"Baby Loves Disco" sponsors parties at disco clubs for parents and toddlers. It is real dance music, in a darkened club, with real booze for the parents. The kids wander around and play. Some effort is made to make the experience safer for kids – blankets are put over the debris on the dance floor, the higher dance platforms are roped off, and adults are supposed to keep their drinks at least a yard above the floor.
Adults who liked to party before kids like it because they can keep on dancin'. Those who Look With Alarm at any event where kids might get hurt have a plenty to be alarmed about. Personally, none of this kind of partying is my cup of tea. Still, I don't want to encourage the culture of fear by simply opposing Baby Loves Disco because it might hurt kids. Everything might hurt kids. In fact, I think some kids will certainly get hurt – they will fall off something, get stepped on, find someone's beer, get cut by something left by previous ravers, etc., etc. This will be bad. But kids can get hurt sharing most adult venues.
What struck me about the news account of Baby Loves Disco was that there was no evidence that the babies actually loved disco. Sure, little kids love to dance. But the appeal of loud thumping dance music in a darkened club for adults is the offer of sex and danger – two things little kids don't need, or like.
Should "Baby Loves Disco" be allowed? Sure. It's a free country. Do I think anyone should do it? No.
Get a babysitter.
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3 comments:
question: have you been to a baby loves disco event? Or are your impressions culled from the Christian Science Monitor article? I wonder to what extent that article reflected the tone, volume, child-friendliness etc of the BLD events nationwide, since the one event I have attended, in NYC, was quite different. The children really did seem to be enjoying the event along with their parents - and I can't imagine what could be better than parents and kids sharing a fun experience. The CSM article was premised on the notion that something must be either child-cenetered or adult-centered. BLD is proof that as long as parents remain sensitive to their children's cues (and, for example, leave when their kids are ready for a nap), this is a false polarity.
I have only the article to go on. Baby Loves Disco is not likely to come to Danville, KY anytime soon.
"the appeal of loud thumping dance music in a darkened club for adults is the offer of sex and danger – two things little kids don't need, or like."
--and two things that are likely to be very much hampered by the presence of children. Seems like a pointless endeavor to me. And the idea of an event like this in Danville is kind of hilarious.
(By the way, have you seen Adam Brown's notes on facebook about a marriage debate?)
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