Whenever I’m with my children at one of those germ-infested, indoor play centers – the ones where hordes of snotty-nosed kids run around like wild animals and every 90 seconds there’s a meltdown – I close my eyes and fantasize about leaving my kids there, if only for an hour or two. I’d grab a latte and read the paper in total silence (or, better yet, sit in my car and play Words With Friends). But then reality hits and I go back to being Mother Of The Year – shrieking, tantrums and all.
Not so for some parents, who really do leave their children unsupervised while they go shopping or run errands or, in some cases, head to work. More »