So if some Australian parents are two-people workers… And you are saying you don’t even have “time for” making their lunches, so you’re pushing to get the American Cafeteria in school… They go from childcare to kindy to school, bed by 7, and you as a parent are stating on the comment section of the news you “can’t wait” to throw the time consuming lunchbox in the bin…
Luna
Pray tell, at what point are you actually being A Parent? Do you spend ANY time with your child, or is everyone doing your job for you? And if you are now at the point you’re even palming off the humble lunchbox to schools or childcare centres, then what are you even doing as a parent to take care of your child?
Where is the actual parenting here? The love, the bonding, the time, the errands and duties of parenting? Is this what the middle-upper working class is, claiming your private education should be doing your job so your kids are literally just there for Instagram posts and not y’know… Dependent on you?
My gosh, the state of Australian parenting sounds dismal if no one is actually wanting to take care of and spend time with their children, calling them time consuming in their ultra busy working day.
My Response:
Agreed. We have this argument here about government schools in general. The moment you have the government do something for you, people stop doing it themselves, and then you get a mediocre version of the original. It applies to the entire school, not just the school lunches. And as you say, outsourcing the parenting to other people—it makes for mediocre non-parents. It seems to me to be an economic watering-down principal that may be universal. We’re outsourcing life itself.
Furthermore, although people don’t like to acknowledge it, this is also my argument against Google and Wikipedia. Every time we abdicate responsibility to a third party we become poorer in ways we choose not to see.
Justin