June 6, 2005

Corruption of minor or parenting choice?

by Guest Contributor

[Jed Sorokin-Altmann] MSNBC reports: A mother was arrested on charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and involving a minor in obscene acts. The boy's father, the stripper, and two others face charges as well.

Although I'll admit that at first glance, the thought that went through my head was "what was that mother thinking!", upon further reflection, it seems that she does have a point. There's nothing inherently wrong with nudity, afterall--if the family went to a nudist colony to celebrate the kid's 16th birthday party, it seems clear that it would be under the parents' discretion. Why shouldn't a parent be able to make a choice over whether or not to hire a stripper for their kid?

On the other hand, while I might, might, be able to see the mother's point when she says "[w]ho are they to tell me what I can and can't show to my own children?", I think any such argument falls apart when one takes into account the presence of the minors at the party who were not related to the family (unless the minors' parents knew about the stripper and approved of their kid going, at least).

Anyone have any thoughts on this one?

June 6, 2005 2:09 AM | TrackBack
Comments

I blogged about this a week or so ago. My only problem with it is this:


About 10 people under the age of 18 were at the birthday party in September, including minors who were not related to the family, authorities said.


While it's unclear if the parents of the other kids were informed that there would be a stripper, I'd say it's likely that they weren't. If that's the case, then this mom overstepped in her actions. It's one thing to decide what's appropriate for your own child. It's entirely something else to decide what's appropriate for someone else's kids.

If the parents of the other kids were not informed, and thus didn't have an opportunity to decide not to let their kids be exposed to the stripper, then there ought to be some sort of consequences. What those should be, I'm not sure. I reasonable fine, I think, might be enough.

Posted by: Terrance at June 6, 2005 9:45 AM

I too blogged about it when it was new news -- I think you pretty much got it right.

Posted by: KipEsquire at June 6, 2005 10:19 AM
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