Adults Only
Why are cities so child-unfriendly?
by Rebecca Woolf
October 18, 2007
"I think they expect us to huddle in Mommy & Me class and talk about poop all day," another friend replied.
Sure, we have designated hours to see movies and sit with our kids in the library, but where do we go when the Monday Mommy Matinee ends and the library closes its doors? In a singles city like Los Angeles, where professionals rule and babies-in-public drool, is it ever okay for a group of stay-at-home parents and their spawn, no matter how well-behaved, to take coffee "for here"?
I spend a lot of time in the northern San Diego suburbs, where my parents live and I grew up. There, it seems, children are welcome everywhere, anytime — weekdays included. Even in pricey sushi restaurants, no one bats an eyelash at a toddler building tabletop towers with sugar packets. There are no dirty looks or shushing. No whispering or glaring or seething accusations of "Your stroller's in my way." Men in suits seem perfectly comfortable taking lunch next to a table with women and their babies.
Does this make me want to leave the city for the suburbs? No. But it does make me question whether in a city like L.A. it's possible to live up to the vow I made when I was pregnant:Parents have every right to maintain facets of their pre-baby lives. that becoming a parent wouldn't mean becoming someone else. Before I became a mother, I swore that once I had my baby, I would still meet my friends for lunch or coffee. I would still go boutique shopping and bookstore browsing. I would refuse to give up everything I've always enjoyed. "We can have it all!" I insisted.
But I didn't anticipate the glares. So, I'm left wondering: has it become a requirement of city dwellers to hire a babysitter for every outing? Do we acquiesce and join Gymboree, where it's safe?
After a lot of consideration, I'm going with no. Clearly, we must take under consideration the feelings of those around us. But apologizing for another mother's poor behavior shouldn't be our responsibility. It's hard enough for a new mother to function in the adult world without suddenly finding herself on the outskirts of her own past. Significantly worse than feeling isolated at home is feeling consistently isolated in public, trying to break free from the monotony of private loneliness only to be unwanted in the places she once felt comfortable. Parents have every right to maintain and nurture facets of their pre-baby lives.
Besides, how is my son ever going to learn to behave respectably in public unless I expose him to life outside the local park? For both our sakes, I'm committed to spending time on both sides of the playground fence.
©2007 Rebecca Woolf and Nerve Media
About the Author
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Rebecca Woolf writes the parenting blogs Girl's Gone Child and Babble's own Straight From the Bottle. Her memoir, Rockabye: From Wild to Child (Seal Press) hits bookstores in March 2008. She lives in Los Angeles with her son, husband and dogs. |
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