Recently in Parenting Responsibility Category

For me, the answer is simple. I'm dressing up as that frumpy hausfrau who opens the door and ladles candy out to the adorable kiddies trick-or-treating in her building.

When I was younger (like, early twenties), the answer was more likely, "I'm squeezing myself into something slutty and trying not to freeze my buns off all night as I tear around town getting tipsy." (I had a misspent couple of years there.)

But as a child, it was all about good, clean fun. I was: a ghost (this meant a sheet with two holes cut out for eyes, as my mom and dad were not home-ec types); a witch (store-bought flame retardant black crepey ghoulishness); a ballerina (oh, how I loved that tutu!); a hippie (borrowed bell-bottoms and a Cher wig), and a devil in red flannel. 

All my friends and I cared about was scoring candy, telling ghost stories, carving pumpkins and bobbing for apples. Now...?

Now, questions are being raised about the Heene family. Apparently, they're known for their showmanship, publicity seeking, etc, and have appeared on reality shows like Wife Swap more than once. Is Balloon Boy a hoax? Was this all a publicity stunt?

And if so, where's the harm? Well, ever heard of The Boy Who Cried Wolf?

Uncomfy as I feel opening such a squirmy can of worms when I'm not a mom myself, I do think parenting ethics ought to be covered by this blog, so I'm going to throw the story out there to you all.

Is it OK for parents to fight in front of their kids?

I'm no parenting expert, and that's not really the focus of this blog, but an event happened in my immediate sphere last evening that brought the topic to mind. There were angry parents and a tearful ten-year-old involved. No one meant for anyone to get upset; it just happened, and the child was a witness to an argument between his parents that freaked him out a bit. No lasting harm, I don't think -- his parents explained the reason for their fight later, explained things weren't going down the tubes between them or anything -- they'd just had a spat. He calmed down, wiped his tears, went back to playing his video games.

Still, I couldn't help wondering... should they not have practiced more restraint?