Category | Op Ed

Response to “Unleash your discipline”

Published on October 30, 2006 by The Sentinel

Dear Editor,

    It is very obvious that [the author] does not have any
children. I think it is also obvious that [the author] has not taken
any physiology or child development classes. I know this subject is a
controversial one, but do not pass judgment on someone until you have
walked in their shoes.


I am a mom with two little boys [2 1?2 years and 11 months old] and I
use a harness for my 2 year old. It is a lifesaver. He has the freedom
to walk around but I have the security that he his attached to me and
safe. No one but a mother or father knows the heart stopping fear of
being in public and not being able to see your child because they have
walked around an aisle or they are hiding under a rack of clothes. We
do not live in a world where children can have free reign. We live in a
world where children are taken out of shopping carts with their parent
standing right next to the cart.

    The choices you give for not using a harness are not
only ridiculous, but also very impractical. A 2 year old cannot be
reasoned with. They do not understand why they cannot run around. They
are impulsive, Id controlled creatures. So you say leave them at home
with a babysitter. Are you going to pay for this sitter? At $10.00 or
more per hour who [but the wealthy] could afford to run to the grocery
store? So you say stay at home? Are you going to leave all of your
errands for the weekend? Just make sure your husband/partner goes with
you so someone can watch the kids, or your husband/partner stays at
home with the kids.

    If you did not leave the house until your child was
of an age to behave in public, you would be at home until the kids were
out of high school. Children, like adults, learn by doing. If you never
take them out, how are they going to learn how to behave in public? My
children are punished when they act up, but they have to have the
chance to act up to learn what is acceptable behavior and what is not.
If you want to know what life is like with two small kids, come live my
life for one outing. You might change your mind.

Stacey Dever