Poor Mommy

So yesterday I read this article in Newsweek. But then realized that I think my work is monitoring the activity on my computer and so decided not to rant about it. And this morning I realized that I don't really care so I'm going to post anyway.

Generally, I'm pretty pro women. In fact a month or so ago, my man read a very poorly taken out of context section of one of my favorite books in which someone threatens to castrate someone else. We had to have a "talk" about my attitude towards men. Which is, that they are stupid, and that women are stupid on a whole different level than them. But that as a whole women have had it bad, and we are responsible for fixing it, and that it isn't really the men's fault anymore as much as it is the whiney bitches who can't pay for their own dinner.

Take this article above. It goes on and on about Supermommies and all the work they have to do and how seriously they take their lives and how Hard it is and I almost want to cry big tears of sorrow for them. ::sniff sniff:: Or not. That's what birth control is for ladies.

Seriously about the article. I can't even imagine how difficult it is to raise a child AND have a career. I can imagine that rasing several children on your own is very tough, and that one could use some help. But wait, this article isn't about single Mom's. It is about all Mom's. This generation apparently "bred, from the earliest age, for competition" which is FORCING them to go to ridiculous lengths to 'Raise the Perfect Child.' She talks about the ridiculous hours mothers keep trying to get in "quality time" and the lengths they go for "crafts" and "snacks." And all of this results in some crazy and stressed women. (I have long been of the opinion that women who have children lose a large part of their mental faculties and this article is in line with my hypothesis) And what kinds of solutions does our dear deluded newsweek writer propose?

• We need incentives like tax subsidies to encourage corporations to adopt family-friendly policies.
• We need government-mandated child care standards and quality controls that can remove the fear and dread many working mothers feel when they leave their children with others.
• We need flexible, affordable, locally available, high-quality part-time day care so that stay-at-home moms can get a life of their own[omitted BS]
• We need new initiatives to make it possible for mothers to work part-time (something most mothers say they want to do) by creating vouchers or bigger tax credits to make child care more affordable, by making health insurance available and affordable for part-time workers and by generally making life less expensive and stressful for middle-class families so that mothers (and fathers) could work less without risking their children's financial future. Or even, if they felt the need, could stay home with their children for a while.
• In general, we need to alleviate the economic pressures that currently make so many families' lives so high-pressured, through progressive tax policies that would transfer our nation's wealth back to the middle class.

Soooooo What your saying is, the government should spend money on helping you raise your child. They should do this because you're "stressed" and because you are clearly insane. Obviously the government should take responsibility for the fact that you decided to breed. Especially since you have some deep need to raise the best child possible. In fact, I think what you're saying here is that you can't handle this. And maybe we should take your child away from you because all of this coddling is only going to raise the "perfect spoiled brat" And cause behavioral Issues which will only backfire. (I myself am a sufferer of SRGS, I'm still learning how to wash dishes, it really sucks and I wish I'd just had chores to do when I was a kid, seriously.)

And here's a thought. Why not ask Dad to do some work. I realize that if Dad isn't around this could be problematic. But he's half responsible for your demon spawn, and it probably wouldn't kill the little buggar to spend some time with someone who has a mind of his own and an ability to treat his child like it is capable of breathing on its own.

Then maybe you could give your kid some soft fuzzy toys or a ball and kick them out of the house for a while, away from any pools or holes in the ground. Maybe with one of the older neighborhood kids. Then your child will go off and learn bad words and come back and repeat them, but at least they will be exposed to something besides your overprotective insanity.

The real victims from this article are not these poor mommies, they are the children of these mommies, what will they do when they have to live in the real world?

-----later

Lilek's has a much better post on this. And he calls his daughter Gnat, how freaking cute is that.

(Via A Small Victory)