also I don't think parents "these days" are uniquely terrible, I just think neglect is showing up in new ways as technology progresses. today's ipad kid would've been wandering around in a ditch alone all day and night before. parents not wanting to have to deal with children is not a new phenomenon.
mmm. I remember when my son was three or four years old, and I suddenly realized, hey - he has had NO serious injuries! When I was that age I had had multiple major injuries, been to the er twice, tons of scars. My parents joked repeatedly that they'd have to send me to school, when I got old enough, as a "bag of pieces." And we all laughed - funny, right?
And it hit me like a BRICK that I was taking careful care of this little one every day so he didn't get hurt - but! my own memory was of being alone, unsupervised, a ridiculous amount of time. Outside on the farm and alone as a toddler, or literally being looked after by a farm dog.
Memory being fickle, I checked with one of my aunts who I was close to as a child. "Was I left alone, like, a LOT?" I asked her. Her friendly face got serious, and she just nodded. "You raised yourself," she told me, "Then you raised your brother."
That was the 70s. So, yeah. Hard agree, op.
