The Associated Press story of gate-crashing Easter egg hunt parents in Colorado Springs, Colo., who got their event canceled for egg-snatching doesn't surprise me. I've been a mom for 23 years; those guerrilla parents were around then, too. They have no regard for each other, their kids or anyone else's. They set a horrible example, pushing and shoving and for what--to get a plastic egg with a piece of stale candy? It's embarassing. It's why I stopped taking the children to some kiddie-freebies.Our community nixed Easter egg hunts, candy-tossing at parades and some Halloween giveaways for awhile. because soldier-of-fortune parents couldn't leave hands-off kids' events. They were determined their kid would have his (and everyone else's) share of the loot. Woe be it to other participants if a grand prize was awarded for the one who got the most. It became an all-out bloodbath. I've seen grown adults plow down small children for candy.
And what a contrast to parents of the 60s, when I grew up! Parents cared about us, but in a very hands-off way. You complained of being bullied? Ignore them was the answer, as they sipped their after work highball. You needed a ride somewhere? Ha! We didn't even think to ask. We walked. Sometimes for miles. And Easter candy hunts? Never even heard of them. If there was one and I wanted to go, mom would have said, "you go, honey. Have a good time." Even at three years old! And I would have walked! Parents did not take kids trick-or-treating. They didn't play with us (I preferred playing alone--grownups have very limited imaginations and it's awkward to have to teach them how to pretend).
We were the TV dinner generation. We lived before fears of transfat, preservatives and phthalates. Moms did not count our calories, limit our sugar or restrict dyes and additives (thought they probably should have, in my case). They happily medicated us without fear of alcohol cough syrup, liver damage or autism from mercury. A parent considered her job well done if the kids in school liked the cupcakes she baked (they did bake more back then.) She did not worry if they were too sugary or if the kids would get fat.
Parents did not walk kids to school. I walked alone in kindergarten. Okay yes, I did play hookey once. My friend whose house I was lunching at suggested we give the afternoon school session a miss. It sounded like a good plan. They had TV and her mom was working downstairs at the bar. We even babysat her three little siblings. And I managed to "lead her to salvation" (something I heard our minister say I should attempt with everyone.) And as my mother told the principal, I was perfectly alright.
60s parents expected us to have enough smarts to navigate and for the most part, I guess we did. I've managed in some pretty scary situations, thanks to that early self-reliance training. Was it better then? It was less complicated, surely. Would I parent my kids that way? Yes and no. If I had to choose between that and assault parenting, like the egg hunters, absolutely. Extreme Easter Egg Hunting Parent-Style is Scary
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