Most of the Time, I think they're on our side, but...

"Parents turn to home drug tests for teenagers, but should they?"

This article from the Denver Post is reporting on the tremendous rise in parents using home drug tests to help discover if their kids are using. Now, I'll put aside the fact that the article is lousy at giving both sides of the argument. There is also the issue of a lack of discussion on what might lead parents to do this, ie. the warning signs that parents need to be watching for, whether they use the kit or not. No, my reason for posting this is my anger and frustration at what the article says about our government.

"But her Office of National Drug Control Policy does not encourage parents to take matters into their own hands. Instead, the Bush administration backs random school drug testing, arguing schools are better equipped to help with counseling and referrals if a problem is found.

"By the time a parent tests, it's already far down the road," Madras said. "If they get a positive result, then what? Parents may or may not have the skill to proceed."

Of all the arrogant, prideful statements our government continues to make or imply, this is one of the most arrogant. So, what they're saying is that the government, who doesn't know my kids from Adam on most days, knows better how to care for my kid than I do. I know - there are parents out there who genuinely don't know how to parent. However, those are also, generally, the parents who either won't give a rip about whether their kid is using, or they'll put the onus on the government anyway, so they are out of the picture. I'm talking about the parents who work their tails off to love their kids well, and do their best to communicate and stay connected. Stuff happens, kids make poor choices, and the parent responds. This is another example of why, when given a choice, I will do everything I can to keep the government out of my kids' lives - to make sure that I'm the one raising my kids, not the government.

Now, that's not to say or imply that there's not a place for schools, school counselors, doctors, etc. I believe in those institutions, and believe that most of those folks are genuinely doing the best they can with the resources and skills they have (or don't have, depending on the budget that year). I have worked with some fantastic government employees in a variety of circumstances, and I'm glad they're there, especially for the students whose parents can't, won't, or don't know how to care for them when these issues come up. However, to say that a majority of parents don't know how to care for their kids is a statement I just can't support. It makes me angry to think that, once again, the government knows best, and I'm just a stupid parent who should give up my rights of parenting to humans who, for some reason, seem a lot like me in many ways... only they have a degree, and a bunch more students than I do to try and care for. Let's see, I have to focus on my four boys. They have to focus on how many students in a classroom; how many kids for a social service worker's case load; how many counseling cases that they're only meeting with once a week for an hour? Hmmm... who can care for my four boys better and more personally?