Narcisstic Parents and Vacations
I realize it may be too early to put my two cents in here, but since I have
written about missing cute white girls in the past, I need to take this
opportunity to comment on Madeline McCann. As everyone with a TV and a
computer knows, Madeline was the cute four-year-old British girl who went
missing in Portugal in early May, when her parents decided to leave her
in their hotel room (along with their two-year-old
twins) while they ducked out for a nice meal in the
hotel's restaurant. And while the parents were
certainly negligent in leaving her alone, their behaviour highlights another
disturbing trend in the West: selfish parents taking their small children
on trips meant for adults.
I hate to start out by saying ‘When I was a kid,’ but at this point I have
no choice. When I was a kid, vacations with children usually included
such routine destinations as Disneyland. Due to an
increase in Western affluence (and let's be honest,
the huge increase in the egos and narcissism of
parents) people now feel compelled to take their children to destinations
traditionally meant for adults. Case in point: when the Asian tsunami hit
at the end of 2004, I was quite frankly shocked to see
how many parents had taken their small children and
infants to resorts like Phucket, Thailand.
Whatever happened to showing respect to the other tourists? Americans have
long been accused of being arrogant and egocentric (something that I
cannot deny), but it seems to me that Brits, Swedes,
and Aussies are just as guilty. Today more than ever,
parents are dragging their small children along to
places traditionally not meant for kids. They have no concern for
the other guests (without children) who look forward to their vacations
as a way to ‘get away from it all.’ When my children
were very young, we did not force them on other people
by taking them to fancy restaurants or exotic
vacations (even though they are much better behaved than the majority of
other children). When my wife and I went to Europe, we had our (then
three-year-old) daughter stay with my brother, his wife, and their kids.
This was not only for our own enjoyment, it was to
avoid inconveniencing other tourists (and perhaps more
importantly, to avoid boring the hell out of our
daughter). When we went to Hawaii two years ago, both of our children stayed
with their grandmother. But judging by the large number of screaming,
unsupervised brats we saw there, it is obvious to me that my wife and I
are very much in the minority. Today, most parents
really don't give a shit about other people (and see
their kids as just accessories).
It's very simple: If you want to have a nice meal or vacation without your
kids tagging along, leave them with their grandparents or other
relatives. Of course, with more people cranking out
bastards at an alarming rate, many ‘parents’ today
don't have the support system that an extended family
provides. And although this isn't the case with Madeline McCann's parents,
you have to agree that leaving their daughter to watch over her
two-year-old brothers was extremely negligent.
And, of course, since Madeline was white (and cute as a button) the case is
being given the huge amount of publicity as were the cases involving
other cute white girls (Aruba Girl, Jon Benet, etc.).
Celebrities such as David Beckham are falling all over
themselves to help find little Madeline. And while I
certainly HOPE that she is found alive and unharmed, the odds are
against it.
So the next time any of you narcissistic parents get the urge to take your
family on a vacation, you have three options:
1) Go somewhere that is child-friendly and age appropriate
2) Leave your kids in the capable hands of a relative
3) Stay the fuck home and wait until your kids are old enough
But alas, in today's instant-gratification self-centred society, I realize
I'm just pissing up a rope.
Of course those three options are obvious for anyone with half a functioning brain...
© by Michael Cooper 2007