If you were to make a list of people with whom to share parenting tips, it seems likely that Russell Brand, the stand-up comedian, serial shagger, raconteur and former addict, would place fairly low. But I did feel a flicker of empathy while reading a recent interview in which the reformed reprobate described his aversion to children’s play dates. “There’s nothing playful about a play date,” he said. “It’s an unrestrained, unmanaged, dangerous experiment that places my precious, perfect little girl in the company of anonymous, unvetted potential arseholes.”
如果你要列一張「育兒技巧分享者」名單，那麼羅素•布朗德(Russell Brand)——脫口秀喜劇演員、連環追逐異性者、善於講故事者和曾經的癮君子——的位次恐怕會非常低。但最近我讀到一篇對他的訪談時，忍不住產生了一絲共鳴。這位洗心革面的無賴講述了他對兒童「玩伴聚會」(play date)活動的厭惡。他說：「玩伴聚會一點兒也不好玩。這是一種毫無約束、缺乏管理、危險的實驗，使我那完美的寶貝女兒和一羣無名無姓、未經審覈的混蛋在一起。」