Breakfast & Butterfingers

Breakfast

*Gets on soapbox*

The Red Cross do incredible work for people in times of crisis, providing immediate and practical help and support to those in need around the world. As a charity, one of their fundamental principles is that no child should go hungry. To this end, Red Cross Australia manage an initiative called the Good Start Breakfast Club, which serves 850,000 breakfasts each year in 220 schools in areas of greatest need.

It sounds like a fantastic initiative but it begs the question that charities don't ask because they are open-handed and tolerant and don't judge people who possibly deserved to be judged every now and again. My question is this: If you can't afford to give your children breakfast then why are you breeding?? What the hell is wrong with people?

Unless you live in a third world country, it is inexcusable to send your kid to school without giving them a meal of some sort. Sending ravenous kids to school was unheard of when I was that age. No matter how busy my mum was, she always made sure we had something to eat before we headed off to school.

The oft used excuses dragged out in parents’ defence these days - ‘I don’t have time’ and ‘life’s busy these days’ – are all very well. But things have always been busy for anyone bringing up children. People create their own busyness. And all their busyness says to me is that they need start reprioritising and buy their kids some damn weetbix.

It's like anything in life that feels unfair, like those women who are unable to pay their bills because they have just bought an expensive pair of shoes.  We all have disposable income and we all have spare time on our hands; we just choose to prioritise things differently.

At what point do parents need to start taking responsibility for their own children’s health and nutrition rather than leaving in to the state and charities?

The Red Cross is for people who really need it. I imagine a lot of these parents do need their support, but, in that case, they need to put a halt in the breeding process and stop blowing their cash on grog and cigarettes.  And charities shouldn’t be abused by smug parents who can't be bothered to give their offspring cereal in the morning. Seriously, what the hell is wrong with people?

I can see people reading this now – “what does she know, she isn’t a parent?” Well, I know shirking responsibility when I see it.

*Gets off soapbox*

Butterfingers

I don’t really care to make new year’s resolutions, because who the hell keeps those things? But, for my own safety and for the safety of anything in my possession, I will resolutely endeavour to be more vigilant this and avoid walking into things as much as possible (for me).

I have a habit of walking into door frames, tripping over bed corners and coffee tables, walking into rear vision mirrors in car parks, and just generally hurting myself at least once a day. My talent for walking into things defies explanation.

I find it quite unfair when people tell me to just be more careful. I shouldn’t have to think strategically when I walk around a corner; shouldn’t the parts of my brain that look after spatial awareness and reasoning be onto this? I think someone has been having a siesta whilst on the job.

My explanation for this is my lack of depth perception – one short and one long sighted eye – but I will make an effort to walk into things less this year.