Come On! Be a Parent!

It always baffles me when I run into parents who are so unwilling to be a parent.  By that I specifically mean those who are unwilling to accommodate their teenager's social life.  More specifically, toting the teenie boppers to social events and hosting sleepovers.  My daughter has a handful of friends whose parents are never willing to cart them to the movies or the YMCA dance or have a sleepover.  Now I know that out of those parents, there are several whose homes I would not want my daughter sleeping at for the night.  I know too much about their backgrounds to allow that.  But, my God, could you help a sista out with the carpooling?  I mean honestly! 

I know it means sacrifice of your own personal social life.  For example, this weekend my husband and I gave up our date night so that our daughter could go to the movies with her friends instead of babysitting for us.  Yes, I get a twinge of self-centeredness when that happens but I suck it up.  Why can't the parents of my daughter's friends do the same every once and a while?  There are a couple of her friends whose parents never do squat in terms of carpooling and sleepovers.  It's just expected that we take care of their child's social needs.  It just sucks.  It leaves me wondering why they didn't take birth control to begin with.  Did you not realize the sacrifice and selflessness involved with having children?  Come one!  Let's be in this misery together for God's sake!  So many kids out there having to deal with parents who don't have any interest in being parents.  Don't  give a shit about their kids' needs and wants.  Don't care about limits and consequences.  I'm not a perfect parent but surely you have to see some of these things as necessary once the baby pops out of the vagina and comes home with you!  Sheesh.