Yes, we are fine, but they deserve better!

I've been seeing these riduclous posts floating around different social websites and outlets, and I've finally had enough.  I must comment on these before I explode!  Here are some examples of what I'm referring:

"If you grew up on home cooked meals, rode a bike with no helmet, your parents house was not "child-proof" , you got a whippin' when you misbehaved, had 3 TV channels you got up to change or went outside to turn the antenna, school started with the Pledge of Allegiance, stores were closed on Sunday, you drank out of a water hose and still turned out OK, re-post this and show that you survived."

"We were all formula fed and were fine." 

"We didn't eat organic foods or drink organic milk, and we're fine."

"I never rode in a carseat, and I'm fine."

"I rode in the back of a truck, and I'm fine."

"I ate tons of sugar, drank koolaid, and high-fructose corn syrup, and I'm completely fine."

"My boys were circumcised, and they are fine."

I could go on, but I think you get the point.  These posts disgust me.  They imply that as a generation, we are coddling and sheltering our children too much.  As if worrying about these things is somehow inappropriate.

Want to know what I really think though?

I really and truly think that the people that are going around saying such things are right.  As a generation, we did do all of those things, and they're right.  We are all fine. 

Let's disect what "fine" means though, and let's start with car safety.  I remember riding in the back of my mom's station wagon.  I remember a time when I didn't have to wear a seatbelt, or when car safety was optional.  Until recently, I have never know anyone that has been killed or seriously injured in a car accident, and yes, all of us who can say that we remember riding in the back of a pick-up can say that we're fine, obviously.  The real truth isn't that we're "fine," as these quirky posts are claiming.  We're damn lucky, period. 

My children will never ride in the back of a station wagon or pick-up.  They will never ride without a seatbelt.  They will never ride forward-facing in a vehicle until 3-4 years of age or older, even though Toby screams and cries every time he rides in the car.  Infact, my 5 year old begs to be turned rear-facing, and if you ask her why she wants to ride that way, Aidan will frankly tell you that rear-facing is safer.  Their carseats (all 3 ride in a Sunshine Kids Radian XTSL) are always properly tightened, every. single. time.  By enforcing these rules, I'm not coddling my children.  I'm not being ridiculously over-protective.  I'm not being silly.  By enforcing these rules, I'm doing my job as a parent.  Car accidents are the #1 killer of children in this country, and in my very honest opinion, I would be a lesser parent if I ignored this fact and put my children at risk while they were riding in the car.

Yep, I said it.  By ignoring very simple car safety rules, some people are not doing their jobs as parents, no matter what the situation is.  Feel free to call me judgemental.  I do not care.  "Fine" is not okay for my children in this case.  "Fine" is not worth the risk to my babies' lives.

Now, let's talk about food.  I was never breastfed.  I was never really taught about good nutrition.  My mom was and is a good cook, and when she cooked, it always tasted good.  I was never really taught about balance, though.  We ate all kinds of sugar and HFCS, without hesitation.  My mom was a single mom, and she robbed Peter just to put food on our table.  Let's face it.  In this country, the bottom dollar items are for the most part, the least healthy items.

Again, I can honestly say that I am "fine," but again, I want to talk about what fine means.  By never being breastfed, I started my life off at a higher risk of diabetes, certain cancers, infections, allergies, asthma, GI problems, and obesity.  By never breastfeeding a baby, my mom put herself at a higher risk for certain cancers and heart problmes, just to name a few.  My mom and I both have pretty bad GERD.  Further to this, I know many of you are not aware that my daughter has suffered from severe GI problems, many of which were probably made worse with the amount of formula that was put into her body. She will be off and on medication for the rest of her life.  Does any of this sound "fine" to you? 

(An aside, I do not blame my mom for anything.  She did the best that she could with information that she was given, and she did a wonderful job, especially as a single parent.)

Let's move on from breastfeeding, and talk about regular food.  Those sayings are right, again.  We ate all of those things and are fine.  We didn't have organics, and we are fine.  The clean food movement didn't really take off in this country until recently, and some many, it's still not that big of a deal.  Let's talk about clean food for a bit though.  Have you seen a commerical dairy?  Have you seen a commercial feed lot?  What about smelled a commerical chicken house?  Go watch Food Inc.  You'll never want to eat "unclean" food again.

What about sugar or HFCS?  Did you know that to produce high-fructose corn syrup, that the corn starch is basically boiled in sulphuric acid?  Does that sound healthy to you?  Does that sound like something you want to eat, that you want your children to eat? 

How about this simple fact:  a good portion of our immune systems reside in our digestive tracts.  By not eating whole, minimally processed foods, we are putting ourselves at a higher risk of infections!  Think of how much illness we could reduce if we just ate better!  Again, we all are "fine," despite eating some of the things have, but is "fine" all that we should strive for?

Finally, I want to talk about a really rough one, especially considering I'm married to a Jewish man, circumcision.  Yes, many, many boys in this country are circumcised and are "fine," including my 3 year old.  Did you know that baby boys DIE from complications of circumcisions?  They die.  It is a cosmetic surgery where we remove a functioning part of a baby boy, and we put them at risk of death by doing it.  As a country, we protect baby girls from this horrible procedure.  What makes baby boys different?  Is risk of death really "fine?"  Is risk of other problems from a botched or tight circumcision really "fine?"

The reality is that as a generation, we are all "fine," despite the things we ate or were allowed to do as a child, but as a generation, we know better now.  We know how to better protect our children and keep them healthy.  "Fine" should never be ok for our children.  Because we know better, we should do better, and quite frankly, our children deserve better!