Scenes from a Mexican restaurant

Table 1 - a booth in a quiet corner of the restaurat
Our actors: a family of four
mom, dad, 2-month-old baby boy in a carrier on the floor, 4yo girl

7:45 p.m.
Mom: "Eat your dinner. How many times do I have to tell you?"
Girl: (mumbles)
Dad: "You're going straight to bed when we get home."
7:50 p.m.
The 4yo is standing on the seat in the corner of the booth.
Her head barely clears the back of the booth.
Mom: "Sit down."
Mom: "I need you to sit down."
Mom: "Eat your dinner."
7:55 p.m.
Mom: "Do you want a mushroom?"
(this was the only thing I heard the mom say that wasn't an order)
8:00 p.m.
Mom: "I told you to sit down."

Table 2 - a 10-top nearby
Our actors: an extended family group
Nearest us are 4 boys about age 10, probably cousins.
They are watched closely by a mom-type.

8:00 p.m. - as they take their seats
Mom-type: "First, let's get out the antibacterial lotion."
8:05 p.m. - as the boys are served some mild salsa, just for them to share
Mom-type: "No double-dipping. Now, here's what you do. You dip the chip, then you turn it. Hold the spot you bit before. Then dip again."

Now let's return to Table 1
Let's imagine what the same girl might have experienced tonight if she'd been born into an unschooling family. She would have been as safe, as polite, as well fed, but there would have been real conversation, laughter, a sense of adventure about the food they were eating. The Mexican waiter might have been invited to share a word or two of Spanish. The dad might have made goofy faces at her across the table. The mom might have stroked her hair or pulled her close for a one-armed hug. The murals on the wall would have been noted, discussed, daydreamed over.

The girl might have been willing to speak above a whisper.

And back to Table 2
Unschooling parents worry about germs, too. We dread having sick kids as much as the next person. But can we get real for just a second here? If one of those boys is germy tonight, there's no avoiding the others coming into contact with said germs. When kids socialize, contact is part of the deal. They wrestle; they have thumb wars; they do high fives, low fives, and on-the-side fives; they do "Oh say, oh playmate" and make cat's cradles; they hug, poke, touch, tickle, tap, and bump. They exchange hats. They hang each other's spoons on their noses.

This is the good stuff, people. This is what a childhood dinner out with your cousins is all about.

Besides, 48% of respondents in a recent poll on MSNBC think the "flip the chip" double-dip is bad, bad, bad. How can nearly half of us be wrong?

Oh, wait, I forgot for a minute what country I live in.