Chiming in with my completely unnecessary and unsolicited opinion (imported post)

So there's this ridiculously illogical critique of the children's book parody "Go the Fuck to Sleep." The fantastically logical blog Words Have Meanings has a response, which includes the following valiant attempt to deconstruct the logic of the critique.

1. If children aren’t read to, it is detrimental.
2. Go the F*** to Sleep is read by good, but frustrated parents.
3. We must assume they don’t read to their kids.
4. Thus, we must be concerned about Go the F*** to Sleep.

(Ok, back to me) I love that the author of Words Have Meanings pointed out that the fact that this IS a parody of children’s books would be lost on people who don’t read to their children, so … what exactly is the assumption here, and how was it reached?

No one has to like the book, or think it’s funny. I do think it’s funny. If you don't, that's ok too. But if you're going to write a contentious op-ed claiming it's not funny because it's the sort of thing that causes child abuse, you need to a) have logical supporting arguments and b) expect people to challenge you. The author of the original piece has been responding to supporters on Twitter and belittling, mocking, and blocking people who don't agree with her.

Back to me again. I’ve been struggling with sleep issues with my kids for years, and have found if you don’t laugh once in a while, you’re going to cry. Or tear your hair out. Or drink. You have to have some kind of coping mechanism that lets you acknowledge it's ok to be completely frustrated with your child once in a while.

In fact, I would argue that failing to acknowledge that these precious angel snowflakes of ours AREN’T always perfect and do make us feel crazy at times is the sort of thing that helps create a culture where parents feel destined to fail. That’s what catharsis means, after all: it’s the emotional release we experience when channeling frustrations into acceptable outlets. We need catharsis specifically so we DON’T snap.

Duh.