PlatKat.com: "Hey Kat, Do You Ever Think About Having Kids?"

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

"Hey Kat, Do You Ever Think About Having Kids?"

No.

So as not to foil those who expect this link to be humorous, I will forewarn that it's a really long feature story in Newsweek about stupid women who drive themselves crazy trying to do everything in the world when they should really just pick one or two things and do them well.

The writer suggests some social improvements that could be made to increase the quality of life for mothers who also want to work and have social lives. I agree with those, as I do most of her thoughts on the pressure women put on themselves to excel and be self-sufficient.

Although, while I support the idea of forming support groups and getting a spot on the political agenda to improve daycare (here's that humor you wanted), I also think more women (and people in general) need to take a step back and ask themselves, "Is this really important?"

The article mentions several instances of women going crazy, being literally unable to verbally express their thoughts, losing sleep over the tiniest of tasks and suggestions about how to do them. Are these women so far removed from the real world that they can't simply decide, "Hey, maybe the color of felt that I provide for my third-grader's class craft project is not very signifigant."? Or better yet, "Maybe I shouldn't care what other people think about the color of felt I provide in the first place."?

It's such a stupid, worthless, and most of all, thankless, race to get your kids the best (or someone else's insane standard of the best) schools, ballet classes, instrument lessons, etc. How could so many people set out to perform the activity of parenting without having their head completely in the right place with regard to meeting their own needs?

Parenting seems like something Americans believe you should just "do" once you reach adulthood, regardless of their actual plans or goals. It seems like most people go into it knowing they'll do poorly, but do it anyway because it's the norm. What a waste! Would you become a painter if you'd never taken an art class or even had the interest to draw a picture? Would you take a job as a doctor if the sight of blood made you faint?

Why do people set themselves up for failure?

posted by platkat @ 2:36 PM