Two controversial news items caught my eye on my phone a few moments ago:
"Judge Orders Mom To Stop Breastfeeding"
"Class Trip Cancelled Due To One Child's Complaint"
Let's look at both,
1) The mom in question is breastfeeding her 6 m/o infant, and the father wants overnight visits. The court ordered her to adjust the child's feeding schedule to accommodate the father's petition. Allegedly, the child dislikes the bottle, and has to be fed every hour.
First of all, let's discuss the parents. Is this a mom with a legitimate concern? My own granddaughter is 7 months old and refusing the bottle. My DIL has made every effort to find a bottle she'll tolerate, and is even introducing baby food into her diet, to wean her off the breast. She even pumps out her excess and freezes it, so when there are times when she can't breastfeed (appointments, errands, or whatever), she's got a back up plan.
If this is the case, then yes, I don't agree with the ruling.
BUT....on the other hand, did the parents split amicably, or is this a way the mother is using her child's feeding schedule as a way of controlling how much time the child spends with its father? The article only says effort has been made to change the feeding schedule to allow pumping/bottle feeding. So if Mom is a control freak....yeah. I agree with the ruling.
I'm assuming a social worker or CASA worker assessed the situation. But even then, mistakes can be made. Why did the parents separate? Was there abuse involved? The article doesn't say.
2) The child in question was excited about a field trip to a water park, until she learned she was going to be paired with the 'least favorite child in the class'. I have several issues with this.
A) Normally, aren't children allowed to pick their own partners? We were, and my kids were. Article says the teacher had a habit of pairing 'good' children with 'naughty' children, in order to keep some semblence of control. Wait, WHA?T? I know from my own experience, if I were paired with a kid I couldn't stand (and knew about it in advance!), I'd complain also. But at the same time, it's a water park, and you only have to tolerate your 'buddy' on the bus. Once in the park, you can join your friends and ignore your 'buddy'.
B) Who tells you to pick a buddy in ADVANCE? Our groups were formed the day of the trip.
C) It says the child was paired with the 'least-liked child' who 'picked his nose'. Okay, I was that 'least-liked child' in the 4th grade, due to my allergies rearing its ugly head. Who wants to be friends with the child who has a constantly runny nose and has to use a damn hanky all the time? I did NOT pick my nose, but it probably looked as if I did. It's not like it was back then; we didn't have access to travel-sized kleenex, and I didn't want to make several trips to the teacher's desk for the Puffs. It would only call attention to my ailment and cause even more teasing.
So.....is this a case of an entitled, spoiled brat who runs with the 'popular crowd' and doesn't want to be seen with the someone farther down the pecking order? The parents further entitling their precious darling by agreeing to let her stay home that day, or are they genuinely tired of this teacher's 'archaic attitude'?
Is this a teacher who has 'archaic attitudes' about children, or is she trying to foster cooperative attitudes?
Eight other parents hopped on the bandwagon and the trip was cancelled. Again, the article makes no mention about the age group of the children.
What's your take? I had to disable the comments, due to getting too many SPAM comments. Put BLOG in the subject line and send them to kenziemichaels@gmail.com
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