Added: 09/08/2006 |
UK Parenting TacticsFrom reusable diapers to college applications, UK parenting tactics are expanding exponentially to include every aspect of a child's life. Is this intense methodology the best approach to raising a child? Judging by the actions of contemporary parents, they sure think so. UK parenting has evolved in the last decade, becoming a more environmentally and politically aware practise than ever before.
It’s strange. I remember reusable diapers from my own childhood – not using them of course, but hearing about them. They were the failsafe option for the financially unstable, the tool of the welfare mom. She’d scrub and scrub those dirty nappies, careful never to let on how much it bothered both her nose and her stomach, and string them all up on the washing line to dry for the next week. Babies loved those soft diapers, too, blissfully unaware that the unspoken UK parenting codes said they were inappropriate. Now they are the absolute pinnacle of decency; morally right, they are the scorn of lazy parents.
Baby foods have changed as well. When in past years it was perfectly acceptable to feed your child sweets and genetically modified produce, now the vast majority of parents turn up their noses at such travesties. None for my child, thank you very much! It’s good old local fruits and vegetables now, and no refined sugar until you’re old enough to know better! Anyone caught tugging their child through the line at the grocery store better not have ice cream, cookies or microwave dinners in their trolleys. Everyone knows the child will grow up to have a short attention span, do poorly in school and have emotional problems. And the mother is probably fat, too.
Such is the state of UK parenting today – judgement is sharp and quick. This is also true of children’s television. There are plenty of programs dedicated to children these days. Parents might have had to sit through awkward puppet shows on a black and white screen, but kids these days have a veritable rainbow of choice: all singing, all dancing children’s shows with all sorts of characters, colours and themes. So what is a parent to do? Rule number one: don’t let your child watch too much TV. But a little is okay, especially if it’s educational. The problem is that few children are entertained by the Discovery channel or the news. Solution? As a responsible parent, it’s your duty to patrol the barrage of television shows being broadcast right to your little tot, and if you don’t, the friendly neighbourhood parent-watch will have your hide.
The fact is, UK parenting has become a new career in recent history. It is increasingly important to do right by your child, and ensure he or she has all the very best of everything, ‘the best’ meaning a more environmentally and socially responsible version of what is available. It does make sense, though, doesn’t it? What point is there in bringing up a child into a broken and unsustainable world that can’t support it? Reusable nappies are literally and morally a small price to pay for the peace of mind a parent can have from providing their child with a social conscience.
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