Under-Parenting

Usually it is the over-parenting that really annoys me, but yesterday we were at the pool…


We arrived early, snagged a shady spot, applied massive amounts of sunscreen and hit the pool. Then the masses arrived, which would be fine if parents did the right thing. What is the right thing? Oh, I don’t know…WATCH YOUR CHILDREN!!! I packed a snack for us and when L went back to our seats to get his goggles he said there was a little girl poking around in our bag. When we go back to our seat our snack was gone! The thing is, it really doesn’t bother me that she ate it, or that we didn’t have one, but what bothers me is that it could have been anything. It could have been a bag of peanuts or medication. Where was her mom? Just a little later I saw a mom rush over to a child (not her own) and pull his little body out of the water. The boy’s mom came and got him with an annoyed “mind your business” kind of thank you for the rescue-mom. She had been sitting at the side of the pool talking with friends while her two year old played in the crowded pool. But to be fair when she went for a smoke-break she did take him along.

What is wrong with these parents?!

It is your job, your responsibility to care for your children. No one is going to do it for you. Some parents expect others to do their job, they expect life guards to babysit, they expect grandparents to provide, and they expect teachers to do everything else. Since when is it the schools job to keep our kids from becoming overweight? Since when is it okay to expect your parents to watch your children every day without compensation? Since when did neglecting your children become “just a day at the pool”?

It’s your job parents! It’s your job to keep your kids active. Your parents raised their children, let them be grandparents. Just take responsibility.

That was just our first day at the pool, I knew I would need a lot of sunscreen, but it appears I better take extra “tact” with me to the pool.