Surfin' the news on the Internet is one way I get ideas for my blogs. I ran across this headline on foxnews.com..and felt the need to read. I read the first few paragraphs..and stopped. I wanted to write my blog based on those few paragraphs..then go back and finish reading the story. Here is my blog..
A four-year old Chicago kid choked to death on a hotdog. His mother never thought the "popular" kid food could be so dangerous. In no way am I downplaying the death of a child. I have children. I can't imagine a parent going through that kind of grief. But we're talking about a hotdog. I beg to ask the question..when are we going to be more accountable for our actions rather than passing them off onto others? To me..its simple education..teaching our kids how to eat at a young age..as well as making sure food is prepared accordingly.
What is a hotdog? Processed meat..that basically requires little chewing.
When my kids were at a young age..my ex and I were quite aware on their eating habits as well as their eating abilities. We knew how much to cut up their food prior to serving them. Were there times that we had choking encounters? Yes. But we acted accordingly..and always looked at ourselves first before someone else. We simply went back to our practice of preparing food accordingly.
Again, I didn't read the entire news story. But I'm sensing a lawsuit in the near future..maybe.
If my child puts food in their mouth with the intention to chew and swallow..but forgets to chew..who's issue is that? That's on me..because I didn't do my part to educate my child on the dangers of not chewing. Bottomline..there has to be some accountability from a parental perspective.
Also, our kids attended daycare during the pre-school days. One of the first things we asked the daycare was how they prepared their meals. To our satisfaction..they prepared meals according to the child's eating ability.
Regardless of my ranting..keep in mind your child's eating habits and act accordingly. Now I'm going to finish reading the story. If needed, I will post a comment to this blog in the event I'm way off base..
Peace out my HALEYUNNS!
First, let me say I am sorry this young child lost his life. Very sad and very tragic. I'm sure his mother's heart is broken.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that though, once again, you're spot on. And you've touched on one of my biggest pet peeves - no personal responsibility for ourselves or for our kids. It's not just food and kids though. It's a way of life for so many in our society. We've come to look at ourselves as a victims.
I'm not sure if it's just that people are always looking for a way get rich quick (or to get their fifteen-minutes of fame) and have trained themselves to look for opportunities to play victim, or if it's more a subconscious mindset that they are helpless against anything and everything. Maybe it's something else altogether.
I don't know. I'm a techie with a love of writing, not a psychologist. But either way, the rest of us are the ones who pay the price when people don't use the good sense God gave them. There are certain times when yes, there is a legitimate place for a lawsuit. But really, how lacking in thought does a person have to be to not understand some "rules for the road" so they can avoid clogging up the court system?
Let me help:
1) A child's mouth is MUCH smaller than an adult and their food needs to be cut into small pieces. Parents are responsible for what their kids do until such time as they are deemed "responsible adults" by law. Usually that age is 18 but it varies. Until that time, a parent needs to be aware of their kids activities even if it cramps the style and freedom of the adult.
2) If you put a cup with hot liquid between your legs while driving and the lid pops off, you are likely to scald the family gems. You should not be rewarded by a large sum of money. You should either question your mental thought processes for doing such, OR just take responsibility and suck it up like the rest of us who have pulled that trick and have been scalded have done.
3) Fried food is tasty. So is chocolate and ice cream. That said, it should be consumed in balance with healthy things that most of us don't like but eat anyway. If you eat Big Macs and Whoppers and fries everyday without exercise, it is no one's fault but your own that you're fat. No one held a gun to your head and made you eat it. Were you not paying attention in health classes in school when they talked about nutrition and exercise? Get off your rear and exercise if you're unhappy instead of petitioning the government to mandated what the rest of us eat.
There's a whole litany of items I could list here, but you get the idea. It makes me want to scream at the top of my ample lungs, "Get a life, grow up and think for yourself. Quit expecting someone else to do it for you." Of course, if I do that, someone will be offended and probably take me to court because my outspokenness has offended them in some way, damaged their psyche and caused irreparable harm to them that will take years of therapy to overcome, if ever.
"Peace out!" :)
I thought Freedom of speech was our countries FIRST amendment, not freedom from being offended by the truth. The majority of this country needs to get over themselves and stop trying to blame someone else for their problems. Good blog Kev. This is my first time reading, but not the last.
ReplyDelete