#Voyager gets a pass because they're literally lost in space

[glimblshanks]

I know I'm not the first to point out how insane it is that Starfleet puts daycares on their ships, but as someone who grew up in a maritime family and spent a lot of time on boats as a kid I really can't express enough just what a baffling world building decision that is.

Like my dad used to work on cargo ships, he would sometimes be gone for months at a time for work. It sucked! But growing up on a cargo ship would have sucked more. Boats like that are socially isolating and dangerous for the adults on board, raising a kid on one would be down right abusive.

I'm friends with a lot of people who grew up in the local fishing community. Commercial fishing is incredibly dangerous and most of them had family members died at sea when they were kids. It's terrible and tragic, but do you know what would be more terrible and tragic? Actual children living and dying on those fishing boats.

My older sister was a little kid when my dad was still working on submarines. He missed a significant amount of her early childhood while he was enlisted and I know he still regrets it. But he'd sure regret it more if his four year old had been living on a nuke sub in the middle of the god damn Cold War.

You would never put schools and daycares on working vessels irl because that would be blatant child endangerment, but somehow, dispite the fact that almost every ship we see in Star Trek is a merchant or military ship, it suddenly becomes okay when it's in space? An environment even more dangerous and deadly than the ocean???

Who's untopian future is that? I am so serious. That Ferengi in Rascals was right - it's awful and fucked up that starfleet officers bring their kids onto ships with them. What is wrong with these people?