I should be waiting to put this post up. I should wait until I am calmer.
I'm not calm.
I'm not happy.
Perhaps ranting will help, although I'm preaching to the choir here:
If you are the parent of a child who is not yet of babysitting age, you are responsible for looking after him or her, physically and financially.
Sounds simple, yes?
Again, no.
WHY do people drop their children off and not pick them up? Are small people on little legs supposed to walk a mile or two home in the dark?
WHY do people expect fantastic leadership/staffing/programming and complain when it doesn't happen to their liking, despite their inability to get involved?
I am frustrated. Out of 10 girls attending Sparks/Brownies/Guides last night, 5 of them had a parent there throughout the whole thing, 2 were picked up, on time; yet the remaining 3 parents couldn't even show up.
2 walked home - they live in town, but one of them is only 7. The remaining child had to use my cellphone to call for a ride. That may have been a misunderstanding, but I just can't imagine not confirming the transportation arrangements for a 9 year old. I sent out an e-mail reminding the parents that I needed firm pick-up arrangements, and that only people listed on the registration form could pick up the child, could they all please come next meeting and amend their forms to make sure it was all correct.
Then the mother of the aforementioned 9 year old writes to complain about how upset her little girl was because it wasn't her fault that she didn't get picked up. Okay, yes, it's your fault, mom. Not ours.
This just keeps happening. These parents can't pick up kids from camp on time. They can't bring potluck items. I'm trying to teach independence and responsibility, and wonder why I keep hitting a brick wall with the girls. Then I see the role models, and no longer wonder.
So, parents who are reading this, we need to keep up the good work! Somehow, if we keep working at this, maybe we can break the cycle of irresponsibility! Help all the little people who have no parental role models see how cool it is to be organized!
And yes, stop beating yourself up if you're a little late, or forget the extra clothing in the diaper bag, or misplace that library book. No one is perfect, but hey, we're sure trying harder than some!
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1 comment:
I forget... did I tell you about my naked baby at playgroup? I've been meaning to post about that but can't recall if I did.
I totally agree with you about parental responsibility. I see it in all levels- at the parent group level with infants and toddlers and at the college level with my students. It drives me crazy that some parents are completely irresponsible with their children. An example of this is one mom who signs up for the playgroups, shows up for 10 minutes, leaves her 2 year old there with other moms (who are already busy with their child(ren)) and comes back 10 minutes before the playgroup is over because she had to pick her 4 year old up from preschool. That is not responsible. That is not fair to other moms (like myself who has to then survey the 2 year old with my 3 year old and infant) and it does not help her own child who gets dumped on a regular basis in strange / new environments.
But how can we teach these irresponsible parents the art of caring for their children? How can I tell this mom that it isn't cool for her to be dropping her child off randomly? I don't think there's an easy solution to either one of our problems because we cannot change people. Or can we?
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