At the heart of much speculative fiction (and fiction in general) is a question. What if? On Tuesdays I like to throw one out there and see what you make of it. Do with it as you please. If a for-instance is not specified, feel free to interpret that instance as you wish. And if you find this becomes a novel-length answer, I'd appreciate a thank you in the acknowledgements. 😉
What if all adults needed to pass a class/test before they could be allowed to parent children?
It would be a Christmas miracle...
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Alex said. And the funny thing is I thought about this a lot since our kids are adopted. We had to go through a lot of testing and home studies and psychologist visits to be deemed fit parents where people all around us were just getting pregnant and they didn't have to do the same. While I understand that screening is necessary in the case of adoption, maybe it would be a good thing if each potential parent got screened in one way or another. It might be helpful not to disqualify them from parenthood but instead put them with helpful resources if they don't quite "screen right."
ReplyDeletebetty
Let's make it a law! Parents must adhere to No means No! No giving in and no fast food constantly. Parents must learn cooking skills, how to discipline and budgeting 101. They must also make sure all the kids' toys fit in their room/playroom/chest in hallway. Parents must learn that kids not allowed to scream or else! Parents must teach children to find work when they are a teen and learn independence.
ReplyDeleteAh, if only...
DeleteThere wouldn't be a lot of kids.
ReplyDeleteI would probably fail! Cause with my two, I pretty much winged it since they actually do not come with manuals! But truth, it would probably prevent people who don't need them to not have them. Those folks that don't parent so to speak, the druggies, and other questionable folks.
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing wrong with winging it. I believe that's the parenting style of most parents.
DeleteOh please...when my now-28 year old daughter was born, the day we brought her home from the hospital, I took her out of the car seat, put her into the crib, and started to cry because I had no idea what to do next, and felt crushed by the realization that I was facing 18+ years of “nexts”.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure yours is not a unique story.
DeleteWhile it would be against our rights, I'd still be all for testing. A good healthy dose of training would stop so many issues.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be a good idea as there are too many infanticides-while sad that it is happening...this is fact at the moment.
ReplyDeleteThere would be fewer kids in the world, right? And they all might be copies of one another, 😳
ReplyDeleteOh. Possibly.
DeleteWe often tell our Barbarians that what we do as parents maybe isn't the right decision, but it is the best we can at the time because they didn't come with a manual. =)
ReplyDeleteThat would be effin fantastic.
ReplyDeleteYup.
DeleteWhat Alex said. My parents weren't able to have children after me (their one and only) and tried to adopt later in life. I was about 8 at the time and I can remember home visits (they were open with me about trying to adopt a brother or sister for me.) I know others who have been through the adoption process since. But if you can give birth yourself, well, there you are.
ReplyDeleteYup.
DeleteWe wouldn't have shows like Jersey Shore and shit. I am all for it.
ReplyDeleteI always seem to fall to the practical side. As much as I totally believe there are people who should not be allowed to have children, who gets to decide this.
ReplyDeleteFirst, what are the arbitrary rules of what is acceptable? There are some unconventional parents out there who have raised great kids.
Second, comes down to enforcement. Would there be a fine if you had a child without government consent or would the child be taken from you. What happens to the child then?
Practicality aside, here are some behaviors that should exclude you from being able to have children.
- Do you leave a disaster behind at a restaurant? If so, your children will be even worse. Your family's presence should never be a burden upon someone else.
- Do you have basic hygiene skills? If people can smell you as soon as you walk into a room, adding more to your brood may not be for you.
- Has your home ever been nominated for an episode of Hoarders? Why would you ever want to create more of you? No kids for you.
- If either person in the couple has reservations about having children, then it should not happen. A child should have two dedicated parents. If one parent wanted the child and the other did not, it is unfair to the child who did not ask to be here.
Some good questions. I'm world building (that's where the question came from), and I think my world has answered all of those questions. Thanks for helping.
DeleteI am reminded of Keanu Reeves character in the movie Parenthood. He says (I'm loosely quoting), "They make people jump through hoops to adopt a pet but any idiot be a parent."
ReplyDeleteI'm in favor of it. I see so many rude, disrespectful, awful children, it makes me worry what sort of adults they'll turn into.
I've often thought this would be a good idea, but cannot imagine how to implement it. ~grin~ I also didn't feel like mother material, so our little family is mostly furred and finned. Heh...
ReplyDeleteI don't know if that'd be possible in our current world. But in the world I'm "building"...
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