What exactly is good parenting? I read an article recently about practices in other countries - Danish parents leave their strollers on the sidewalk so their babies may enjoy fresh air and sun, while the parents nosh on pastries and coffee indoors. Vietnamese mothers whistle when their babies are about to pee, and the tykes lose their diapers at nine months. Free Range Kids enjoy considerable autonomy and responsibility, the way ancient geezers like me did. Helicoptered kids have the opposite - parents hovering at every second of every day. I could name many other contrasting ideas, so many to choose from. Think about the arguments at schools - the horror felt by many when children are harshly disciplined for eating pop tarts, wearing perfume, or farting. Who gets to decide? Parents, or bureaucrats? It is tempting to say some parents fail, therefore bureaucrats - but there is copious evidence that bureaucrats also fail, and their mistakes tend to impact great numbers of people. This is much like market failure arguments. Better to look for less violent, less sticky methods of regulation: relatives, neighbors, churches, associations.
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 18:40:48 +0000
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