Protective Parents [Split from WGMG]

[habernac]

Some great posts in here.

Lots of parents are paranoid. My wife wants nothing to do with our child ever taking a bus to school. She never had to, she was able to walk. I, on the other hand, wouldn't have any problem with it as I took the bus for at least half of my schooling.

As for the original article, I'd be pretty freaked out if my kids' bus started moving when the driver wasn't at the wheel. But I'd never know that as I'm not the type who would be following the thing in the first place.

[habernac]

I can remember one time when I might have been considered a "helicopter" parent. Some genius let their son have a small metal claw hammer in one of those play places at the mall. I was about two feet away from my kid at all times. Ready to clobber the little punk if he went anywhere near my child with the hammer.

[Aeneas]

The bus route in question is in my neighbourhood. Pretty sure I coached that little guy in U6 soccer, great kid.

They have had many problems so far on that route. The start of the year is always hard I imagine. Drivers learning the route, the bus itself perhaps.

That bus was 45 mins late arriving a few days ago, then never arrived this morning. I heard about from annoyed neighbours. My daughter took the bus last year, we had maybe 8 different drivers over the year. Some of them did not instil much confidence.

You never knew if the bus would be on time, or in the worst case 1 hour and 15 minutes late. (Not in inclement weather) So I drive her every day.

Not necessarily over-protective (but I am) more so I just control when she gets home. Makes me feel better.

[Dion]

[Clarkey]

I still have vomit phobia stemming from a childhood bus incident. All I can remember is the puke rushing up the isle way as the bus driver stopped and rushing back as he accellerated. Kids were puking out the windows and adding to the isle vomit. Not really a safety issue, but gross as all hell.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Clarkey

I still have vomit phobia stemming from a childhood bus incident. All I can remember is the puke rushing up the isle way as the bus driver stopped and rushing back as he accellerated. Kids were puking out the windows and adding to the isle vomit. Not really a safety issue, but gross as all hell.

Whoa, that sounds AWESOME!

[username]

Man, I have to constantly bite my tongue when it comes to most parents these days. When I’m around parents that have just had a baby, I seriously would look like the biggest arsehole in the world if I actually spoke my mind. It actually almost sickens me to see and hear the stuff that goes on nowadays. Some examples include:

- The new family parking spots, seriously is it that hard to walk an extra 30 – 50 feet in a parking lot? My mom did it. All my friends’ parents did it. Why are new families today so different?
- Sanitizing your hands before touching a baby – really? Is your stupid kid going to die if I touch them without sanitizing my hands?
- How new parents won’t allow someone to visit if they’re sick. Give me a break.
- Second hand smoke I can understand, but 3rd hand smoke? Are you even kidding me right now?

I also love how every mother out there these days seems to think they are best mother that’s ever been placed on planet earth. In fact, every mom nowadays is such a great parent that they are entitled to pass judgment on all other mothers and criticize the way they are raising their children. If one set of parents is doing something different then they are then it’s clearly not right and they are “not protecting their children”. It’s so ridiculous.

Another one that is really bugging me lately is mothers on Facebook. Seriously how much more out of control can moms get on that thing? Every fricken status of every mom I know involves their stupid kid as if they don’t have anything else going on in their lives other than their children. Ya I get it, little Johnny just took his first steps, what kind of trouble is he going to get himself into? The whole world of Facebook is dying to know. As if the statuses aren’t bad enough, it’s the responses that really get me. Very rarely do you see one such as “good luck with that” or “oh, Johnny is growing up quickly”. It’s always some other stupid mom who has nothing better to do than patrol FB all day with a selfish repose about her own stupid kid. “Oh I remember when little Sarah started walking, the whole house as a mess lol”. I’ve deleted so many people off FB for this exact reason that I’m beginning to burn a lot of bridges.

[Red Potato Standing By]

Well if the stores are going to put the parent parking there then why can't parents use them?Why is it the parents fault that the store put it there?

[habernac]

username, you don't have any kids, do you?

Originally Posted by username

Man, I have to constantly bite my tongue when it comes to most parents these days. When I’m around parents that have just had a baby, I seriously would look like the biggest arsehole in the world if I actually spoke my mind. It actually almost sickens me to see and hear the stuff that goes on nowadays. Some examples include:

- The new family parking spots, seriously is it that hard to walk an extra 30 – 50 feet in a parking lot? My mom did it. All my friends’ parents did it. Why are new families today so different?
- Sanitizing your hands before touching a baby – really? Is your stupid kid going to die if I touch them without sanitizing my hands?
- How new parents won’t allow someone to visit if they’re sick. Give me a break.
- Second hand smoke I can understand, but 3rd hand smoke? Are you even kidding me right now?

