The Parents of Storm Stocker-Witterick

Where do I begin with this one?  I'm so overwhelmed with all the reasons I strongly disagree with Kathy Witterick and David Stocker that I don't know where to start - between dad thinking it's "obnoxious" for parents to make decisions for their kids (Yeah, that's what we do, dumbass.  P.S. - You made the decision to keep Storm's gender a secret.  That is pretty obnoxious, don't you think??  And BTW, who chose to go to the media with this story?  And WHY did you choose to do that?) or mom who thinks it's OK for a five year old to dictate his own education ("I want to paint on the walls with my poop today, Mommy!"  "Sounds perfect, sweetie!") - I could punch them both for days.  What a couple of hippie dippies!  This kid will need so much therapy when s/he is 18 I feel like we should start taking up a donation now.

Remember when I said there should be an idiot test for people who want a kid?  These people would have failed miserably.  They have decided not to reveal the gender of their four month old baby to anyone other than the siblings, the midwives who assisted at the home water-birth (of course it was) and a "close friend."  The grandparents are left out of the loop.  Wow, that's one tight knit family - they trust a 2 year old with the secret gender identity more than G'ma and G'pa.

The parents have decided not to reveal the gender because it's a "...tribute to freedom and choice in place of limitation, a stand up to what the world could become in Storm's lifetime (a more progressive place?...)."

I'm all for a gender-neutral environment for a baby, but come on, this sounds like a science experiment five year old Jazz thought up!  This is ridiculous.  This is a real person you're playing with. What do you call the baby when you're around it?  Little monkey?  Peanut?  Hey you?  It?  Yeah, because that's not damaging to his/her psyche like Champ or Princess would be.  BTW, they call it "Z."

Hey, I get it.  My son had a baby doll and a stroller and a shopping cart and a play kitchen and my daughter plays with cars and Legos and can swordfight like Captain Jack Sparrow.  I'm not even going to dis on these people because they let Jazz dress like a girl, because I have a son who likes his hair longish and wanted his toenails painted for a summer and I let him do it.  I have a daughter who can beat the snot of you (and I kind of like her tough) and for a while she carried a toy gun in her purse (as a lady should).  But I don't think they're raising enlightened kids because they wear dresses and braids.

If you let all 18 month old children pick clothing from the girls or boys department at stores of course you'd find a lot of boys in dresses and a lot of girls dressed like Diego, but you'd also find a lot of boys and girls who are just hardwired for their gender-appropriate clothes and toys.  I have a 4 year old girl who was rarely exposed to the color pink.  Not because I wanted to keep her gender neutral, but because I disliked pink.  Her room was red and black and her baby clothes were anything but pink.  I also didn't dress her much in dresses because I didn't like messing with tights when I was changing diapers.  At 2 years old this child DEMANDED to be dressed only in pink and only in dresses - preferably with tights - and has never looked back.  Now we fight about whether lip gloss is appropriate for wearing outside the house.

I almost feel like Storm's parents are bending over backwards to make their boys girly.  They love to tell you that Jazz's favorite color is pink and Kio, the middle child, rides a pink and purple tricycle.  If it's anything like my house, my son (the older one) got to pick a tricycle and when my daughter was old enough to ride a trike, she got his as a hand me down - she didn't choose a boy bike, it was inherited.  My guess is, pink-loving Jazz picked the trike and then passed it to Kio.

It's like they WANT their child to be different - but only if it's not his (or her if Storm's a girl) typical gender role.  Can you imagine how freaked out they'd be if Jazz spoke up tomorrow and said, "I want to be a solider.  I want to learn to shoot a gun and I'll only wear camouflage cargo pants"?  Do you think they'd go to the library and get books on AK-47s and make dog tags at the kitchen table?  Let's imagine Storm is a girl - what would they do if Storm tells them the same thing?  Or do you think it would be harder on these two if their kids wanted to be Republicans (or whatever the Canadian equivalent is)?

These parents are complete idiots.  Dad teaches at an alternative school where the lessons are "framed by social justice issues around class, race and gender."  WTF does that even mean?  How do you learn Algebra at this school?  I don't think Dad is going to be very open-minded when Jazz, Kio AND Storm all decide they want to be Army Rangers.

