Let his kids ride the bus
What has happened to our society when a parent is excoriated in public by the government for trying to make his children responsible adults one day? Where did we go off the rail to allow this kind of thinking take over common sense and prudent parenting?
I recall well back in 1954 when I was 10 years of age attending Queenston School in Winnipeg. I was a patrol boy (in those days, they allowed children to do that kind of job). Together with another boy my age, we were asked to control an intersection at Academy Road and Queenston Street where there were lights. This was before the days of automation. My pal and I had the task of working the lights after school and deciding when to change them to permit the children to cross the street.
Now, that was a huge responsibility to give 10- year- olds. Yet, we did it and did it well. Nobody complained about two 10-year-old boys operating the traffic lights. Today, a 10-yearold would have to have a person pick him or her up at school and then walk the student across the street.
What did I learn from that job? I knew that I had to be there. I knew that I had to be alert as to traffic conditions. I knew that I had to wait to change the lights until a large enough group of children congregated to cross the street. In short, I gained from this experience. Taking independence away from our children is not a way to make a better child and later an adult. Now, I expect a flurry of letters all stating that life has changed since 1954. Yes, it has, but we are making it change for the worse when we react to fear as in the mentality of monitoring our kids like helicopter parents.
I say congratulations to Adrian Crook. He has it right.