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 Consumerism, Materialism and Cruelty to Children
E.T. Barker, MD, D.Psyc., F.R.C.P. (C)
"A perhaps overly blunt editorial I wrote in 1981. This kind of thing certainly doesn't win friends and probably doesn't influence people, but I thought somebody should say it regardless."
I have little quarrel with those childless adults or adults with older children who choose or are led to believe that Consumerism and Materialism (and status and careerism based on these values) are worth devoting their lives to. I find it very upsetting however when I see a helpless infant being permanently maimed emotionally because the parents place so high a priority on these values that they fail to provide the empathic, affectionate care their infant needs during the relatively few years such care is a necessity.
Let us at least call a spade a spade. "We need two salaries just to keep up" means "We value the whetting of our consumer addictions for these few years more highly than our infant's future emotional health". "I need to work in order to feel fulfilled and content, and it's not fair to my infant for me to look after her when I'm unhappy" means "I believe I can find happiness and fulfilment through Consumerism and Materialism (and status and careerism based on these), and what I want for these few years takes priority over my infant's future emotional health".
Considering the extent to which it is possible to choose if and when parents will have children, it seems cruel in the extreme to risk a child's permanent emotional health for a few years of ... what? Doing so should be seen for what it is: Selling a child's birthright for a mess of pottage.
Let us also not delude ourselves by thinking that the way of life for which infants are so frequently sacrificed these days is either the only way or a necessary way. Let us hope that the Consumerism and Materialism that are currently so fashionable will soon be seen for what they are and are not, and will give way to values which are more compatible with emotional health -- both infant and adult.
Editorial from Volume 4, Issue 3 (Summer 1981) of the Journal of the Canadian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children |
