Cut The Cord

Henry Miller once said, ~Every genuine boy is a rebel and an anarch. If he were allowed to develop according to his own instincts, his own inclinations, society would undergo such a radical transformation as to make the adult revolutionary cover and cringe.~ Every so often you come to a point where a particular subject matter leads you to stand on the proverbial soapbox and give your 2 cents. As a guy who has been working in the childcare profession for the past 11 years you see and hear so many things giving you material to share with others, which I have done on occasion. So, you may be asking yourself what has gotten my thought process spinning on all cylinders to the point where I must apologize ahead of time for what I'm about to say to a specific demographic...mothers.

Let me ask you this question to all the moms out there who have young sons, are you raising him/them to be tough individuals or in the words of current California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger girly men? The reason I'm asking is because it seems today's generation of moms are way overprotective when it comes to raising boys feeling the need to shield them from being potentially hurt by elements or people around them. I've got a newsflash for you moms...no matter what you do to try to prevent something from happening to your precious baby boy they're going to get hurt and there is nothing you can do about it. Let me tell you something, the more you coddle them as they grow older it will be less likely for them to in all intents and purposes let go of mommy's hand.

As said before, boys will get hurt and tears will possibly be shed in the process, especially when playing an activity such as kickball or dodgeball. I think we can all agree that back in the day each one of us got hit in the face with the ball as it was either thrown or kicked directly/indirectly at us. Getting hit is part of the game and when you get hit in the face or the back of the head it stings and there is no denying the fact you'll feel pain. Yet, the question remains who deals with pain better, boys or girls? It's a sad situation indeed when there is a reversal of roles as today's generation of young girls are taking it like men, in a manner of speaking, when hit in the face unlike the boys who cry out for their mommy after getting slightly grazed by the ball.

For the question can be asked to the mothers once again, are you the type of mom who overreacts and becomes angry to the point of blaming others for your child getting hurt? It's a difficult and frustrating situation indeed when you deal with a mom who doesn't want to or refuses to listen to a word you say as she is totally focused on getting the answer of why her son is hurt by someone other than you. Without a doubt, it takes a lot of restraint from completely going off and making certain suggestions that could possibly get you in trouble, especially in the child care profession. Suggestions such as having her boy be put in a plastic bubble or have him wrapped completely around in bubble wrap so that he won't be able to get hurt whatsoever, which has been thought of but not uttered.

In retrospect, its mom that are turning a generation of young boys into complete pansies, wimps, weenies, or wussies who not only aren't able to think for themselves, but also aren't able to grow a backbone leading to a lack of manliness in today's society. You see, back in the day boys like myself weren't afraid to get hurt and if we did to where if it wasn't serious the three words we would usually hear from dear old dad was shake it off. Young boys today are afraid to get hurt because moms are too well informed as they tell them the activity is no longer safe or too dangerous to take part in. In the end, I'm not saying this goes for all moms as it is directed more towards a certain number of them who I want to specially say this to you...for your boy's sake cut the cord before it's too late.