As opening night draws closer and closer for our production of Bright Ideas by Eric Coble I have been investing some time in researching and exploring the issues raised in this play partly for marketing purposes but also as a parent of spirited 17 month old.
Parents want their children to succeed, to work hard, and get ahead. To have more opportunities then they did. Which is a reasonable enough aspiration. But as a culture of competition has become ever more prevalent in society, many parents not only want their child to be successful, they want or even expect them to be the best, brightest, most talented, and attractive child around. Right out of the gates they’re enrolling them in music courses, early learning programs, language immersion, swimming lessons, baby yoga, and on and on. They fear that if their child isn’t a bilingual musical virtuoso gymnast with an IQ of 187 by the time they’re five then they as parents have failed them.
For these parents anything less than the best for their child in these formative years can mean the difference between raising a future doctor or a future shift manager at White Castle. They will do anything it takes, pull any string to make certain their child is known and treated as an over achieving prodigy, regardless of their child’s actual ability. This is called “Push Parenting,” and as our society becomes continually more cutthroat the pressure mounts on parents to push harder on their kids to perform beyond the bounds of reality.
On top of this, a majority of parents in this country both work full-time, which has caused the landscape of childcare to change dramatically. Childcare services and private pre-schools have never been so highly regulated, expensive, or in such high demand. It has been readily documented that many of the most popular day-care centers across the nation have such a long waiting list that often your child can reach the age of 3 before their name comes up on the list. This only adds further stress to parents, particularly those pressuring themselves to find not just suitable but exemplary care that will help lay the foundation for their child’s acceptance into law school.
Eric Cobles’ play Bright Ideas draws directly from this mentality. Using his astute observations and sharp satiric wit, Coble tells the story of Generva and Joshua Bradley, two parents that have had their three-year-old son Mac on the waiting list for the premiere preschool Bright Ideas Early childhood Development Academy since before he was even born. Now teetering at the top of the waiting list, Mac is drawing dangerously close to turning four and the grim reality is setting in that if they don’t do something now, something drastic to get him in, it will swallow any hope for a bright future.
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