Another email, from another parent. "You sound like you don't think very highly of parents. What evidence do you have that parents aren't doing their job? Your posts are insulting and judgmental"
What evidnce do I have that parents today aren't doing a good job? Where do I begin...the evidence could fill a book. Many books, in fact.
At a restaurant recently, two teen boys were cursing up a bluestreak while their parents stood by and didn't say a word. I often hear parents calling their kids "stupid," "dummy," moron," "no good," "lazy" and so on. Kids will up or down to your expectations, but many parents are too damned wimpy to set standards or expectations. That might mean they'll actually have to do something when the kid misbehaves. Lord forbid Mom should get up off the computer or Dad should get up from the TV. The world is full of armchair parents. Hey, Dear Parent! Raising children is NOT a spectator sport!
More evidence: Teen girls walking around looking like hoochie mamas. "Princess" on the bottom of her short, short shorts. "Made you look" across the chest of a T-shirt that was well filled out. Boys with pants so baggy, the crotch is at their knees. There's your sign...
Dear Parent, is it realy your desire to see your daughter's emulating the Hooters waitresses, or your son's emulating the prison culture? I, for one, don't want to look at your daughter's cleavage, her belly button, or any other part of her intimate anatomy. I do not want to see your son's butt crack or his underwear.
More coming soon.
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2 comments:
I agree with you 100%. I have an example of how parents feel that their children can do no wrong. A friend brought her son over for a visit. The child was about 10 years old. My dog had just had puppies, and I had shown the puppies to the child. We had decided to go outside and I told the child not to go near the puppies with out me, and we left the house. I closed both the kitchen door and the door to the outside. After being outside for about 20 minutes, the child come running around the corner of the house with blood running down the side of his face. It turns out that he went through 2 closed doors to see the puppies and my dog bit him on the ear. It wasn't as severe as it could have been, she basically nipped him, but the mom was all in a tizzy. She asked "what are you going to do about the dog?" I replied "Nothing, what are you going to do about your son? You were right there when I told him not to go near the dog with out me there." Well she wasn't happy, and my dog had to be quarantined for 10 days, but I had witnesses that said I had secured the dog and the kid was told not to go near her. It could have been worse, I could have had to put my dog down. It goes to show that parents just dont think the rules apply to their kids. I remember when I was a kid, if Mrs Jones told my dad I was in her flowers, I had better be able to prove I was somewhere else, as Mrs Jones was right until or unless I could prove different. My daughter is six and the same thing applies to her. If another adult comes to me and says that they saw my child doing something, I am apt to believe the adult. Nowadays parents don't believe that their child is capable of any wrong doing and it is unfortunate. I enjoy your blog and will continue to read it. Thanks...
I do happen to agree that parenting standards have gone downhill a bit.
However, there is some evidence of nature versus nurture. Many great parents struggle with children that do some of what you've described, despite their best efforts.
Judge not lest ye..
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