His school sounds about as dumb as "unschooling" which is how mom teaches Jazz.  Unschooling is the idea that schooling should be driven by the child's curiosity with no tests, no textbooks, no grades.  Wow.  I wish I could have gone to that kind of school.  That sounds freaking awesome!  I would have been happy being  unschooled all day every day until I grew up and couldn't even get a job at McDonald's because I never "chose" to learn anything else other than recess, gym and art.

I can't even imagine what our days would be like if I unschooled my children at home.  We'd have lessons on Legos, Star Wars, puppies, painting and cutting.  I'd be an alcoholic and I think the Hubs would leave us.  

Last year they let Jazz choose if he wanted to go to school.  Can you believe he chose to stay home with mommy where his studies include squishing in the mud, chasing garter snakes and baking cupcakes?  Me neither.  I was sure he'd choose to go school.  Kids always make the right choices when their passive parents ask them to.

I think what irritates me the most about these two is that they think THEY'RE the ONLY PARENTS saying "I love my kid for whoever they are."  That's B.S.  You can't say that because your son wears a skirt or rides a purple trike and your baby has no gender identity that you love your kids more.  What an arrogant thing to say.  People like this think they're not judgmental, but really they are.  What a bunch of hypocrites.

I love my kids for whoever they are too.  In fact, I love my kids so much that I impose structure on their lives - they can make some choices, but they don't get to dictate their days - they're 4 and 6!  I love my kids so much that I send them to school where they can be educated by professionals.  I love my kids so much that I have rules I enforce that are meant to teach them and protect them.  I love my kids so much that I raise them in a safe and comfortable environment where they can explore who they are and feel respected and loved.

These two goofballs get punched because they're smug and arrogant and gave their kids stupid names and they are raising them in a rainbow bubble and saying, "Look at us, aren't we special?  Admire us for being so brave and cutting-edge with our parenting style!"  I won't admire them as parents unless Jazz, Kio and/or Storm cure cancer or broker world peace.

If you liked this, do me a favor and repost, would ya?  Thanks.

15 comments:

BNM said...

LOVE!!!!!!!

Kiki Wilson-Harshman said...

I made you my featured blog o' the week - u rock www.barema.wordpress.com

Jen Piwtpitt said...

Thanks, Kiki! That's awesome!

Hey Mon! said...

Awesome!

counselingmomma said...

LOVE THIS!!!

Jenn said...

I dont think all the therapy in the world is going to help those poor kids.

Anonymous said...

They give all homeschoolers a bad name!! I have 2 girls (1 likes pink, the other does't) in college - they were homeSSCHOOLED. The rest are still at home, hitting the books. These people are insane.

Unknown said...

Believe me, these parents made their kid different alright, all for their own benefit. And the kid probably chose to stay home because he wouldn't even know which bathroom to go into! These parents are certifiable.

Bellus said...

I think people have gone crazy. You hit the nail on the head when you said they are hypocrites.

Eddie said...

Doesn't sound so much like "unschooling" as "unparenting" to me.

The Iz said...

The whole thing about them not wanting to make decisions for their child is what ticks me off the most. OF COURSE you make decisions for them! They are not mentally developed enough to know what's good for them! Do they let them snort pixie sticks and guzzle sugar for dinner every night if they want to? We are parents. Parenting requires you to guide your child in to adulthood and sometimes make them do things they don't want to do. Because that's what life is. I wonder what Storm will do when s/he's presented with the option of whether or not s/he wants to pay their electric bill. God knows I'd rather not.

Unknown said...

What are you doing in my head!! :-0 You just wrote everything I was thinking

Pattyann said...

The thing I keep thinking is if no one is to know the gender, that means no one can ever help with diaper duty. That's one of the best perks of a grandparents!

K said...

Freaking hysterical and SO TRUE!!! Parents like this and those other idiots that name their kid f'ed up names because it's special and/or spelled differently need to never have children.
My daughter was like yours in the way she dressed and how girly she is. I never liked pink or dresses and she (almost 9) will only wear pants if she absolutely has to and tennis shoes only on PE days.

Yo-yo Mama said...

This just makes me so insane that I've already typed out a response twice and deleted twice because I can't even put together a coherent thought!

These parents are prime clinical examples of what happens when you smoke pot all day.

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