The Hobby of Parenting

Just another quick example of how Americans are too willing to abdicate their parental responsibilities to the state.

From today's Detroit Free Press:

Alyssa Callihan isn't a morning person. So her mother makes sure the second-grader takes advantage of the breakfast program available at Harwood Elementary in Warren Consolidated Schools.

"It's nice to have the option to have her eat at school," Jennifer Callihan said. "She gets to socialize with her friends before school, plus they serve a nice balanced breakfast."

Alyssa's mom said she thinks the healthy breakfast helps her daughter do better in school. And research promoted by the School Nutritionist Association, for National School Breakfast Week -- which starts Monday -- says mother knows best.

I'm sure its all for the children. And, of course, what sort of a calloused hater would deny a hungry child some meager broth before they keeled over from lack of food? Um, no one that I know, but then I travel in conservative circles and don't hang with too many haters.

The issue here isn't what is necessarily good for one child on one morning, but whether it has been good for children in general for power hungry politicians and socialist bureaucrats to have assumed not only most children's education, but much of their health care, housing for millions of them, their day and after school care, have guaranteed their reproductive and legal rights, is supplying much of the food at home and now is lobbying to take over the responsibilities for each child's dietary necessities at school.

All of these changes have come with a huge cost, both financially and socially. Education scores have plummeted. Insurance costs are through the roof. Public housing is rotting. Many children are being raised by day care workers and teachers. Parent's decisions over their children's welfare have often times been overruled by well meaning but ill advised bureaucrats. Public assistance has turned dependence on the government from a short term fix to a way of life.

Does anyone else see a problem here? Short of an unfortunate conception here and there by willing fornicators, there isn't much need for parental involvement at all anymore when it comes to bringing a kid to market.

Parenting is not just a cute hobby. Responsibility abdicating parents would do well to learn this lesson, even if it means having to make breakfast once in a while.