Local Moms Ask for a Play Area in the Mall

My wife and I are expecting a baby. This article caught my wife's eye.

Local Mom Petitions For East Towne Mall Play Area

What are local dads doing while their wives are petitioning for a play area in the mall? No dads were interviewed for the article.

We get commentary from mothers:

Moms like me feel it's very important for our kids to have a safe place to play and relax.

Madison is known for its parks. It's not like there aren't places you can take kids to play.

One of the biggest concerns I have regarding the safety of my baby is exposure to consumerism, especially before they're old enough to have think critically. There is no way I would consider it safe to have my child hanging out in a shopping center play area. I know my child will pick up some elements of his world view from the marketing of consumer products. It's important for me to minimize this.

Another comment from the article:

It would save me gas money because I drive to West Towne for this.

It would save even more money on gas and consumer products to visit the nearest public park instead of a shopping center.

It strikes me that one reason we created the commons, things owned by all members of society, is so we don't have to hope a private land owner creates the space we want. It's unfortunate that these petitioners feel like a private shopping center is their public commons.

The article also touched a nerve because having a baby has shown me that sexism isn't something that disappeared in the 70s. I can't imagine local dads petitioning the mall for a play area. (Info on the petition is at momsinmadison.com, not dadsinmadison.com.) People ask me how my career is going, but they don't ask me if I'm enjoying shopping for baby products. And if they did, I think it would acceptable, maybe even expected, for me to say I think most of the marketing surrounding baby products is rubbish. Expectations are different for my wife.

This is a tough issue because there's nothing inherently wrong with asking a shopping center to add a play area. There's nothing wrong with the petitioners being female. Sexism is not yet history, though, so we need to be careful what we imply in articles like this.