January 28, 2004

Best article of the day

This article is the perfect expression of how I feel about today's parents. This article should be handed out at every parent-teacher conference in the Bay Area and should be required reading for new parents. The woman who claims there's too much discipline and kids are expected to act like mini-adults either needs to have her head examined or get out in public far more often. One good round of "Mommymommymommymommymommymommymommymommymommymommyyy!" at a department store or fast food restaurant, where mommy blithely continues checking out the clothes or eating her fries, each day and maybe she'll change her tune. All I ever hear when the parents do finally get worn down into replying are vague threats of taking them home or the other end of the spectrum with terrible unkindness.

I haven't tried it myself, but I know parenting is hard, and it's probably harder now than when we were kids. But so many people are trying so hard to be perfect parents -- an impossible task -- that they end up mired in indecision and constantly second-guess themselves. With the guilt factor from divorce you get spoiled kids, to boot. No boundaries + no discipline + guilt + denial (that their child could ever do something wrong) = holy bloody terrors. Kids are too damn bright not to take advantage of parents they see waivering daily on how to handle them.

*Stepping down off soapbox* Your two cents?