IWA For Sunday 3-11-07

Hey folks,

It’s Sunday, it’s time for the IWA. It’s also a sick, sick world. I can not tell you just how insane this concept is. This is so outrageous, idiotic, I was stupefied. So hard to believe this is true, it got me laughing as to the shear ludicrousness of 16 cities thinking this is a GOOD concept. Not only is this weeks winner the Idiot of the Week, so are all those that believe this is good, they should probably go to jail for child endangerment, or at the very least, have their children removed from their care.

According to the Christian Science Monitor,

It’s One o’ clock, on a recent Saturday. Inside The Knitting Factory, a well-known local nightclub, loud music, pulsates through a crowd of dancers, inviting them to "leave the nine to five up on the shelf, and just enjoy yourself." The mirror ball overhead sends light sparkles through the dimly lit room, illuminating the occasional beer bottle or cocktail in a partyer's hand.

Occasionally, though, it also lights up another kind of bottle, the kind that babies use, because this is not a late-night party. This 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. bash coincides with most children's afternoon naptime.

The event is a midday soiree specifically for the Mommy-and-me set – a nationwide phenomenon known as Baby Loves Disco. One afternoon each month, local organizers take over a nightclub – complete with a cash bar and the regular DJ spinning his normal playlist – and throw open the doors to anyone under the age of 7, accompanied by parents.

The two-year-old concept, now in 16 cities, has clearly struck a national nerve. It sells out every time it expands into a new city, just as it did this past month in Boston. But as Baby Loves Disco has outgrown its humble origins in Philadelphia, acquiring sponsors and partners along the way, the concept of combining babies and clubbing is coming under sharper scrutiny. Some child advocates call it downright dangerous while other cultural observers call it the latest sign of an ongoing fundamental shift in our attitudes toward children.

Can you believe this lunacy? "It sells out every time it expands into a new city, just as it did this past month in Boston. But as Baby Loves Disco has outgrown its humble origins in Philadelphia, acquiring sponsors and partners along the way,"

Listen to some of these morons that agree with this.

A hit with parents Lawyer {Not sure if she is a Lawyer or that is her name} Lynne Smith stands on the dancefloor with her 3-year-old son, Sanders, falling asleep in her arms. "I love to dance and I can bring my son, so this is great," she says. {sick person}

Dad David Levin chases his two sons across the dance floor, pausing just long enough to say, "I like that I can have a drink while the kids are having fun." {Criminally sick person}

OK, Question time. You have a bunch or adults, bring their kids to a NIGHT CLUB. So they can dance, DRINK, then load them in the car and DRIVE themselves and the KIDS after the dancing and DRINKING?

The founder of all this? And they award goes to, founder Heather Murphy.

From humble beginnings...This traveling, mixed-age homage to '70s and '80s club life began as a backyard party at founder Heather Murphy's home. A former dancer, { doesn’t say what KIND of dancer} Ms. Murphy says she and her husband wanted to share their favorite family activity with their friends.

"What we like to do is put on music, have a glass of wine and hang out with the kids," she says.

Favorite family activity? Put music on, drink, and have fun with the kids??? Thankfully some see this as a BAD thing besides me.

"One of the major premises revealed in [Baby Loves Disco] is that we've shifted from a child-friendly to an adult-driven lifestyle," says Lynne Griffin, an author and registered nurse who teaches in the Family Studies graduate program at Boston's Wheelock College. "What we're seeing increasingly is adults sharing a lifestyle with their children that is geared towards adult needs for everything from sleep to daily activities such as entertainment and communication."

Yes.

"I'm seeing parents who look at their children and say, 'He's just like me, so whatever is good for me is good for him,' " says Don MacMannis, a child psychologist who is codirector of The Family Therapy Institute of Santa Barbara, Calif.

Idiots all.

Despite its obvious appeal, this boundary blurring between what clinical psychologist Nancy O'Reilly calls one of our most adult activities – nightclubbing – and young children is worrisome. A lot can happen quickly in a darkened room with a lot of mixed-age activity, from a child picking up the wrong drink to a stranger walking out a side door with the wrong child, she suggests.

Yes.

"If you leave so many things without some kind of boundaries, you're just asking for trouble," argues Ms. O'Reilly, the founder of WomenSpeak.com, whose practice is based in Springfield, Mo.

Absolutely! These people are just plain sick in the head. You have young kids, want to go out partying, GET A SITTER!

Congratulations Heather Murphy, for starting all this garbage, encouraging parent to endanger their children’s welfare, you are not only the Idiot of the Week, but also a runner up, for the Idiot of the year. I hope someone looks into your ability to actually raise you’re children.
Peter

Source:
The Christian Sciemce Monitor-'Baby Loves Disco': clubbing for the Mommy-and-me set


Note: Program change. I will be posting a three part article in the morning. One, this is Sunday, should be the "Lighter side" and two I want you all to read it at one time. Complete with a guest. See you then.