by There are many examples of what I consider to be really bad parenting out there. I have seen parents pushing their babies in strollers with one hand while smoking with another. I have heard of parents who do not ever make food for their children and instead take their children to fast food restaurants for every single meal. That is actually beyond bad parenting — it’s borderline child abuse, considering the ill effects that fast food have on the human body. When I see a parent walking around with their child on a so-called safety harness that looks more like taking your pets out for a walk than keeping them safe, I fear for the children and the caged mentality in which they seem to be raising their children.
Then I read about a couple of kids who sued their mother for bad parenting and when I found out why they were suing their mother I couldn’t help but think that they had a bad case of first world problems.
the grown kids, now ages 19 and 21, enumerated certain very very hurtful things, including the sending of a birthday card that the son didn’t like. The card featured a photo of a group of similar tomatoes, except one had “googly eyes” attached to it. The sentiment read, “Son I got you this birthday card because it’s just like you … different from all the rest!” The mom, Kimberly Garrity, signed it, “Have a great day! Love & Hugs, Mom xoxoxo.”
Fortunately for society, this case was entirely dismissed. For Steven A. Miner II and Kathryn Miner, the plaintiffs, this should be some kind of lesson. I still weep a little when I think of four children who were starved by their adopted parents in Trenton so badly that they turned to eating the wall just to make it through the day. I also think of children pimped by their parents into exploitative pageants at extremely young age — to me, that is some of the worst abuse out there.
Not getting money with your birthday card? First world problem, certainly. Steven and Kathryn Miner need to realize that they have extremely privileged lives, relatively speaking — the fact that they even are able to take their mother to court over this and other perceived slights is more than most actually abused children ever get.
The sad thing is, Gordon, I think there are plenty of children who could rightly sue their parents for “upbringing damages” — the silliness of the birthday card suit is just nuts and not helpful.
Not only that but can you imagine that the children must have gone into it thinking they would win?
In an interesting twist, there’s this: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/09/19/bc-parental-support-sue-lawsuit-anderson.html.
That is interesting! Thanks for the link!