A Thoughtful Life

I have a few questions, and a rant.
Why would a 7 year old child need a cell phone?
Do people routinely let their 7 year old children out of their sight? Do 7 year old children get to walk down the street to the library or ride their bike to the mall? Do they hang out with their friends for hours and hours with no parental supervision? These are the only good reason I can come up with of why a 7 year old would need a cell phone. So then the question becomes… WHY are parents letting a young child (and 7 is still quite young) out and about without supervision?

OK, before anyone tells me that life is different in some remote little rural village where there is no crime and only three cars use the one stop light in town each day… I know that. But the majority of places in America aren’t little one-light towns where everyone knows everyone else. Real towns have traffic and strangers, and 7 years old children still need supervision and protection. 7 year old children don’t need the privacy a cell phone ensures them. Parents should still be the major factor in their lives, and should know when they are on the phone and to whom they are speaking. Yes, I’m over-protective. But I’m also determined that my child will know how to handle the situations she encounters out in the real world. And to teach her, I have to be a major factor in her life. That is my job.

Why would a parent take their 11 year old daughter to get her nose pierced? Yes, a little girl from our bus stop just got her nose pierced. I guess her mom figured that by 6th grade her daughter needs to grow up and start getting parts of her body pierced. Her mother drove her to the piercing place. Parents… it is OK to say no! There will be more than enough time for her to put holes in her body, you don’t need to encourage the practice. Sixth grade…. 11 years old… she is still just a young girl. Let her be a child, encourage her to be a child.

And finally…

Why is the 9 year old at the bus stop wearing eye liner? And why did her mother put it on her? And why does the child run around at all hours of the evening by herself? And why does she knock on my door and want to come play, even though her mother has never met me? Does anyone else have a problem with this? Am I over-protective? How can you not know what you children are doing? How can you protect them if you don’t even know where they are or who’s house they enter.

If you can’t tell, I’ve had an interesting two weeks of running into parents that I consider irresponsible. I suddenly don’t wonder why so many of our youth are arrogant, lazy, and rude. I now know why there is a general disregard for authority in our teens. It is because their parents haven’t done their jobs. These children haven’t had any real authority in their lives, they’ve only had general disregard. “Go play somewhere else, I’m busy.”

Children don’t need cell phones, nose rings, or eye-liner - they need guidance and supervision. Keep them protected and naive to situations that are inappropriate. It’s OK for them to take their time growing up. Let them just enjoy the sunshine and the swing set for a little bit longer.