Rudy, a message to you
Since Woody is once again having a pretty quiet day* I'll go ahead and just get a tangential rant off my chest.
Being at the NICU for 45 consecutive days, I have seen an awful lot of parents and other family come through the waiting room. I don't exactly TRY to listen to the other people's conversation, but in this time I've seen an awful lot of families deal with some of the worst situations that can be thrown at them. I've seen people be told that their grandchildren will be severely disabled, if they survive the night; I've seen tiny babies being admitted to the hospital that don't survive the night, and I've seen more than a few parents saying nothing and just sobbing in a corner. Bad stuff happens here, and these people (and I'm not even including myself in this) deserve to have at least a modicum of respect for their ongoing tragedies, and to have a quiet and dignified area for them to visit their kids, or to wait while one person or two at a time go into the actual baby's room.
There are other people that come to this waiting room. A lot of other people, actually. Many of these people are small children, and there seems to be an inordinate amount of these with no supervision at all. Why would you let your kids play loudly in the room while other parents are mourning the loss of their dreams of perfect kids? Why allow your kids to scream and throw fits with nary any supervision at all? And why, pray tell, is it that when I DO see supervision, it is of the physical variety? It's another example of the phenomenon I already labeled "The Ungratefuls", and it's illustrative of the injustice I see when parents who want so badly to be able to raise kids and do it right have trouble with it while the child abusers and the crack smokers can just pop out full-term babies with seemingly no effort at all. I just don't get it.
Parents: if you're going to bring your nominally healthy kids to the NICU, at least supervise them. Or get out of my way if I do.
*Woody is up to 1130 grams today, which is exactly TWICE his birth weight! YEEEEEHAAAAWWWWWW. Carry on.
posted by Nathaniel Hobbs @ 10:34 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Nothing really surprises me anymore, when it comes to parenting. I think it's amazing that people actually BRING a child to a hospital unless that child needs medical attention. Unfortunately, now that you are a parent, seeing children treated badly will only make you more angry and upset. Woody is a lucky boy. No doubt.
I agree with Aunt Susan: Woody is indeed a lucky boy! Parenting is not just a matter of appropriate discipline; it's also a matter of wise choices that show knowledge of one's child. A three year old should never be taken to a hospital because a little one that age can't sit still long enough and be quiet long enough to act appropriately. That's why churches have nurseries.
Hurrah for Woody at 2 lb. 8 oz., and hurrah for The Gratefuls who will work child by treasured child to save the future.
P.S. Shouldn't the hospital staff ask parents of unruly children to take them elsewhere??
Wow...
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