An Open Letter to the A-hole Dad at the Playspace
Posted on 03 22, 2008 under The Manual by reviewdad |Dear A-hole Dad,
You’re probably one of those guys who says tells your buddies you can’t go out tomorrow night because you have to “babysit.” For you, spending time with your kids is time spent “watching” your kids. That’s why you’re the douchbag at the indoor playspace sitting at the perimeter emailing on your Blackberry or having an hour-long conversation rather than spending time playing with your kid.
If you looked up from your “crackberry” (or even worse, your laptop!), you’d notice (maybe) that your kid is roaming the room looking for a surrogate dad to interact with him. My son and I are glad to let him play with us at the Thomas the Tank table but after 15 minutes of no parental involvement, I’m searching the room for someone - you - who looks like our new “friend.” And if I could identify you, we’d have words. I would sure as hell want to know who my child was interacting with…even within the relative safety of our little parent co-op.
Why would I bother confronting you? Because I see your kid every week doing the same thing and he deserves better…and so do a handful of other kids. You have got to be one of shmucks I see warming the pine - either totally engrossed in their own shit OR staring ambivalently at the whole scene with the same thousand-yard stare people get when they’ve been camped out in an airport during a 13 hour flight delay. For you, the playspace is either just an alternative babysitter to the TV or somewhere you’re “doing time.” Nice.
Take a look around - see all of us other dads…the ones actually interacting with our offspring? Sometimes we don’t feel like playing make-believe cooking in the kitchen area or pushing our kid around in the pedal car with the broken wheel for 45 minutes but we’re dads and we don’t have the luxury of being a selfish prick. And most of the time, we do feel like doing those things because we enjoy spending time with our kids.
Dude, if you’re gonna be there, be there.
Sincerely,
ReviewDad and the other Good Dads
May 28th, 2008 at 10:13 am
You go, GoodDad. Here’s an open response to your so-correct assessment of the communicable illness known as “That $#%hole parent.”
To all of you part-timers: You will reap what you sow. If you want to be left in a convalescent home because Jr. is too busy with his email or playing with her model trains, this is the best way to guarantee that YOUR diapers are never changed and you don’t get 13 seconds of attention.
Pay-back is a b&^%$.