Ok, a bit of a grumble this morning.
Isabelle goes to Nursery in the mornings in a small but busy school. The road at to the main entrance of the school is not very wide. When cars are parked at the side of the road, this road then becomes one way even though cars still drive in both directions and end up nose to nose and nowhere to go. It is always chaotic! Why do parents seem to have their brains removed when dropping kids off to school? They search for parking places like it's the end of the world. I've seen two cars trying to get into the same spot and the parents almost coming to blows over it. How stupid is that?
And why when the yellow lines on the road right outside the school gate clearly state NO STOPPING do parents insist on parking right outside the gate causing major blockages in the road. No one can get anywhere. And of course, there are so many kids around trying to get into school at the same time. It's a nightmare, and it really does put my back up. Why do the parents think that it is acceptable to park outside the gate and let their kids out of the car then watch them walk into school? Is it lazyness? Can't the parents be bothered to get out of their car? This led me back to thinking about a TV programme I watched last night with Gok Wan (I love this bloke!) on teenage obesity, but I talk about that in my slimming blog Annie Gets It Off!! It's no wonder kids are fatter these days. They don't actually walk anywhere!
The other thing that grated my nerves this morning was child responsibility? Now I'm all for kids being responsible for themselves, but at 7 years old, they are kids. How much responsibility do you put on a child of 7? As I was coming out from dropping Isabelle off, I heard a 7 year old say to his mum, oh mum, have you got my glasses? This child obviously needed glasses for school work but not to wear all the time. His mother's reply was no! They're not my responsibility, they're yours. You left them on your desk. If you haven't got them it's your own fault not mine. Now obviously I don't know any of the background of this child and his mum, but I personally thought it was a bit harsh. This boy now has to go through the whole day at school without his glasses. I found this a bit hard to understand. Having had a forgetful child, I spent a lot of time reminding him of things he needed. But who is in the wrong? Is this mother in the wrong for making the boy go all day without his glasses because he didn't pick them up? Or am I in the wrong for thinking if it were me, I'd have reminded him or even picked them up because he can't work at school all day without them? Maybe I'm too soft, maybe I'm wrong because I've run about reminding my kids what they need. But this boy was only 7 years old. Can of worms? So I drove home wondering if I've mollycoddled my kids. They've grown up to be responsible young adults who have never given me any problems (well apart from Eve hitting the hormonal teens!) and I know full well that both of them could survive on their own should they need to. Will this young boy remember his glasses tomorrow because his mum is teaching him to be responsible for himself? I don't know. Two sides to the coin I guess.
