Irresponsible Parenting

[Ayen]

Right, so, before you and the gang go off to destroy the Mako Reactor in Sector 5 Tifa leaves Marlene alone to take care of the bar. Because, you know, that's not irresponsible at all. I'm sure this will in no way come back to bite our heroes in the ass.

Tifa: Hey, Aerith, can you go get the child I left alone at the bar?
Aerith: Kay.
Gets kidnapped by Shinra

Oh, AVALANCHE.

Discuss.

[Jiro]

A lot of parents end up kicking the bucket in this game. It's hard to be a responsible parent when there is something even more important than your own child at stake. Barret sums it up best when he's talking to Elmyra at her house pre-HQ assault.

[Ayen]

A lot of parents end up kicking the bucket in this game. It's hard to be a responsible parent when there is something even more important than your own child at stake. Barret sums it up best when he's talking to Elmyra at her house pre-HQ assault.

Seriously?

They leave an eight year old in charge of a bar in a bad neighborhood. I don't see how this is acceptable in any setting.

[Jiro]

How is it a bad neighbourhood? Are you making that assumption based on the fact that it is a slum? One of the bar's most frequent patrons is Johnny who has a hard on for Tifa and would protect Marlene with his life; Sector 7 could very well be a close knit community.

The idea that an eight-year-old could be left in charge of the bar is horrific at best, but that is still assuming our standards apply. Besides: it doesn't appear that they have a separate home; perhaps she merely locked the doors and stayed there. Taking her along on a terrorist attack doesn't seem like better parenting. I would have liked to see her go next door and staff with Johnny's family, but again, there is no guarantee that his family didn't look after her anyway given that Johnny was leaving town and they would be without a kid for the first time in forever.

Also, yeah, sometimes there are bigger fish to fry.

Elmyra
"You're her father!? How in the world could you ever leave a child alone like that!?"


Barret
"...please don't start with that. I think about it all the time. What would happen to Marlene, if I..."
"But you gotta understand somethin'... ...I don't got an answer. I wanna be with Marlene... But I gotta fight."
"'Cause if I don't... the planet's gonna die."
"So I'm gonna keep fightin'!"
"But, I'm worried 'bout Marlene. I really just wanna be with her... always."
"See? I'm goin' in circles, now."

No point protecting your daughter if she's gonna die along with everyone else far before their time, right? If you've got the power to fight, isn't it your responsibility to do so?

[Ayen]

How is it a bad neighbourhood? Are you making that assumption based on the fact that it is a slum? One of the bar's most frequent patrons is Johnny who has a hard on for Tifa and would protect Marlene with his life; Sector 7 could very well be a close knit community.

I'm making that assumption based on being robbed blind in a train and a kid trying to hustle me out of money to sleep in his bed.

I forgot about Johnny, though. And locks.

[Jiro]

Anybody could be on that train; it doesn't necessarily have to be a Sector 7 resident. The kid hustling you is simply a kid trying to make some money. He's not letting you sleep in his bed and then pinching your wallet. It's a straight business transaction! RPG Heroes get it easy; they think they can take stuff and sleep wherever they want!

[Jinx]

Honestly, I think you're assuming that Marlene is innocent and too childish. If she's growing up in Midgar, she's probably actually very mature for her age. She LIVES in the bar. She knows what to do. She'll be fine.

[Shorty]

Nah a kid's a kid. Irresponsible.

[Parker]

Marlene would bottle any trying to mess with her, imo

[Ayen]

Anybody could be on that train; it doesn't necessarily have to be a Sector 7 resident. The kid hustling you is simply a kid trying to make some money. He's not letting you sleep in his bed and then pinching your wallet. It's a straight business transaction! RPG Heroes get it easy; they think they can take stuff and sleep wherever they want!

Sector 7 resident or not, said person causing trouble doesn't have to be directly from that sector. RPG heroes are jackasses, though. You mentioned Johnny, so we'll assume Johnny is watching from afar and the locks that never exists when you're going into other people's homes.

Honestly, I think you're assuming that Marlene is innocent and too childish. If she's growing up in Midgar, she's probably actually very mature for her age. She LIVES in the bar. She knows what to do. She'll be fine.

Well, the game doesn't do a good job of showing me a child who grew up in the slums and know how to fend for herself and it's still early in the game. What am I supposed to think? She seem pretty innocent in Advent Children as well, so that doesn't help.

Marlene would bottle any trying to mess with her, imo

Molotov Cocktail?

[Jiro]

Nah, just straight up glass a smurfer. She's a rough n tumble sort, I'm sure.

[Ayen]

Nah, just straight up glass a smurfer. She's a rough n tumble sort, I'm sure.

I now want to see this happen.

[Pumpkin]

Marlene has the Ultima materia

[Big D]

Isn't Marlene only four in FFVII?

Either way, I agree with those who've said that, in the grant scheme of things, leaving her at the bar wasn't necessarily the worst option. Sector 7 has got some good people in it, and I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have expected Marlene to operate the bar while she was there - just to sit tight until they got back.

[Mercen-X]

I agree with the OP. Nothing against the neighborhood, but you don't leave a four-year-old child home alone under any circumstances. If they had left somebody else there to take care of her (Tifa, Jessie, some waitress, or, hell, even Johnny) that would be understandable. I don't care how tough or mature you think Marlene is, she is a four-year-old girl alone in a bar and to express any kind of sympathy for these people who have abandoned her just speaks volumes of your personal regard for a child's well-being. We're not simply speaking of her physical safety, a child has be around responsible and caring adults to ensure they develop a healthy outlook and emotional state.

There are fathers who go off to war and parents who work in law enforcement who may die on the job, but they do not leave their children home alone. Four years is not an appropriate age to assume your child can take care of his or herself even if it should happen to be true. She's a human being, not a pet you have tied up in the backyard.

I apologize if I've insulted anybody but you might glean from this I'm pretty passionate when it comes to this stuff. I may not be a parent but I damned well know a four-year-old kid can't be left alone because I've been that kid. Thank you and good night.