Now…how many of you have your minds in the gutter and think today’s entry is going to be something provocative about the boudoir?

Heh heh.

If you do, then you are a true Kitty-Time friend.

But, c’est vrai. The purpose of this blog is not to be dirty. So go read something else.

Today we will discuss spanking. Surely by now, you all have heard that some Assemblywoman from the Bay Area wants to introduce a bill in California to make it against the law for parents to spank their children under the age of four. She views it as a form of abuse and believes her role is to protect the children.

Now – I am all for protecting children. A wise friend of mine pointed out that even seeing children hurt on a fictional TV show is more painful to watch once you become a parent. She couldn’t have been more right about that.

But Kitty-Time also thinks there is a point to everything.

Before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s all remember for a minute that California fancies itself as the bellwether state and its state politicians are always looking for ways to set the trend across the country. But this time – are they for real? Spending all the time and taxpayer’s adhd money to protect the children from their own parents? What about a parent’s right to discipline their child as they see fit?

Now- I do believe the state protects abused children, and though there is never enough money or people to do the job properly – that is the role of government and what we pay taxes for. But this has gone too far.

Are we to believe that a neighbor is supposed to call the police if they see a parent spanking a three-year old? And the police are going to respond? We are supposed to pull the police away from serious crimes, like domestic violence, armed robbery, or sexual assault – to come punish parents for choosing how best to discipline their child?

Enough is enough and this is ridiculous.

Am I saying I am a fan of spanking? No. Am I saying that I intend to spank my child? I really don’t think so but then again, she doesn’t have the language ability to talk back. She also hasn’t quite figured out how to throw a temper tantrum in public and demand what she wants. So who am I to judge?

If you’d like to read a bit more on it, here’s a link:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/politics/cal/la-me-parsons30jan30,1,3943927.column?coll=la-news-politics-california

Sometimes we all jump off the ledge without looking back. Sometimes, we all just assume the worst and can’t imagine anything else could be the reason. Sometimes we assume that no call, means sudden death and flaming cars. Sometimes we see the smallest thing and assume it means our child is being tortured, neglected and abused.

Sometimes Kitty-Time exaggerates.

But not always.

And so, here is another time when Kitty-Time will shamelessly pull back the curtain and reveal the inner-workings of her brilliant and, never dramatic, mind.

Over the course of the past week or so, Kitty-Time has found books in her darling daughter’s crib in the evenings. At first, she wondered – perhaps the nanny was cleaning the room and was just trying to entertain her darling daughter with a book while keeping her safely contained in the crib.

But it kept happening. And her room doesn’t get cleaned every day.

And by the third day, it could only mean neglect. It could only mean that darling daughter was being forced to stay in the crib against her will, crying out for attention, in desperate need for one of her parents to return home and lavish her with love and affection.

Right?

Surely that is the only thing it could mean.

Kitty-Time began wondering – should we start spying on nanny? Has she grown lazy and uninterested in her job? Does she leave darling daughter up there for long periods of time? What is happening? What could be the cause of it.

Of course, add into the mix the amount of time that passes from the evening when Kitty-Time wonders this – to the chaos of the next morning as I’m darting out the door (late) for work, and rest assured that I pretty much always forget to ask.

But not this morning. Last night Kitty-Time found STAMPS in her darling daughter’s crib. One had even been removed.

This could only mean the nanny was not only neglecting the child but leaving her there to choke on her own accord. Death was imminent.

Kitty-Time wondered, should she phone the nanny immediately, even though she’s left for the day, and question her?
Kitty-Time’s husband, always relaxed and laid back, assured me that everything was fine and I could just ask in the morning.

And so, I asked. This time, I remembered!

And much to my great relief and amusement, I learned something precious about my darling daughter.

We’ve known for quite some time that she loves books. And she loves pictures and colors. She spends more time with her books some days than with her toys. It’s true, she’s a woman on a mission. She cannot rest until every flap has been carefully removed from every book. But still, she is obsessed. What I adore is that she knows which direction to hold the book. How does she know the letters are upside down? She can’t read. And yet, she knows.

And so, it turns out that darling daughter has somehow been moving the bumper pad out of the way, stretching her little gumby arms as far as they can go, and removing books from a basket next to the crib, and amusing herself by “reading” until she decides to let someone know she is, in fact, not sleeping, and would like to be removed from her crib.

Ahh….the dramatic mind of a mother…and the resourceful skills of a 14 month old.

Kitty-Time will admit, this was a fabulous way to start the day; To gain an insight into how darling daughter spends her alone time up in her room, when no one is watching. Of course, apparently she isn’t sleeping as long as I thought, but still, at least she isn’t being neglected.