Want to illicit judgmental stares from hundreds of onlookers? Forget about spanking your kid in the check-out line at Target or screaming at her in church, all you need to do to carry your six-year-old through a crowd of window shoppers on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile and you will feel the burn of prejudice cut through you like a hot knife slicing a cold stick of butter.
You thought pushing a first grader in a stroller yielded discriminating comments; try schlepping a 50-pound child in your arms for 10 loooong city blocks and see the type of judgmental looks you are forced to encounter.
Let me tell you; it’s not a pleasant experience.
I know; because it happened to me four days ago.
Never mind that I didn’t start the day thinking that I could burn extra calories by powerlifting my kid through the streets of Chicago. The fact that I was carrying her in my arms because she was bleeding was lost on the smug Sunday strollers I was forced to maneuver around while trying to find a store that sold Band-Aids.
Granted, my daughter’s wound was superficial. Her tears were triggered more by fear and shock following her stumble over an uneven portion of sidewalk. Still, I wasn’t about to negotiate with an overtired crying kid in the middle of a high-traffic pedestrian walkway, so I did what any self-effacing parent would do—-I scooped up my child and tried to disappear into the crowd while simultaneously keeping my eye open for a convenience store, gently consoling her with a litany of “It’s okays” and gasping for breath while balancing her deadweight in my arms that were already bogged down with three shopping bags and a backpack.
Needless to say, the last thing I expected to be greeted with as I teetered my way down the street were wayward glances from passersby, who clearly had set opinions about parents carrying older children, instead of forcing them to hobble on their own two feet.
Apparently, it’s inappropriate in today’s society to console, ahem… I mean coddle… your child in public if she appears old enough to tough it out on her own. Kids are supposed to be taught independence at a young age, and goodness knows a parent who offers assistance is simply indulging the kid and stifling her self sufficiency, right?
Hah!
Believe me; if my back was stronger and my lung capacity more advanced I would have shared a piece of my mind with each and every one of the evil-eyed individuals I passed Sunday afternoon.
My kid, my back, my parenting style, my decision.
Who cares is she looks like she is too big to be carried.
Do you think there is such a thing as a child being too big to be carried?