Which, of course, says nothing about the actual anti-child thread of our society.
The built environment is totally unsuitable for children. How many public buildings and public transport systems are difficult to access for a buggy? Also for people with disabilities or luggage?
Children are viewed as an excellent target for marketers - 'the Nag factor'. Many children are made to feel inadequate because they don't own the latest material goods. Don't even start me on McDonalds.
A friend of mine with two children objects to the crap that gets served as 'children's food'. All finger food full of chemicals and mechanically recovered meat. Her two were eating grown up food from an early age. The older with a knife and fork. the younger has cerebella palsy related Learning Difficulties.
Very many workplaces, despite claims to family friendly policies, actually don't give a toss. Women are treated as second class citizens as they try to balance work and expensive childcare. Men have children who are comparative strangers because of the long hours culture (I generalise, of course).
The Education system is not child centred. Every expert, every parent, and everyone with an ounce of common sense knows that the six week break in the summer (we had eight at Secondary School) is not for the benefit of children. Most of what they learn in the last half term has to be revised in the first half term of next year. Children are shunted between playscheme and grandparents, with little choice in what they do. The children who get to stay at home get bored after a week or two. And sometimes quite lonely. The summer holidays see some children commit crimes and far more the victims of crimes.
And even outside the school holidays we read again and again of children being killed because some adult has physical strength, and power. We do not read about the ones that are just injured, or neglected, or psychologically abused.
Children suffer the consequences of adult actions, whether it's breathing from exhausts conveniently placed at child height on the nearside of cars, or being bombed as a result of willy waving in a foreign land.
Remind me again about how we live in a child-obsessed society.