I also love how every mother out there these days seems to think they are best mother that’s ever been placed on planet earth. In fact, every mom nowadays is such a great parent that they are entitled to pass judgment on all other mothers and criticize the way they are raising their children. If one set of parents is doing something different then they are then it’s clearly not right and they are “not protecting their children”. It’s so ridiculous.

Another one that is really bugging me lately is mothers on Facebook. Seriously how much more out of control can moms get on that thing? Every fricken status of every mom I know involves their stupid kid as if they don’t have anything else going on in their lives other than their children. Ya I get it, little Johnny just took his first steps, what kind of trouble is he going to get himself into? The whole world of Facebook is dying to know. As if the statuses aren’t bad enough, it’s the responses that really get me. Very rarely do you see one such as “good luck with that” or “oh, Johnny is growing up quickly”. It’s always some other stupid mom who has nothing better to do than patrol FB all day with a selfish repose about her own stupid kid. “Oh I remember when little Sarah started walking, the whole house as a mess lol”. I’ve deleted so many people off FB for this exact reason that I’m beginning to burn a lot of bridges.

Umm.... for a newborn, that is pretty important. Also, I don't think it's only the impact on the child that the parent is thinking about. Having a sick child screws of EVERYTHING... from sleep, to work to their other siblings.

[burn_this_city]

What the hell is 3rd hand smoke? Let your kids get sick is a good thing for their long term health. I don't care for the germaphobe approach which quite often borders on OCD.

[MarchHare]

- The new family parking spots, seriously is it that hard to walk an extra 30 – 50 feet in a parking lot? My mom did it. All my friends’ parents did it. Why are new families today so different?

The first time I saw one of those spots, I was shocked that it was actually closer to the entrance than the handicapped spot. I can't imagine the thought process involved with some idiot thinking that a mom+kids needs to park closer to the entrance than someone with a physical disability.

- Sanitizing your hands before touching a baby – really? Is your stupid kid going to die if I touch them without sanitizing my hands?

If anything, that's actually harmful for children over the longterm because their immune systems won't develop properly without being exposed to bacteria, viruses, and other microbes.

- Second hand smoke I can understand, but 3rd hand smoke? Are you even kidding me right now?

This is the first time I've ever heard the term "3rd hand smoke". Is the complaint that if you were around someone who was smoking, the parent won't let you near her child? That's beyond stupid.

My own recent anecdote:

My band has an upcoming gig at a neighbourhood block party. Our singer (who lives in the neighbourhood in question) attended one of the planning sessions for the party to find out what time we'd be performing and what we'd be doing in the case of bad weather, etc. One of the party's events prior to our set is a talent show for the children of the neighbourhood. My friend asked if there would be a prize awarded for the best act. He was instantly shot down by the parents at the meeting who said, "If we picked a winner, that would mean some children would have to lose, and we can't have that."

I wish I was making that story up.

I shudder to think what will happen to these overly-sheltered children later in life when they're passed over in favour of another candidate for a job or receive a negative performance review. I'm only 30, so I don't want to sound like a grumpy old man talking about how "I had to walk five miles to school in the snow", but many parents today are raising a generation completley incapable of dealing with the harsh realities of the world.

And one more thing: on my first day of grade 1 in 1985, I couldn't wait to ride the school bus by myself! You can be damn sure I didn't want my mother walking down the street with me to the bus stop or following the bus in her car. I wanted to prove that I was a "big boy" who didn't have to hold mommy's hand all the time.

[Red Potato Standing By]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

The first time I saw one of those spots, I was shocked that it was actually closer to the entrance than the handicapped spot. I can't imagine the thought process involved with some idiot thinking that a mom+kids needs to park closer to the entrance than someone with a physical disability.



If anything, that's actually harmful for children over the longterm because their immune systems won't develop properly without being exposed to bacteria, viruses, and other microbes.

As for the parent parking most places where i am it's the handicapped parking then the parent parking.But ya some peoples planning processes can be weird.Still can't blame or say the parents are to blame for it.

And yeah i do think people would be less sickly if they were more exposed to germs when they younger(not meaning newborn obviously)

[edn88]

Originally Posted by Zethrynn

Well if the stores are going to put the parent parking there then why can't parents use them?Why is it the parents fault that the store put it there?

And pretty smart marketing by the stores to cater to that demographic.

Just cause in the olden days people did things one way, doesn't mean that life cannot change. A long time ago people used to ride horses to and from their farms to the city. Society is changing and there is nothing wrong with that. Parents are learning to do things differently than our parents and grandparents generations.

Actually the more I see this thread and read it the more it irks me. You cannot properly understand or comment on parenting if you are not a parent. I used to be in the no kids, never having them and I was in the same place - thinking that parents of kids behaved rediculously.

