The Last Word (for now, from me) on Hipster Parents
Posted on 20. Feb, 2007 by Brian Reid in General
One of the great benefits of running a week or two behind is that when there is reason for a minor kerfluffle (like last week’s Time magazine piece on insufferable hipster parents), it ends up getting thoroughly and intelligently discussed before I can weigh in.
But I’ll weigh in anyway, briefly:
Full disclosure: I am not a hipster parent. This is mostly because I am not a hipster and have never, ever approached hipness. This has never bothered me much. But I sympathize with the hipsters for the simple reason that you should have as many choices in what your child sees, hears, wears and experiences.
There is a tremendous amount of dreck out there for kids. Mind-numbing children’s music. Awful, awful clothing. Entirely content-free television. So if you can find stuff out there that has redeeming value *and* is something you can share with your kids, be it They Might Be Giants music or punk rock onsies, why not go for it?
Yes, parenting is about sacrifice and putting the needs ahead of others ahead of your own needs. But there is nothing intrinsic in parenthood that says you must dress your children like the Little Rascals.
(If you’re fine with hipness but have had it with parents that revel in their lack of seriousness about the gig, then I would refer you to Andi Buchanan’s excellent The Escalation of Cool. It gets to the point — all this focus on posturing destroys authentic tales of parenting — without getting wrapped up in whether the Ramones are suitable music for little ears.)
Working Dad
20. Feb, 2007
I’ve been thinking about the hipster parent debate since the Time magazine story popped up last week. After reading the debate on Babble and other sites I’m left thinking there is one loudmouth minority raging at another, and both miss an important point.
The reality is parents have been dressing their kids in their image, or a hoped for image, for generations. In the fifties mom dressed her daughter in a princess dress, in the sixties mom and dad named her Moonbeam or Sunshine. Today, some parents dress their kid in Ugss, a Chloe dress or a Ramones t-shirt. Is there much of a difference?
Kelly M. Bray
22. Feb, 2007
I think the debate is irrelevant. If your kids are the center of your world, if you love them with all your heart, if you spend lots of time with them, read to them, help them with their homework, roll down the grassy hills with them, thats what counts. The rest is literally window dressing. To paraphrase MLK, its the content of their character, not the couture of their clothes
AJ
08. Mar, 2007
Styles come and go and now designers are bringing some hip style to baby clothes. I actually dig it. I like that now that I can dress my kids in some cool looking baby clothes other than all that foo foo stuff!