On Tap from the Pub

Today’s parental

Executive Summary:

Unwarranted, but giving parental advice anyway. I digress.

This isn’t a parenting publication, I know. But it is consumed by families; so I’m going to take the leap from our standard subject matter.

Of course, if I were to address this to our business community (or even apply this to this very edition featuring manufacturing), I might say something like this:

Don’t take your seven-year old child to the factory’s assembly line to see if he can stick his or her hand in the machinery without getting hurt.

That’s rather common sense, yes?

So why are so many of us acting like that kind of perspective doesn’t apply to other areas in our daily life? It’s as if too many of us would rather say, “well, the kid needs to see the real world… maybe improve his reaction time. He’s gotta learn. I’m taking him down to the plant tomorrow morning.”

OSHA—if not Social Services—would probably step in to prevent you from throwing your kid in that environment. But there are other hazards that aren’t on the factory floor. Unfortunately, you’re allowed to throw the kid in these places. It’s your prerogative. But I implore you to reconsider.

Don’t take your young child with you on your angry protests.

On Tap from the Pub

By Tom Field

How dare I, right? Actually, I would argue to leave your kids at home on most any civic demonstrations or engagements that aren’t civil or peaceful. But I absolutely see little merit in bringing young children on engagements that are filled with anger, volatility, clashes with police or military or fueled opposition forces, or the kind that are marked with threats and shouting and shoving and potential harm. Parents who willingly place their children in these environments, or even have them holding signs or wearing items with messages they wouldn’t or couldn’t form themselves are failing their chief responsibility: the protection of their own. A teachable moment, you say? That could be a devastating lesson.

Don’t discourage your young child about school. There is a good chance that a majority of parents are not satisfied with our school systems’ response to the pandemic. One school says it’s not changing at all… everything remains pretty much open. Another school says it’s completely changing… everything is remote or online. And in between the two schools are all the other systems that are hybrid. Are you ready?... in class, remote, part time, full time, distanced, masking policies, partially occupied bus/classroom, classes/classmates separated, classmates kept together in small cells, lower grades in school more than higher grades, in-classroom meals, sports and extracurricular and club