Home Alone has been harped on for years now since when looking at the movie and idolizing it for the sake of believing that a kid could outsmart two adult burglars and come to learn the value of family, it’s still possible years later to realize just how horrific this story could have been. When it’s painted as a family picture that uses comedy to drown out the idea that Kevin’s family are neglectful at best and abusive at worst, it becomes easier to let go of the more negative aspects as they’re usually seen as problems that can be solved by a heartfelt moment by the end of the movie. But one thing can’t be dismissed, since it’s fair to assume that Kevin’s brothers and sisters are nightmares for the young Kevin, but while his parents aren’t openly abusive of their son, they’re not innocent by any means. The difference is that they act like great, loving parents when given the chance, but at all other times act as though Kevin isn’t even there unless Kevin acts up and thereby forces them to pay attention.
A lot of us have seen kids behave in such a way, right? The youngest child of a large family is usually spoiled rotten and ends up becoming a serious problem, or they somehow get ignored since so much energy goes into raising the older kids that the parents sometimes lose sight of the fact that they do have a younger child that they need to give their love and attention to. Let’s be fair and say that Kevin is a bit of a jerk in the movie since his attitude has reached heights that might have seen a lot of us stuck in a corner or sporting a bruised backside (back in the day at least). But the fact is that when the day comes to leave for Paris and the McCallisters are rushing to get out the door and to the airport, they somehow lose track of their youngest child.
Parents out there might be divided on this issue since large families do take a lot of work and they require more attention and diligence than it would take for one or two children. But there’s still that one question that hangs there, waiting to be answered. How in the world do you forget your kid? Even better is another question. How do you not keep an eye on your kid after leaving them at home the year before? How does Kevin not become a priority after that incident? It’s true that Home Alone might be seen from Kevin’s perspective, meaning that if seen from Kate and Peter’s, things might be very different. But there’s still the thought that these two adults have created a family large enough that they can simply forget a kid when they’re a little bit stressed. The fact that people might defend this in any way is enough to make a person roll their eyes and wonder about the parenting skills of some folks. But it’s not just being left at home or left in the airport to take the wrong flight.
One has to take into account that in the first movie, Kevin is seen as a problem child while other factors are ignored. True, Kevin does come off as a brat at first, but let’s be honest, his siblings aren’t much better since they end up coming off as entitled, privileged kids that are allowed to get away with quite a bit. Allowing Buzz to have a pet tarantula is bad enough, but the fact that he antagonizes his little brother is overlooked more than once. Home Alone 2 proves this when Buzz humiliates Kevin during a school performance. Kevin’s reaction is a bit ill-advised, but the family tribunal that’s convened when they return home is all kinds of ridiculous, especially since Buzz is allowed to have his say and ends up acting regretful when in truth he’s showing that he’s already an established con artist. Worse yet, the family once again unites against Kevin, when his parents should be playing mediator in an attempt to make certain that Buzz is held accountable for his actions, just as much as Kevin.
At the end of the day, Peter and Kate McCallister aren’t guilty of beating their child or even abusing him psychologically or emotionally. But the neglect shown to Kevin and the fact that they leave him behind twice in two movies after moments that saw them condemning their youngest child for actions that weren’t entirely his fault doesn’t make them saints either. The fact that they lost their child twice makes it easy to think that Child Protective Services would have been called by someone at some point. But in the movies, a mix of comedy and drama can fix things in a way that will make them appear charming rather than problematic.
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