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We Hate Kids, Yes We Do…

By Gloria Diaz

Check out Gloria's Blog — Edge of Gloria!

Fort Wayne Reader

2011-09-15

One of my students did a brief report on a news article about a mother who abused her young child (who was crying) by blowing marijuana smoke into her mouth. That’s one way to calm an infant down, I guess, but I’m sure Dr. Spock, or whoever is passing for him nowadays wouldn’t approve.

Does it strike anyone else that for all the importance we place on kids in this country, we really don’t like them very much? For a nation that prides itself on family, especially a traditional family structure, we seem to treat our kids like garbage. I won’t go into health care, since it seems like every state has some sort of health coverage for kids. I’m talking about people who leave their babies strapped in car seats, then forget about them. They come back to a roasted (or frozen) kid. Are we really so wrapped up in ourselves that we can’t remember the kids that issued forth from our uteri or loins?

Take a look at all the child-safety stuff that’s out there and it really is mind-blowing. I don’t remember any of this stuff as a kid (my mom didn’t use seat belts, and she left the electrical socket covers uncovered, and I never wore a helmet when I rode my bike) and I survived. I see all this stuff, and I have to shake my head, especially for the kids at the mercy of parents like Casey Anthony and Jessica Callaway, the pot smoke-blowing mom. Seems young (21 years old) Jessica was upset about not being able to find a cool outfit in her closet to wear for later on that night, and blew smoke in her 10-month-old’s mouth in order to calm her down. A friend noted that the baby seemed thirsty after the smoke (what, she didn’t have an urge for Fritos Scoops?). Prior to the smoke-blowing, it was noted that Ms. Callaway yelled at her daughter to “shut the f**k up before I kick you in the mouth”. How heartwarming is that?

I’m going to go out on a limb and say this: we really, really don’t like kids. We have them because once we get married, it’s awkward not to have a few rugrats running around. We have them even though we really don’t want them. We have them because our parents want grandkids. We have them because our friends have them. Bear in mind, these are the same parents who threw you out the minute you graduated high school. I’ll never figure that one out. Whoever said you’re only responsible for your kids until they turn 18 was probably stoned on pot at the time.

Someone I know refused to pay for her son’s hand injury, even though he’s covered by her insurance because he was “stupid” to have caused the incident in the first place. Kids aren’t in their right mind until about age 25 or so. When I think of the things my brother and I did, my parents might have yelled, but they picked up the pieces. They paid for the hand my brother messed up when he punched a hole in a door at the Memorial Coliseum when he found out the KISS concert was canceled due to a storm. I screwed up a reel to reel tape, but wasn’t threatened with death. My parents seemed to realize “shit happened” and dealt with it.

What’s funny is that my mom wasn’t planning to get married or have kids. She wanted to be a travel photographer. For someone who originally wasn’t domestically inclined, she did a great job.

And yes, I realize there are people out there who really want kids, and they have them, and love them and do a great job with them. Keep up the good work. What I’d like to tell parents who are lamenting college costs, their kid’s first date, first driver’s license test, or the fact that their kids are putting a huge dent in the pot buying fund, is you have no one to blame but yourselves. Birth control is readily available so you can sleep soundly and not have to worry about your 17-year-old driving home from a camping trip and perhaps running into a drunk driver. Some people grow up when they have kids, but sadly, a lot of parents don’t. So we have people like Casey Anthony and Jessica Callaway who, if they hadn’t had children, wouldn’t be in the news.

Don’t hate your kids. The world is a dangerous enough place without having parents who just don’t care. It’s ironic that despite at the child-safety gadgets out there, sometimes the most dangerous thing that can affect a child is his or her parents.