Tony Ortiz

Dr. Childs

English 1301

2 October 2012

                                                            Bad Parents

The movie “My Neighbor Totoro” is unique because there are no fight scenes or scary villains. As in all other Disney movies. Me I enjoyed the story of two little girls moving from the city to the country and how they cope with their mother being in the hospital. The only problem I saw in this movie was the parenting skills of the dad which were awful.

            For one he was typing a paper all day while his 4 year old daughter Mei was off alone in the woods exploring. While exploring she runs into a white rabbit creature which could have rabies. She also runs into a huge panda like creature that could take her head off with one swift swipe of his massive paws or bite an arm off without hesitation.  He didn’t even start looking for her until his older daughter Satsuki came home and asked where her little sister was. They found her on the ground in the woods a sleep. After she was found he didn’t tell her about he dangers she put herself in or scold her for running off. He found it funny that she was a sleep on the ground in the woods. And we are talking about a big forest where there could be any types of danger such as mountain lions, bob cats, grizzly bears, and snakes. Even insects such as spiders, ants or bees could kill or seriously harm a child of that age. In today’s society we know not to leave are child unattended for that long. This story takes place in japan in the 1950’s but still no matter what time frame or where the place is. It’s no excuse for letting a young child wonder all alone by herself.

            Another example of the father’s bad parenting skills is when it is pouring down rain and the children are out in the rain waiting for him to get home from work. Back then there were not vaccines like they’re is today so the girls could have easily caught a cold, flu, or even malaria.  Colds back then would lead to death that’s why the term “God bless you” came about a sneeze usually meant death and saying “God bless you” was a way of condemning their soul to God. While still waiting on their father the younger child mei gets sleepy and tired so satsuki has to carry her on her back for what seems like hours. They are once again by the nearby forest and the massive creature of totoro appears. The older girl has apparently not been taught not to talk to strangers. She hands over her dad’s umbrella to totoro. All of a sudden out of nowhere this giant cat like creature in the form of a bus appears. The children don’t run or scream for help they just sit there where at any point they can get thrown into the bus an abducted. It seems like hours pass before their father does arrive and instead of telling them that they should be home a sleep or asking why they are not at home with their grandmother he laughs and explains why he is late.

            It shows  just how bad this fathers parenting skills are  when his wife gets sick and he’s stuck at work so it is up to satsuki to go to a stranger’s house and use their phone. After finding out what’s wrong with her mother she scolds her sister mei for being a big baby about not being able to see her mom. The little child mei once again runs off on her own and has the whole town looking for her. She even has them believing that she has drowned it a nearby river. Satsuki runs through the whole town looking for her sister. She then runs into the unknown forest in search of totoro. When she finally finds him he summons the mysterious cat bus and she jumps into it with no regard. In today’s society children are taught not to jump into any vehicle if they do not know who the person is or who the vehicle belongs to. Satsuki finally finds her sister mei and gets her as well to get in the crazy cat bus creature. The cat bus creature takes the children to where the mom is at the hospital. The mom notices a corn in the window and a note from satsuki in it. Instead of going crazy and calling for help to find the children she laughs it off with her husband. And explains to him that she might have seen satsuki in a tree outside her window. A more reliable parent would have got security to look for her children.

            In conclusion it is true when they say you learn from your mistakes. And in this story it applies with how awful of a parenting job these two parents did with their children. A child should not run wild because of all the possibilities that could go wrong. The children could have been abducted by the school bus, ate by totoro, or even drowned in the river. Not once did the parents scold or teach the children why they shouldn’t run wild or take a ride with strangers. The child protective services investigate reports of abuse and neglect of children. I believe that if it was today’s society the children would have been taken away and placed in foster care for their safety. Thank God nothing happen to these children and that their mom finally came home maybe she placed order in the family.