I went to the library recently to do some copying. Our library has doors that open when you get close. I stepped through and thought I must be in the wrong building. A small boy with no shoes on was running up and down the aisles screaming at the top of his lungs.
I was mesmerized. I figured out that the woman at the counter was his mother. But I wondered why she wasn’t taking control. As the decibels rose, which I thought was impossible, all the adults were watching this screaming tot who was now crying and screaming at the same time. He would run down one aisle and back another. The library came to a standstill. Even the librarians were stunned. His mother continued to check out a book and never even turned around.
Eventually, the mother asked him what he was screaming about and he blubbered something about a little girl he was playing with until she left with her mother. He began kicking his mother and his face turned purple.
All I could think about was what he would be like at 13 – a serial killer? Why can’t some parents control their children. Could they be afraid of them? They want to be pals when what they should be parents. The kids will find pals on their own.
Then on the subject of children, I read an article about babies in the workplace. It seems that the United States and Australia are the only countries in the industrialized world that do not require employers to offer paid maternity leave. So at least 83 companies in the United States allow parents to bring their babies to work.
Uh oh, I can see problems without reading any further. But I did. One mother brought her 6-month-old son to work. The problem was not really the baby who yodeled throughout a meeting. It was the mother trying to do her job. Even just checking e-mail with a baby on your knee is a chore since he insisted on punching the keys on the computer.
Why don’t we have paid maternity leave? Why don’t more companies in this country let women work from home? She can always get on the computer when the baby is asleep even if it’s midnight. If employees want to work at home and actually get more work done, why don’t bosses let them? Is it just an American thing? Is it that the boss has to watch you working? Think of all the useless meetings called in any business. A meeting can be done just as well on a conference call.
Anyone who is a parent also knows that even the best parents will have situations with their children that have to be worked out. Show me a parent who claims his or her children are perfect and I’ll show you a liar, liar, pants on fire. Where do you think the gray hair comes from?
