I fear for thee, my country...

... though this is Britain I'm talking about, and as both my readers (hi Mum) will probably be aware for various reasons, not least that it doesn't really exist anymore, I'm at best ambivalent about how much it's still my country as opposed to just being where I started. Still, I'm always quick to say how fond I am of the old place and how much I worry about where it's heading, which seems to be a land where nobody is even capable of an independent thought without running it past a man from the government. Yes, here too, but today's example is typically British. And fucking depressing.

Click for linky

I'm not on a 'bleeding obvious' rant here. I'm not a parent and I'm in no position to say whether these things are good, bad or indifferent, though I suspect it probably depends a bit on the individual child and maybe the parents too to a lesser extent. What works, works, and your mileage may vary. No, what caught my eye was the unspoken and unchallenged assumption in the subheader there that there should be guidelines for this sort of thing. God forbid people should be left to work these things out for themselves and conclude, as many in the comments appear to have, that kids do pretty well without them if they have interaction with parents and others instead, much as they've done in all the generations before the electronics age. But then it got even worse with a poll halfway down the article.

Allowed to watch? Allowed? I looked desperately for the option that read 'Exactly as much as the parents feel is right for their child and what the fuck's it to do with the rest of us?' but strangely it's not there.

'Kinell.