Here follows a spectacularly self-righteous rant about parenting (skills?) and/or the lack thereof.
As a disclaimer, let me add that I am fully conscious of the probability of making these mistakes and many more should I be so lucky, etc.
Two things that I saw on the way to work today (as in pre-9am) that annoyed the beejaysus out of me.
1. 13 year old girl smoking
Hard to know what annoyed me more but I think it was the casual way she was smoking, which suggested categorically that she had no fear of getting caught by concerned parents.
I don’t get how parents can let their kids smoke. I don’t mean on a street or out with friends, but it was pretty obvious this girl had never been genuinely reprimanded for the particular brand of self-harm she was engaging in.
Why put 9 months of labour and 12-13 years of hard slog and stress (not to mention serious amounts of cash) into raising a kid, and then just when they’re getting on their feet let them literally kill themselves in front of you?
There’s only one thing that irritates me more. Which leads me conveniently to…
2. Parents smoking in front of (young) kids
Toddlers should never have to breathe in second-hand smoke. In fact none of us should, and thanks to one of the few men in the Dáil with any guts or for that matter conviction, most of us can avoid it on a day-to-day basis if we want to. But then there are people like the irresponsible ***** (and no, I will not be more polite about it!) I saw today puffing smoke at her two-year-old daughter.
Pregnant women smoking annoys me just as much, or people generally smoking around pregnant women. It’s absolutely disgusting and it should be illegal. People that smoke around their kids should be locked up for child abuse because that’s what it is.
I am sometimes tempted to start a whole new blog about things not to do as a parent. If only so I can look back on it when I am one, and mock myself for being such a naive twit.
