CrockCast covers Childproofing this week with What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, car seats, vaccination conspiracies, anti-natalism, and baby gates.
BabyProofing Basics
Childproofing is more about parental issues than actual child safety in many instances. In fact, when you look at statistics for car seats and baby gates, as Katherine did in this week’s CrockCast, you find parents sometimes make matters worse. That’s because of factors like improper use. Click the link to see a study about these frightening statistics.
Basically, car seats only work to help save your child is they’re used properly and not enough parents take the necessary precautions to do so. Check out the NY Times article linked here to find out how easy it is to be one of THOSE parents. It happens with baby gates too. Listen to Episode 34 of the CrockCast to hear all about it and learn ways to make a baby gate work better for you. Or maybe you’ll just decide childproofing is a crock… Lucky for you, this podcast already did some preliminary legwork to help you decide.
Anti-Vaxers = Childproof Corollary
Next Michael explores yet another case of how overprotecting children can actually harm them. In fact, when it comes to vaccinations, the ignorance of anti-vaxers can actually harm others as well. That’s never been more apparent than now. There are outbreaks of measles in the news with fifty reported cases in Washington state for early 2019.
On the bright side, the relative impact has resulted in more people getting vaccinated. For instance, 2018 started off the month of January with 530 people in the Washington state area getting immunized. But the number for January 2019 exceeds 3,000. In other words, the very impulse that led anti-vaxers to avoid immunizing their children – fear of physical harm – also compelled them to vaccinate. Alanis Morrisette might call this phenomenon ironic but here at CrockCast we’re just glad they’re coming to their senses.
You Can’t Childproof Life
Next the CrockCast harkens back to the 90s and indie movie What’s Eating Gilbert Grape starring Johnny Depp, a little-known actor named Leonardo Dicaprio, and Juliette Lewis in a pixie cut. It’s not a traditional tale in any way and that includes filing it under the theme of “childproofing” but still fits perfectly into this podcast. That’s because essentially this is a movie about how you can’t childproof real life.
Dicaprio’s character is the infinite child. He’s so severely mentally challenged that it’s unlikely he’ll ever actually learn any life lessons. That makes his character an infinite toddler. If you show him his towel and robe then leave him in a bathtub, he’ll stay in that bathtub until you come back to get him out. Even if twelve hours go by, night falls, the bath turns ice cold, and you’ve still not returned.
In this way the movie resonates how crucial learning is to truly living. This is how we grow up. Everyone has experienced that first chill of a bath turned cold and the discomfort teaches us when it’s time to get out. That’s why we don’t get hypothermic – we’ve learned. If someone’s always childproofing our lives for us so that we never learn, are we truly living? Leo’s bath is just one example of how this movie explores the theme.
Is the Answer no Kids?
Anti-natalist Raphael Samuel would shout a resounding “Yes!” to answer this question. He thinks every problem he has originated with the fact that he was born against his will. Thus, Michael wraps up the CrockCast with a new anti-natalist in the news. This one is suing his lawyer parents for having the gall to bring him into this world. How dare they?!
No really. He believes this and the lawsuit is seemingly legit. Many think he’s just trying to get attention, including his parents. It also seems plausible from the nature of his Facebook page on the topic. Check it out to decide for yourself.
Our CrockCasters were too busy laughing and joking about the whole idea to take Mr. Samuels too seriously. We’ll all have to wait and see what the court systems decide if they are even willing to take the case after all this vapid publicity.
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Hear more about all this as well as the Tweet of the week in our latest Crockcast. As always, we’d love you to subscribe at Such a Crock – Apple Podcasts or followed us on Instagram. Thanks for listening!