Parenthoodism

Being a parent is hard.  You worry about your child.  You hover over your child.  All to keep them out of harms way, keep them from making stupid mistakes.  It will be curious to see this generation as adults.

We all repeat the same mantra... 'It was different when I was a kid.'  Was it really?  Sure, the texting idiots on the 12 lane roads add to the paranoia.  Sure, there are web sites that list the closest sex offenders in a 50 mile radius of our home, school, and library.  But was the world really that much safer for the children of the '80s?

When I was a kid (somewhere, my son just rolled his eyes) we didn't wear seat belts and sat in the bed of a truck.  We walked down roads that didn't even have *gasp* bike lanes and "pedestrian speed cushions."  We didn't check in with a cell phone.  No one ever thought to ask if your house had a loaded gun or killer dog.  All our sex offenders just ran willy nilly through the community without a tracking device, which may actually now be an app you can get on your phone.

My best memories from childhood almost always were doing something I shouldn't be doing.  Hiking down to the creek, wandering through the woods, walking to the grocery store, and, my favorite, going through all the treasures in the illegal dumping area about a mile from my house.  (Don't knock it... I once found a little people airport with about half the accessories)!

We organize safe, educational play dates for our kids.  We have settings of  grandeur like build-a-bear and omsi.  Children who don't go to Disneyland are considered "at risk."

I didn't let my daughter keep a stick she found in the woods by her grandparents house.  A stick, which she described as none other than 'perfect.'

Hmm...  I think we had more fun than our kids.