Take THAT! (thwack!)

Husband sent a link out to an article published by the Christian Science Monitor (hey, that's almost an oxymoron!) to one of our parenting chat lists. It really went to town on Baby Loves Disco, decrying its many dangers, as supported by many People of Authority. Read the ridiculous piece of work here.

Right.

My disco-loving panties got so tangled up over this, I actually sat down and wrote a letter to the Editor, which I don't think I've ever done in my life before (this fact may be a good indicator of my priorities, but a girl's gotta start somewhere.)

I doubt my letter will reach anyone's eyes via print or monitor as I way overshot their meager 200 word limit, but it felt good to write anyhow.

Here's also a great blog entry about it: http://moderateleft.com/?p=3206.

Post Script: This only made me slightly completely behind on working on my finals.

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I've only been to the San Francisco venue of Baby Loves Disco. However, the events I've attended have not been about bringing children 'up to speed' with an adult lifestyle, but about creating a huge playgroup-like space in a venue where parents are not driven out of their minds by marauding cartoon characters and loud, endless children's music.

There's nothing that happens at these afternoon excursions that wouldn't happen in people's homes: listening to non-kid music (and we're not talking death metal here, but DISCO,) kids eating goldfish crackers and drinking from juice boxes, playing with hula hoops, beach balls, and play scarves, and yes, the *occasional* parent having a beer. How exactly is this 'encouraging parents into turning children into mini adults'? Music is at a talkable level. Spankings are avoided, not sought after. Sippy cups are not being filled with hooch. Toddlers are not sporting the latest in thong diaper technology. Strippers are not in charge of stroller parking. Truly, I think the worst thing about BLD is that it falls directly during nap time.

While pointing out many shortcomings of this one particular venue, the article also fails to mention a *huge* safety measure: no adults are allowed into the event without a child, and I believe there may be a 2 adult per child ratio as well. These are not spaces random people off the street can just walk into. Nor do parents cease to be responsible adults once they are inside these clubs, crazed by shiny mirrored balls and a Corona or two.

BLD is not about 'not setting boundaries with your children' but is instead about having the whole family together for an afternoon in a day and age where many children are slapped in front of the television by parents citing, "Not now, dear, I'm busy." And choosing Los Angeles out of all 16 cities to represent what Baby Loves Disco entails seems like a convenient way to distort and vilify what is nothing more than spending time with the kids.

By the way, does the author even have children?