While watching the news recently, I was once again reminded of how so
few ever take responsibility for their own actions, accidents, mishaps, etc. They are so quick to blame others.
Whenever something seems to happen to the average person – it must
be someone else’s fault. It can’t be
just an accident, their own carelessness, nonchalant attitudes, irresponsibility, or even (sorry
to say) their own stupidity!
The news headline was as follows:
Parents are being
urged to keep laundry detergent packets out of reach of young children after
several children have been sickened nationwide.
“Some young
children and toddlers who swallow these small packets have become very ill and
have required hospitalization,” said the American Association of Poison Control
Centers.
Stating that the detergent packets looked very similar to “candy”
and that was the reason all these innocent young children are being rushed to
the ER made headlines across the country.
REALLY?
Do I need to read the news to be urged to keep dangerous items away
from my young children?
Children are known to put almost anything in their mouths – whether
they resemble candy or not. I remember
many times grabbing my child with the loud, “What’s in your mouth?” followed by
probing my fingers into a slimy, gagging mouth to remove the mystery snack.
But – as I removed these items, I didn’t then look on the label of
the product to find the contact info for my upcoming lawsuit.
I am the parent! Isn’t it
my place to “baby proof” my home? Isn’t
it my place to make sure any dangerous items (causing physical injury or poison)
are put out of reach? Isn’t it my
responsibility to keep an eye on my child as they are playing, running around,
climbing and whatever else they are doing?
I’m not saying that my children were never hurt or never ended up
sick due to that “split second” incident.
Accidents do happen - we do sometimes turn our heads and in a blink-of-an-eye
children decide to snack on the dust balls, fallen bobbie pins, a penny, or
whatever else they happen upon.
I started remembering the many other headlines that always
amazed me.
There’s tons of discussions lately on Childhood Obesity.
According to a survey of parents by ACNielsen:
·
Only 1% of parents blamed manufactures
·
7% blamed advertising on TV, etc.
·
9% blamed the child
·
10% blamed fast food companies
REALLY?
Headlines
– once again:
McDonald’s Threatened with
Lawsuit
McDonald’s has once again been
threatened with a lawsuit. The movie Super
Size Me interviewed lawyers who had brought lawsuits against
McDonald’s on behalf of parents of obese children. When one lawyer was asked
why he was suing McDonald’s, he replied, “You mean, other than the monetary
gain? You want to hear a noble reason? Ummmm….” We never do hear the rest of
this lawyer’s reply. It was edited out.
I knew
it was my responsibility to be sure my children ate balanced, healthy meals and
snacks each day. When they were young –
I had total control over this – instilling healthy eating habits while they were still
in my care. As a treat, we would go out
to a fast food restaurant, and yes, eat the less than healthy lunch or dinner,
without veggies, heavy in fat, yet oh so yummy!
And of course there was the surprise toy inside!
They
knew this wasn’t the healthy choice, but rather a treat once in awhile and not
our regular diet.
“10%
blamed fast food companies.” Who drove
their car to the fast food establishment?
Who ordered the fast food? Who
paid for the fast food? And, of course,
who fed the fast food to their child?
Once
our children are out on their own, not in our constant care, of course they may
make poor decisions – but hopefully we have already taught them the importance
of taking care of their health and only occasionally treating themselves to
“junk food.” Most likely, if we made
sure their diet was healthy as young children, there is a much less chance for
obesity as they step well into their teens and adulthood.
Oh –
one of my favorites:
A McDonald's drive-thru
customer who suffered burns on her thigh from hot coffee she ordered is suing
the restaurant, claiming the coffee was too hot.
Liebeck placed the cup between
her knees and attempted to remove the plastic lid from the cup. As she removed
the lid, the entire contents of the cup spilled into her lap.
REALLY?
If this is really a problem – then maybe she needs a cup holder
installed in her car instead of using her knees – especially for the times she orders
“hot” coffee rather than iced-coffee.
And more . . .
There was the case where a man sued a driver for running him over
as he was trying to steal the driver's hubcaps? And the woman who sued a nightclub because she
fell and was injured while she was trying to sneak in the back window?
Sally Stewart was shopping one day in Reeds Spring, a small city near Branson, MO,
when she tripped on a pothole. She sued the folksy, neighborly small town, which
consequently filed for bankruptcy when they didn't have enough money to pay her
award.
Oh, and let’s not forget . . .
The workman set up a ladder with its base in some frozen manure,
and as the heat of the day kicked in, his ladder slipped in the now less-frozen
manure, and he fell and hurt himself. He
then sued the ladder company - maybe they should have put a warning label about
manure.
There was also a man in California
that was using a public telephone booth to place a call. An alleged drunk driver
careened down the street, lost control of his car and crashed into a phone
booth. Now, it's no surprise that the injured man sued. But you might be
startled to hear whom he sued along with the drunk driver: The telephone
company!"
I think you’ll agree that it’s not up for debate whether our country has fallen
victim to lawsuit mania. Unfortunately,
the debate continues as to whether our country should enable the millions of
people to blame others, not take responsibility, and get paid (big time) for their
own actions – accidental or otherwise.
“It’s not my fault” – a statement said immediately to most parents
everyday from kids when caught doing something they know is wrong. Or a statement said for the opportunity to
push blame elsewhere and maybe even result in a big payout!
