Tuesday, February 1, 2005

Just another self indulgent parent exploiting their kid.... Or so the NYT would have the world believe. I read the "Sunday Styles" article (featuring a lovely picture of Leta, daughter of Dooce) on Sunday with a mixture of amusement and irritation. Are all blogging moms merely exploiting their kids to get attention for themselves, and thereby dooming their relationships with their children to future resentment for their appalling narcissism? Apparently, that's what the NYT thinks. I don't buy it. But...ok, let's stipulate that blogging is a totally narcissistic attention grab along the lines of a celebrity notifying the press every time they go out to dinner. So what? I agree that blogging is often navel-gazing of the highest order. God knows it is for me. But is that harmful? Granted, I don't have Dooce's readership--according the NYT, the girl gets 40,000 hits per day. And good for her, she's f'ing funny. But even if I did--what's wrong with people sharing their stories? And, in particular, parents? When did we regress societally to the point where a mother (or father) wanting to share a parenting experience or frustration somehow lost the right to do so with a sense of their own identity at the fore? It's not a diminution of your child's identity or your sense of responsibility to them to react to the many bizarre occurrences of a day in the life--and frankly, I'd give anything to have a record of the inner life of my parents during my early childhood. I think it would be a great help in seeing them as people, not just as parents. See what a little insomnia does for me? 3:37:42 AM     comment [] trackback []