It’s what we did instead of camp.

Originally published at brigidkeely.com/wordpress. You can comment here or there.

I had some other posts brewing, including a review and comparison of Warren Ellis’ “Crooked Little Vein” and discussion about Rock Band especially the singing part of it, and talk about horses and how much they enjoy eating human flesh.

However, I’m not going to talk about that now. I know, I know. You are very disappointed. I understand.

Like a lot of libraries, the Hyconeechee Library is tired of their librarians being de facto babysitters, and now require children under twelve to be accompanied by a parent, or “the appropriate authorities” will be called. And I totally get that it is not a librarian’s job to mind someone else’s kid. And I totally get that libraries aren’t the safe places they should be, that pedophiles lurk among the stacks (literally) and that people have sexual assignations in the library because OOOOOH the THRILL of GETTING CAUGHT.

But the thing is, when I was ten, I would ride my bike four miles into town, alone, and hang out at the (air conditioned) library for literally hours. I’d leave to get lunch and/or ice cream, and then head back to the library. Or my parents would drop my brothers and me off at the larger, nicer, library a few towns over while they ran errands or, I don’t know, talked to each other or something. Whatever it is parents do when their kids aren’t around. And it was great! We were well-behaved kids, we loved books, we loved to read, and we loved the HELL out of that air conditioning in the summer. We couldn’t afford summer camp and we lived in the middle of nowhere. There were no park programs (other than: go to the park. play on the swings. now go to the sandbox.) and there really wasn’t anything to do.

So my initial reaction to this ban is “wtf.” Why punish all kids and all parents with a visit from the cops/DCFS because some parents suck ass? If a kid is rowdy, ban that kid. If a kid’s well behaved and doesn’t require intervention, don’t call “the appropriate authorities,” leave the kid alone.

But in retrospect, my parents weren’t “dumping” us at the library. The library was a treat and a privilege that we were VERY aware could be taken away from us. We wanted to be there, and we were also very aware that if we fucked up our parents would descend upon us like the wrath of God, only more tangible. We weren’t bored kids running around like assholes because we had nothing else to do. We were reading.

And my plans for my kid involved being able to send him off to the library on his own from the age of ten or so (assuming he’s mentally and emotionally ready to do so). In theory we are moving soon, to a place with a library branch less than half a mile away. That’s easy walking distance. I figured my kid would be able to leave the house and go to the park, go to the bakery, go to the library, be on his own and have fun. And now I’m wondering if Chicago is going to start banning kids who are alone as well.

I can see why they do it, I can. But it seems very… stifling. Very restrictive.

I read a bunch of “Highlights for Children” from the 60s once. One of the Goofus and Gallants featured Goofus durring it up and talking about how he never knows when his dentist appointments are versus Gallant who sets up his own appointments and travels on his own to get his dental work done. I’m not any kind of expert in child psychology or anything, but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that as children are more and more restricted and given fewer responsibilities “Helicopter Parenting” and adults who don’t know how to do laundry are on the rise. I’m not saying that Things Were Better In The Past, because there never was an ideal time of glorious sweetness and light when everything was an awesome golden age. But I do think that kids aren’t given as many opportunities to practice being responsible, to practice being adult, as they used to. And that’s harmful.

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