LHitBW - Chapter 1 - Part 2

Cracklings were very good to eat, but Laura and Mary could only have a taste. They were too rich for little girls, Ma said.

I've never tried cracklings. I have no real opinion on cracklings. What has always struck me about this passage is the subtle wisdom that Ma shows that a lot of parents these days seem to have forgotten entirely.

First of all, it shows that Ma is in control of the situation, and is a figure of authority. Most children see their parents as an authority, but they also learn quickly how to manipulate them, often with kicking and screaming and tantrums. I can't say that Laura nor Mary never threw tantrums to get what they wanted, mind you, but here, at least, we see the girls as children who will mind their parents.

And we see Ma as a parent who is in control of her children.

She does give them a taste of what they want, as a treat. but she also gives them something of an explanation as to why they can't stuff themselves with that treat all day.

I wish, when I see kids screaming in stores and parents buying them candy just to shut them up, that more parents would benefit from Ma's subtly-presented example.

The second thing that strikes me about this is the wisdom of not feeding your kids rendered fat. It may sound obvious, but really, what's the obesity rate in North America these days? I'm pretty sure that all those people didn't gain weight from eating too many vegetables.

I'm not saying that all overweight people are compulsive overeaters. I'm not saying that overweight people don't eat healthily. I'm saying that part of the root cause of obesity lies in the fact that parents can't say no and thus let their kids eat 2 burgers from McDonald's every day.

I know this because that's exactly what my parents did to me. Not every day, mind, but when we went to McDonalds, which was at least once a week when I was a child, my father would let me get 3 burgers just because I wanted them. No refusal, no talks about how unhealthy it was. Nothing.

I may not have appreciated it then, but I can bet you I'd appreciate it now had my parents not only disciplined me and said no sometimes, but had also had the wisdom to explain to me why they were saying no. Even if it was some foolish little reason that only made sense to child-logic.

I'd probably be better off for it.

(Part 3 coming soon. Got to love multi-post days!)