Ah, I didn't realize that interpretation was going around. Of course even if he had, a 5 year old couldn't be held responsible for that. I'm pretty sure quite a few unsupervised children have caused another's death every year just out of ignorance or being in a dangerous situation (look at gun deaths). I agree that the most telling thing to me about that story is that he was never taught to swim -- either before or after the incident, despite having a pond in the area.
However there was a lot less parental supervision in the 1960s and early 70s than there is now. The movement to gate pools and warn parents about pool safety started in the 1980s and it took until the 2000s for countries and territories to start implementing laws about fencing. (I link this to pools specifically, because the pond was part of the property rather than something they went to for recreation). It still doesn't let them off the hook for their inaction later, but given the time period it doesn't surprise me much that it happened.
In fact one of the things I find kind of interesting about the whole change in parenting is how much hovering is expected now, even though at the time women were much more likely to be at home caretaking than they are now. I suspect it has to do with the reduced size of families. If you've got all your eggs in one basket, you're more careful with it than if you have a lot of kids. I remember it recently being said of the woman who launched Mrs. Meyer's cleaning supplies that she was a mother of 9, and the announcer marveled at how she had the time. I said to Mike "That's because the kids raised one another."
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branchandroot
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Date: 2022-01-22 03:42 pm (UTC)However there was a lot less parental supervision in the 1960s and early 70s than there is now. The movement to gate pools and warn parents about pool safety started in the 1980s and it took until the 2000s for countries and territories to start implementing laws about fencing. (I link this to pools specifically, because the pond was part of the property rather than something they went to for recreation). It still doesn't let them off the hook for their inaction later, but given the time period it doesn't surprise me much that it happened.
In fact one of the things I find kind of interesting about the whole change in parenting is how much hovering is expected now, even though at the time women were much more likely to be at home caretaking than they are now. I suspect it has to do with the reduced size of families. If you've got all your eggs in one basket, you're more careful with it than if you have a lot of kids. I remember it recently being said of the woman who launched Mrs. Meyer's cleaning supplies that she was a mother of 9, and the announcer marveled at how she had the time. I said to Mike "That's because the kids raised one another."