Parenting skills in the US seem to be on the decline in 2024. The problem of declining parenting skills can be solved with one easy solution. There needs to be a new law passed or amendment added to The Constitution. The new law should state that in order to reproduce in the USA you have to pass an intelligence test.
There have always been parents who did foolish things in front of, or to, their children. Some parents often indulge in drinking bouts with their children present. Other parents have indulged in various narcotics in front of their children. I recently saw a few posts on social media that had me shaking my head. One of these posts featured women twerking in front of male children as if they were doing dances at a club. Now, before people jump to conclusions, we have to keep in mind most social media posts can be manipulated to seem like anything the poster wants. These women may not have been the parent. If these women were not the parent, you have to wonder where are the parents. The implantation of a nationwide intelligence test would be a step toward better parenting skills, which would lead to better parenting decisions.
The intelligence test suggestion is not a way to pick on women. There is an extremely high number of men who do foolish things to their children. Here are some examples: giving their preadolescent child a cup of beer so they can sit with the fellas. Not accepting the fact that their son is not athletically inclined and making the boy try to be something they are not. Forcing their female child to play sports because they wanted a male child. These are a few examples of why men also need to pass the intelligence test.
I know the concept of making people pass an intelligence test before they reproduce sounds like something out of a George Orwell novel. Yet, is this concept so outlandish? If you look at some of the actions many parents take with their children, you have to wonder if they are intelligent enough to have kids. The people in that social media post twerking in front of those children did not look like bad people. In fact they looked like people who thought what they were doing was okay. If these people were the parents they may have not been mentally competent to understand their actions. This is where the intelligence test would come in. The intelligence test would ensure that parents have shown the ability to be mentally capable to bear the burden of parenthood.
This is not to say that people who do not pass the intelligence test can never reproduce. What this test does is let people know that they have to step up their mental game in order to have the privilege to reproduce. What would be wrong with having intelligent people who understand what parenting is about having children? Wouldn’t this be a better alternative to the way things seem to be going in the US? Wouldn’t more intelligent parents increase the odds of more intelligent children? Higher intelligence would lead to a more productive citizen and this definitely would benefit the US on all levels.
The intelligence test could be taken during the senior year of high school. Seniors would take it on their way into the workforce as high school graduates. Knowing that you have to pass a test to reproduce may make some students take school more seriously. The concept of having to take an intelligence test to reproduce may sound far fetched to many. It may sound cruel. The concept isn’t farfetched or cruel. It is real. Isn’t this concept worth a look if the intelligence test can lead to better childhoods for children in the future? The question is, how do you enforce the results and keep the unintelligent from reproducing? The answer to that question is an article for another day.
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the writer and not of the Milwaukee Times Weekly Newspaper or HT Group, LLC, its staff or management. “Being Frank” is a bi-weekly column exclusive to the Milwaukee Times Weekly Newspaper.
