I reassert that advice concerning the child’s well being was unsolicited in the original post. If a colleague over 50 asked for gear recommendations, no one would have recommended that they avoid fieldwork because of the risk for heart attack. We assume they are intelligent enough to take care of themselves.
We need similar assumptions for parents. The original poster probably already spoke with their pediatrician. They may even have a medically trained babysitter joining them at the top of the mountain. We don’t know and it isn’t our business. Instead of assuming the worst of each other, how about assuming the best? In the future, if we are concerned about someone’s life choices, a short email directly to the sender may be the better option. Many young researchers read this forum. We need to be careful what message we send out. This thread showed some terrific support for families in science. Unfortunately, it also showed that many colleagues doubt parenting decisions of others, and that some colleagues think parents can’t be good scientists at all. If we want to diversify science we need to accept those who make decisions different from our own. Good luck to all parents out there who choose to take your kids with you into the field! Lis Lisa Castillo Nelis NSF Postdoctoral Fellow Stanford University Gordon Laboratory Department of Biology Gilbert Building, Room 109 371 Serra Mall Stanford, CA 94305-5020 Phone: 650-725-6791 Email: lne...@stanford.edu Home page: http://www.stanford.edu/~lnelis/
