feedback for "Editors Note: On Taking The Kids"

1. re: the "bring" or "take" commenter: do you really like her spirit? that commenter sounds mean-spirited and unkind. do you value derision and sarcasm in people who correct other people?

   posted by : happybabysmama on 1/27/2009 at 10:44 AM Flag For Abuse

2. Go Ada! Way to rally!

   posted by : chattydaddy on 1/27/2009 at 12:43 PM Flag For Abuse

3. Good for you!

   posted by : Don Mills Diva on 1/27/2009 at 1:36 PM Flag For Abuse

4. As thrilled as I am to have received a shout-out on Babble, I fear that my comment was, as happybabysmama pointed out rather unpleasantly, grammatical rather than proactive. I'm glad someone likes my spirit, though :-).
   
   However, happybabysmama, how is it mean-spirited or unkind to use the comment feature on a site to do exactly what it is designed for: to offer input and feedback? I see no sarcasm or derision in my comment, merely exasperation. I happen to expect correct grammar in text-heavy sites written by intelligent people--one hopes that they proofread. And to have so illogical an error in a 24-point headline is pretty egregious. Particularly since the subject of all of this spilled ink is so articulate and precise himself.

   posted by : everydaylinguistics on 1/27/2009 at 3:24 PM Flag For Abuse

5. Anyhoo... Couldn't agree with you more, Ada, and I was surprised to see all the naysayers in the New York Times. "Your baby will never remember the inauguration, so why take her?" Because I will remember and I will tell her about it, and she will know that when an important thing happens, she should be a part of it, not off to the side. Because some things are worth the inconvenience!
   
   But yes, it was really cold and kind of sucked walking around DC with a kid. Now that I'm warm again, I am so tremendously glad we went.
   
   By the way, my general parenting notion to the question of taking or bringing the kids is: yes, do it. Just try it. And if it sucks, you can leave.

   posted by : Joanie on 1/27/2009 at 3:46 PM Flag For Abuse

6. Everydaylinguistics... could you take a moment and teach me something.... how is "bring" wrong and "take" correct? That's one I missed in English class way back when. Then again, my English class was taught by French Canadians in Saskatchewan.... there were a few things we missed out on ;)
   
   For the Author: Good for your! I'm glad the trip worked out so well for you. I watched it from my living room on the opposite side of the continent and teared up when President Obama repeated the oath and I'm not even American! I to believe in going through the hassle of including my kids in as many "events" as possible. It's not easy but always worth it in the end. I think if more people took the attitude it would be easier for everyone because it would just be the normal thing to do.

   posted by : Grammar_challenged_Canuck on 1/27/2009 at 3:55 PM Flag For Abuse

7. I couldn't fathom bringing my kids but every child I saw on tv that day brought tears to my eyes.
   
   when my son was a baby, a huge bridge in the bay area was being built. one day when we were driving by, my father in law pulled the car over, propped up my son and snapped a photo. we thought grandpa was a bit much until recently when we drove over that huge bridge. my son is now 7 and we told him, "you know, when you were born, that bridge was just being built -- grandpa took a picture of you in front of what was then, just nothing."
   
   who cares what people say... I'm with you that you can tell them they were there.

   posted by : sfwork on 1/27/2009 at 4:06 PM Flag For Abuse

8. Awesome. I think this kind of criticism comes from not wanting to protect children, but from people wanting them to be completely removed from society and all "adult" type things. I constantly have people telling me I shouldn't bring my child to this or that event. People are too concerned about children misbehaving in adult settings, but the reality is that children will never learn to act properly in these settings if they are completely removed from them. I've had people yell at me in movie theaters from bringing my child to an "adult" movie, people tell me it is a bad idea to travel with my child, to take my child to concerts, to ride my bike with my child, take my daughter to sushi..etc. Children were at Woodstock, there was even a baby born at Woodstock. Modern events are pretty mild by comparison and that generation of kids turned out ok.

   posted by : dhsredhead on 1/27/2009 at 4:08 PM Flag For Abuse

9. It didn't bother me what other people did with their kids on inauguration day.
   
   
   As a black person, yeah, it was historic day, blah blah blah...
   
   i just would not have taken MY kids out in the D.C cold (we live in L.A...so anything under 60 degrees is a sign of Armageddon)....heck, I would not have been out there.
   
   i was just as please watching it on TV....it wasn't like you would be close enough to see anything.
   
   that's like going to a Cher concert and being in the nosebleed section.
   
   if you can't see the wigs and costumes, what's the point?
   
   
   and this IS coming from another black person...yes, someone who isn't all twisted up about having a black president.
   
   yeah, it was touching. but at the end of the day, a lot of people see him as the "N" word, and he's going to have to prove himself...just as any other politician.
   
   he talks change. i'm waiting....but not in the freakin' cold. Sorry.

   posted by : ZBecks on 1/27/2009 at 8:03 PM Flag For Abuse

10. Grammar_challenged_Canuck,the reason that "bring" is incorrect in this context is that you are not already AT the Inauguration. It would be correct if you WERE at the Inauguration (or a party, or Disneyland, or the La Brea Tar Pits), and someone called asking if the children would enjoy it; in that case, you could correctly say, "sure, bring the kids (or the dogs or the aliens who just landed and should be educated in the ways of American politics)". But one TAKES children/dogs/aliens/casseroles to where one is going. Other people BRING things to where you or they are, or have brought things to where you and they now are, or will bring things, etc.. Does that help?
    
    Sorry this is late; I just got home.

    posted by : Everydaylinguistics on 1/27/2009 at 10:42 PM Flag For Abuse

11. Thanks Everydaylinguistics :)
    There is so much of the English language that is being lost in this age of communication. I read somewhere that we've lost almost 1/2 of the common vocabulary from just 100 years ago. It's things like bring/take that get dumped in our hurry.

    posted by : Grammar_challenged_Canuck on 1/28/2009 at 3:15 PM Flag For Abuse

12. hooray for ada! and hooray for oliver!
    
    i'm definitely jealous i couldn't go witness it in person, but my at-home (er at-a-local-pub-with-coworkers) experience was very amazing and i'll certainly never forget it.
    
    yes, DC was cold and probably not an ideal environment for kids, but i think it's really a few hours of discomfort for an experience that will truly last a lifetime. if such an event had taken place when i was a kid, and i was fortunate enough to have my parents take me, then i know i'd be so proud and eternally grateful to them.
    
    and besides, any kid who was there is going to have major bragging rights in his/her future american history courses.
    
    the memories of it will surely last longer than a frosty nose :)

    posted by : photolicious on 1/29/2009 at 11:05 AM Flag For Abuse