In regards to having children, many people have different views on the proper way of raising a child and in the article “What Makes a Good Parent?” by Robert Epstein, is a list of ten essential factors that are important in parenting. However, in The Glass Castle, Rose Mary and Rex Walls had their own ways of parenting, which many people would find to be questionable. Throughout The Glass Castle, author, Jeannette Walls, describes her childhood and the extreme living conditions she had to endure with her siblings due to the choices her parents made. Although Rose Mary and Rex Walls had their method of rearing their children that is considered unfit and neglectful, and many would feel they belonged in foster care, the Walls children would not be the prospering adults they are today, if it were not for their parent’s choices.
According to Epstein’s list of skills that makes a good parent, “love and affection [comes first], [then] stress management, relationship skills, autonomy and independence, education and learning, life skills, behavior management, health, religion, and safety” (49). However, in comparison to this list, Rose Mary and Rex Walls had drastically different priorities when raising their children. When making a hypothetical list of parenting skills, Rose Mary and Rex Walls’ list would look completely different compared to other parents. Rose Mary Walls was very self-centered and only cared for her career as an artist, often neglecting her children on numerous occasions and fending for herself. For example, there was a time when, Jeannette was three-years-old and had been making hot dogs on the stove by herself and caught on fire (Walls, 9). If Rose Mary had been more attentive and made the food, rather than painting, Jeannette would not have caught on fire and badly burnt. Also in regards to the children’s safety, when Jeannette had been touched inappropriately by her uncle and with little concern, Rose Mary said, “Well there you go. If you don’t think you’re hurt, then you aren’t” (Walls, 184). Throughout The Glass Castle Rose Mary had been selfish and did not care so much for her children. Even as the Walls children struggled to find food, Rose Mary had stashed a family-sized chocolate bar for herself. When Brian had found it, Rose Mary started crying and said, “I can’t help it. I’m a sugar addict” (Walls, 174). During times of desperation most mothers would go out of their way to provide their children with food before themselves, but this was not the case for Rose Mary Walls, who was more concerned about being number one.
Rex Walls struggled to provide for his children due to the alcoholism he experienced throughout his life. During the Walls’ life in Battle Mountain, Rex Walls got a job and was able to provide food and shelter for the family but, due to his addiction to alcohol, Rex eventually began spending his earnings on alcohol, rather than his family. During one Christmas, Rose Mary and Rex did not have enough money to buy the children gifts, but instead resorted to giving them a star in the sky. When giving Jeannette the planet Venus, Rex said, “Years from now, when all the junk they got broken and long forgotten, you’ll still have your stars” (41). After living in Welch, Rex’s alcoholism had gotten worse, after his mother died, to the point that Rex would not come home for days (Walls, 171). Furthermore, Rex expresses his little concern for Jeannette’s safety when using her to win money from games of billiards. On one occasion, Rex allows a drunken man to take Jeannette upstairs after winning eighty dollars (Walls, 212). Rex had also tricked his family to giving him money including Jeannette, and stole a check for the lease on Rose Mary’s land in Texas (Walls, 214). In all, both Rex and Rose Mary had trouble prioritizing to provide for their children. If the parents of the Walls children had put their children before them, perhaps their lives would have had fewer hardships.
While the bad living conditions in Welch were at their worst, the opportunity to join the foster care system was presented. A man had appeared at the door and asked if Jeannette was being neglected or not and persuading the man that she was not being neglected, the man left. Jeannette was angry and had no interest in being separated from her siblings in foster care. Jeannette also showed no concern for her parents but only wanted to stay with Lori, Brian, and Maureen:
He’d launch an investigation and end up sending me and Brian and Lori and Maureen off to live with different families, even though we all got good grades and knew Morse code. I couldn’t let that happen. No way was I going to lose Brian and Lori, and Maureen. (194)
Also, within the foster care systems are many flaws. According to ABC News, “about 520,000 children end up in foster care each year,” and each social worker has “three or four times” (Facts on Foster Care…) the recommended cases due to the large number of children entering the system. If the Walls children had been placed in the foster care system,
“The children [could] stay in the system for almost three years before either being reunited with their families or adopted [and] almost 20 percent wait five years or more. [Also], children have on average three different foster care placements.” (Facts on Foster Care…).
Assuming the children went to foster care services, the Walls children would have had a high possibility of being separated from each other, which was not an option for the children. The children were very close-knit and went through the hardships their parents put them through together. If the children did not have each other, the outcome of their lives would be completely different for each of them with the exception of Maureen. Despite the fact, Lori, Brian, and Jeannette may have had successful lives after leaving Welch, but Maureen could have possibly had a better life if she had gone into foster care. Maureen had fended for herself through her friends’ families that felt bad for her. Overall, the children did not want to go through the risk of being separated from one another, even though the children could have had a more comfortable living condition. As for staying with their parents, the children did not want to live with them either.
The Walls children knew the living conditions were bad at “93 Little Hobart Street” did not have indoor plumbing, and “during one particular fierce rainstorm that spring, the ceiling grew so fat it burst, and water and plasterboard came crashing down onto the floor” (Walls, 153), and the kids would eventually devise their own plan to move to New York. After Rose Mary had gotten back from renewing her teaching accreditations, she felt that teaching was not her ambition in life and said, “It’s time I start living my life for me” (Walls, 218). Lori and Jeannette were forced to work to provide for Brian and Maureen, and knowing that Rose Mary and Rex would not help them progress out of Welch, Jeannette comes up with the idea of helping Lori move to New York and eventually she would join her. Lori, Jeannette, and Brian move to the big city without the help of their parents, but eventually Rex and Rose Mary would decide to move to the city as well, although, the children felt as thought their parents were dragging them down.
In all, Rose Mary and Rex Walls were neglectful parents and needed to better understand how much their children depended on them. Despite the Walls’ lifestyle, it was through their hardships that they became the people they are today and if they children were placed into foster care, the result could have been entirely different. Although the three of the four Walls children are successful today, it could have been possible for all the children to be successful if Rex and Rose Mary were better parents.
Works Cited
Epstein, Robert. "What Makes a Good Parent?" Scientific American Mind 21.5 (2010): 46-51. Print.
"Facts on Foster Care in America - ABC News." ABCNews.com - Breaking News, Latest News & Top Video News - ABC News. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. <http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/FosterCare/story?id=2017991>.
Walls, Jeanette. The Glass Castle. New York: Scribner, 2005. Print.
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