Aba Ima Harta

Something I've been experiencing lately is the Israeli parent. And, to be quite honest, there's room for improvement. A whole lotta room. I don't pretend to be an amazing parent myself, and what with the time I spent at my little school rather than reading bedtime stories the last few months, I should maybe shut the fuck up...

But...when you have an "Open day" at the kindergarten and all the parents do everything to get that precious snapshot of their little darlink, it gets a bit much. By everything, I mean they'll forget just where they are, and on whose little boy they are treading on and knocking over. Just as long as they get that shot. And when anglosaxy gets all pissy with them, they wonder what all the fuss is all about...I have to say I was a little shocked at the total disregard for others, and especially other little darlinks, just as long as they got what they wanted. Perhaps I shouldn't have been shocked, what with my experience driving on many an Israeli road...it's just that this is the next generation of Israeli they're rearing, and nothing really changes, does it...?

And then there are the parents who park outside the kindergarten (where parking is at a Tel Aviv premium) and make sure that noone else can park there. Because, well, as long as they're awright, then everything's awright, innit. Being the superDad that I am, I often have to carry two little packages of joy screaming and kicking into/out of the place, and let me tell you, it ain't easy, carrying them plus their backpacks, and then when I see one of the parents' cars blatantly taking two parking spaces, and I've had to park 200 metres down the road, I get feckin' mad...

Note the lack of a mention of the parents of some of my students...a post forthcoming...