Universal acts of parental stupidity

TIME magazine asks:

Does This Baby Bikini Onesie Go too Far?

Of course it does.

While I believe that there are many acceptable ways of parenting (and one best way), I also believe that there are some things that parents do that are universally stupid.

These bikini onsies are an excellent example.

These universally stupid parenting decisions are the ones that 99% of all human beings think are stupid, but because parents are exceedingly sensitive when it comes to the way they raise their kids, we rarely speak about the stupidity of their decisions aloud.

I have a list of such parenting behaviors, totally five items in all (and now six with the addition of overly sexualized children’s clothing), but because I am wary of offending my readers or upsetting close friends, I am reticent to share this list. I may find a reason to make the list public someday in the future, but until that time, I  keep it locked away on my computer.

I also routinely examine my own parenting decisions for acts of universal stupidity, wary of making my own list. Thus far the closest I think I have come is in the frequency that I would like to bathe my daughter. If my wife wasn't around, I think Clara would be taking a bath twice a week. This seems reasonable to me but I have yet to find someone who agrees with my position.

Still, even twice a week is probably not egregious enough to make my list.

Okay, I’ll share one from the list, hoping it’s so indefensible as to avoid reader backlash.

Universal act of parenting stupidity #4: Putting a child to bed with a sippy cup of juice. 

I’d go into the reasons why this is a universally stupid decision (and there are many), but 99% of us already know why. 

In fairness, I have also found that many of the parents who are guilty of these acts of universal stupidity are aware of their crimes but unable to correct their behavior, usually because of an unwillingness to say no to their children (which amounts to little more than selfishness of their part).  

These are the parents who are often heard saying things like:

“I let me daughter drink juice from a sippy cup in her crib and she turned out just fine.”

Sure, she did. Children are remarkably resilient. But just because your child managed to survive your lousy parenting decision doesn’t make that decision any less stupid.