Irresponsible Parenting

Take an unhealthily large dose of of self-indulgence, mix in a bit of "super mom" and "super dad," and you've got a recipe for irresponsible parenting.

This hit me the first when I was reading the account of a dying climber on Mt. Everest saying goodbye to his (as I recall it) pregnant wife in Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air, and I was reminded of it again by this in the NY Daily News:

Amanpour on worried-mommy track
Talk about your work-versus-motherhood conflict.

Top CNN international correspondent Christiane Amanpour probably has one of the riskiest jobs in the world. It weighs on her, she told us recently, more out of concern for her 5-year-old son, Darius, than for herself.

"I find it increasingly difficult," Amanpour said during a recent visit to New York. "Because the kind of work I do is rather dangerous. And it takes you away for prolonged periods of time."

Does she really think we need her more than her son does? Does she love her fame more than she loves Darius? She, and so many other self-indulgent parents, must answer these questions yes and yes. Quit your job, Christiane. Darius needs you far, far more than we do.