7 ms·

Recently I watched a report by the US correspondent of the German public television. She spoke with parents who got into trouble because they let their children

by tehabe 8y ago

Recently I watched a report by the US correspondent of the German public television. She spoke with parents who got into trouble because they let their children play near the house. A mom who put surveillance software on their children's phone. Parents who look on video feeds from the day care centres. I found this shocking and also dangerous in the long run, people are getting used to surveillance might also accept it by the state.

ajross 8y ago
FWIW: A "look at those crazy americans!" color story by a foreign journalist may, y'know, not be the most authoritative source for this kind of thing. Obviously those products exist (and probably do in Germany too) and I'm sure that parent who got in trouble was a real incident. Nonetheless those of us actually raising children in this country don't actually do that stuff. Chill.
- vonzeppelin 8y ago
  > Nonetheless those of us actually raising children in this country don't actually do that stuff. Chill. Except the ones that are?
  - dfee 8y ago
    I mean there are also serial killers. That might not adequately describe the population at large.
- onemoresoop 8y ago
  You may not do this but it is a trend nonetheless and we should try to understand it, discuss it...
  - TeMPOraL 8y ago
    ...and kill it, before it grows out of control.
- tehabe 8y ago
  Of course it is colourful, but the reporter was a parent too and neighbours wondered why they let their children play unsupervised outside. In Germany a court just ruled that a three year old can go alone to the bath room and their parents don't have to check on them. The child set the bath room under water and someone wanted the parents to be liable. Also some years ago, I saw a video from a school parking lot, where the hundreds of pupils where dropped off by their parents. So instead of building several schools close to the pupils, they build one big school, to which almost no pupil come alone.
  - bunderbunder 8y ago
    With how US geography is, it would be impossible in most communities to build schools such that kids can easily go there by themselves. Even in cities of >250,000 people, it's common for there to be no sidewalks, and possibly not even any proper crosswalks, such that it's very difficult to get around without driving a car. In denser cities, though, you do tend to see neighborhood schools instead of larger, more centralized schools.
    - ginko 8y ago
      > Even in cities of >250,000 people, it's common for there to be no sidewalks, and possibly not even any proper crosswalks This seems like a failure at city planning. Anyways shouldn't there be a school bus?
      - bunderbunder 8y ago
        I grew up outside one of these towns. There was a school bus. As a consequence of the communities being so spread out, the route was very long. As I recall, I would have to catch the bus nearly an hour before school started. Other kids got dropped off and picked up by one of their parents, and, in retrospect, I imagine it was a convenience decision for everyone involved. For one, it probably meant everyone got to sleep half an hour or so later. This has probably only become worse since then, since the trend seems to be toward people wanting ever larger houses with ever larger yards, thereby making everything even more spread out. Come to think of it, it's no wonder kids have apparently started opting for staying at home and playing games online with their friends rather than getting together in meatspace. It's probably getting to be just too inconvenient to get together in meatspace.
jaiprabhu 8y ago
I can attest to parents looking at video feeds being very very common, at least in silicon valley (San Francisco bay area). Its not only day care centers but also parents installing cameras in their home to monitor their child who might be with a nanny. A lot of this is understandable for a parent of a very young kid going to perhaps an unknown day care. Of course there are a lot of ways you can go overboard - and people often do - but the base concern I feel is quite valid.
alasdair_ 8y ago
>Parents who look on video feeds from the day care centres. I've never done this but I imagine the reason would be to spot times when the teachers are abusive towards the children, not to ensure everything is perfect.

by tehabe 8y ago

ajross 8y ago

FWIW: A "look at those crazy americans!" color story by a foreign journalist may, y'know, not be the most authoritative source for this kind of thing. Obviously those products exist (and probably do in Germany too) and I'm sure that parent who got in trouble was a real incident. Nonetheless those of us actually raising children in this country don't actually do that stuff. Chill.

vonzeppelin 8y ago
> Nonetheless those of us actually raising children in this country don't actually do that stuff. Chill. Except the ones that are?
- dfee 8y ago
  I mean there are also serial killers. That might not adequately describe the population at large.
onemoresoop 8y ago
You may not do this but it is a trend nonetheless and we should try to understand it, discuss it...
- TeMPOraL 8y ago
  ...and kill it, before it grows out of control.
tehabe 8y ago
Of course it is colourful, but the reporter was a parent too and neighbours wondered why they let their children play unsupervised outside. In Germany a court just ruled that a three year old can go alone to the bath room and their parents don't have to check on them. The child set the bath room under water and someone wanted the parents to be liable. Also some years ago, I saw a video from a school parking lot, where the hundreds of pupils where dropped off by their parents. So instead of building several schools close to the pupils, they build one big school, to which almost no pupil come alone.
- bunderbunder 8y ago
  With how US geography is, it would be impossible in most communities to build schools such that kids can easily go there by themselves. Even in cities of >250,000 people, it's common for there to be no sidewalks, and possibly not even any proper crosswalks, such that it's very difficult to get around without driving a car. In denser cities, though, you do tend to see neighborhood schools instead of larger, more centralized schools.
  - ginko 8y ago
    > Even in cities of >250,000 people, it's common for there to be no sidewalks, and possibly not even any proper crosswalks This seems like a failure at city planning. Anyways shouldn't there be a school bus?
    - bunderbunder 8y ago
      I grew up outside one of these towns. There was a school bus. As a consequence of the communities being so spread out, the route was very long. As I recall, I would have to catch the bus nearly an hour before school started. Other kids got dropped off and picked up by one of their parents, and, in retrospect, I imagine it was a convenience decision for everyone involved. For one, it probably meant everyone got to sleep half an hour or so later. This has probably only become worse since then, since the trend seems to be toward people wanting ever larger houses with ever larger yards, thereby making everything even more spread out. Come to think of it, it's no wonder kids have apparently started opting for staying at home and playing games online with their friends rather than getting together in meatspace. It's probably getting to be just too inconvenient to get together in meatspace.

jaiprabhu 8y ago

I can attest to parents looking at video feeds being very very common, at least in silicon valley (San Francisco bay area). Its not only day care centers but also parents installing cameras in their home to monitor their child who might be with a nanny. A lot of this is understandable for a parent of a very young kid going to perhaps an unknown day care. Of course there are a lot of ways you can go overboard - and people often do - but the base concern I feel is quite valid.

alasdair_ 8y ago

>Parents who look on video feeds from the day care centres. I've never done this but I imagine the reason would be to spot times when the teachers are abusive towards the children, not to ensure everything is perfect.