Monday, October 15, 2007
The Law of Unattended Children
A couple of things over the past week made me revisit the perennial issue of unattended children in libraries. First, my son had to have minor surgery. In two preoperative phone calls from the surgical center, they stressed that a parent had to stay in the building the entire time. "Of course!" said I. "You'd be surprised," said they. And you think libraries have problems...
Then, we visited IKEA this weekend. A main reason we chose IKEA? Smalland, their free drop-off childcare service. Your (toilet trained) kid can stay up to an hour in a wonderland of ballpits, toys, and Disney movies while you shop in peace; my son begs to go to IKEA.
This got me thinking: I'd drive miles out of my way to go to a library that offered a similar service. I'd pay for this service! (Logistical issues aside), how many parents would appreciate a quiet hour to study, use the Internet, or just browse the stacks?
Then, we visited IKEA this weekend. A main reason we chose IKEA? Smalland, their free drop-off childcare service. Your (toilet trained) kid can stay up to an hour in a wonderland of ballpits, toys, and Disney movies while you shop in peace; my son begs to go to IKEA.
This got me thinking: I'd drive miles out of my way to go to a library that offered a similar service. I'd pay for this service! (Logistical issues aside), how many parents would appreciate a quiet hour to study, use the Internet, or just browse the stacks?
Labels: childcare, children, ikea, libraries, smalland, unattended