Now that I have my own kid my behaviour and thoughts on parenting have changed 180 degrees - both through the experience of raising children as well as the emotional impact a child has on your life. I never expected to have another human being become more important to me than myself - and yet the moment I saw my son for the first time, my values changed immensely.

I agree that you will not be able to raise your children to be independant if you are hovering over their every move and decision, but there are certainly some things that you absolutely need to be involved with (oh, say internet usage). Sure, if you leave your children to their own devices they will figure it out, and mostly turn into well adjusted adults, but I think the evidence shows that if you ignore your children, the risks go up of bad things happening. There are just some things that are not worth the risk (ie. not wearing a helmet while you bike) given the small amount of inconvenience involved. I'm certainly not going to let my four year old go play by the pond by himself (or even with a group of other younger kids). Having said that, if you have a higher risk tolerance for yourself and your children - then I have nothing against that - just don't impact me and my family - and don't judge my parenting if it seems like I am more cautious about my families well being.

What is ridiculous about the news story that started this thread - the media was clearly looking for an angle for their back to school coverage - they were looking for something bad to happen, and the parents that got themselves into the paper to talk about as small an incident as this are making a mountain out of a molehill (I think that Krista used to be the front desk girl at Fountain park gym many years ago - and if it is the same girl - she was pretty good looking) but the idea that you want you child to be safe is pretty human.

/rant

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by username

Another one that is really bugging me lately is mothers on Facebook. Seriously how much more out of control can moms get on that thing? Every fricken status of every mom I know involves their stupid kid as if they don’t have anything else going on in their lives other than their children. Ya I get it, little Johnny just took his first steps, what kind of trouble is he going to get himself into? The whole world of Facebook is dying to know. As if the statuses aren’t bad enough, it’s the responses that really get me. Very rarely do you see one such as “good luck with that” or “oh, Johnny is growing up quickly”. It’s always some other stupid mom who has nothing better to do than patrol FB all day with a selfish repose about her own stupid kid. “Oh I remember when little Sarah started walking, the whole house as a mess lol”. I’ve deleted so many people off FB for this exact reason that I’m beginning to burn a lot of bridges.

Not that it really bothers me either way since I hardly ever go on Facebook, but I find it interesting how new parents post so many pictures and information of their kids on the internet now. And then we wonder why more and more kids these days succumb to all the perils of social networks (that one 12 year old girl getting allegedly coerced into sex situation as an example).

[troutman]

In my experience (on the board of a parent school group) there were always bus horror stories the first week of school, then things seemed to get ironed-out. Very stressful for first-time students/parents.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

Not that it really bothers me either way since I hardly ever go on Facebook, but I find it interesting how new parents post so many pictures and information of their kids on the internet now. And then we wonder why more and more kids these days succumb to all the perils of social networks (that one 12 year old girl getting allegedly coerced into sex situation as an example).

My biggest peeve about parents on Facebook is the many, many people who change their profile photo to a picture of their child. Not a photo of the parent with the child, mind you, just a photo of the kid. It's like they completely lost their own identities the moment their children were born.

What if an old friend was trying to track someone down on FB and wanted to confirm that Mary Smith was the same Mary Smith they knew years ago? How is a photo of a toddler going to help people confirm it's the person they're looking for?

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

My biggest peeve about parents on Facebook is the many, many people who change their profile photo to a picture of their child. Not a photo of the parent with the child, mind you, just a photo of the kid. It's like they completely lost their own identities the moment their children were born.

What if an old friend was trying to track someone down on FB and wanted to confirm that Mary Smith was the same Mary Smith they knew years ago? How is a photo of a toddler going to help people confirm it's the person they're looking for?

Who the fata cares?

You're arguing that a parent sucks because some person can't find them on Facebook. On the scale of things that matter this rates a minus eleventy billion.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Who the fata cares?

You're arguing that a parent sucks because some person can't find them on Facebook. On the scale of things that matter this rates a minus eleventy billion.

I'm with him. Parents who pimp their new infant on Facebook get an automatic delete from me.

[habernac]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

My biggest peeve about parents on Facebook is the many, many people who change their profile photo to a picture of their child. Not a photo of the parent with the child, mind you, just a photo of the kid. It's like they completely lost their own identities the moment their children were born.

What if an old friend was trying to track someone down on FB and wanted to confirm that Mary Smith was the same Mary Smith they knew years ago? How is a photo of a toddler going to help people confirm it's the person they're looking for?

gee, I don't know, how about sending them a note confirming who they are? Is that too difficult?

Some people are proud of their kids and like to share photos with their friends. Some other people need to get over it.