But soon I abandoned all pretense and just flopped down on the couch next to them. Wry and sweet, they are unassuming little dramas of life in the third grade, and a welcome respite from the cloying antics of Barney and the infantile prattle of the Teletubbies. Next he trots to the store, pays for the coveted toy and returns home. Nowhere in this interaction is there any discussion with parents about his purchase. Nor do they accompany him to make it.
Mom is an accountant who likes computer games.
Dad is a caterer who makes terrific desserts for the school bake sales. But although they love their children, they are not involved in the micro-managing of their lives. Instead, they let Arthur go to and from school alone. Although we live two blocks from my son's school, I wouldn't dream of letting him do the same. None of the children, even in the fifth grade, go to school alone.