Re "Working Moms, Give Yourselves a Break" (Nov. 10): Maybe someone should tell [sociology professor] Sharon Hays that children are not pets. Hays wants parenting to be pared down to its essentials (food, shelter and clothing?) to accommodate working parents. Simpler and less intensive methods would probably be just fine.
Children, in case no one ever told her, are human beings with inherent and myriad needs, the most paramount being loving parents consistently involved with them. Swimming, judo, soccer and designer fashions are extras. A child needs a parent to be there.
