Ren Allen

"Again, ladies, thank
you for the acknowledgement that it is different depending on where
one lives. krista"

Well...yes and no.
There is an undercurrent of rudeness towards children everywhere.
I've seen some amazingly mean behavior in just about every one of
the 26 states I've visited.
There is a different feel in the South, yes. It's definitely more
title and class oriented, but treating children as "lesser beings"
seems rampant in our country.

We've managed to surround ourselves with people that really like
kids and treat them with respect, so it's just not part of our daily
lives. We hear and see stuff when we're in public of course, but
we've been fortunate to build a wonderful community of respectful
people around us.
Even in the classes they've chosen, we've lucked out for the most
part (though Jared's Karate instructor was BIG into the "sir" thing).
Hang in there. A lot of Southerners are progressive, it just takes a
while to find them!

Ren