kah
05-18-2006, 08:55 AM
So I was watching Good Morning America (http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/) this morning, and they asked the question, "How can parents dance without embarrassing their children?"
What the hell has happened to our society that we feel the need to placate children? When I was growing up, if I would've dared asked my disco-dancing parents to please stop dancing, they were embarrassing me, they would've kicked up their heels, danced till they couldn't walk, and made sure everyone in the place knew I was their kid.
Believe me, it helped me grow a thicker skin. And to appreciate individuality. And to accept that my parents would give in to my needs, but my teenage wants were certainly at a low priority. I wasn't indulged, or given anything I didn't earn, including the right to stay home when they went dancing.
This might seem like a small issue, but it's not really. Add this to the concept being taught to our children that there are no winners or losers. Then add the sense of entitlement children are getting because of their parents' desire to give them a better life than they had. Then think about the parents who want their children to blend, to be sheep, or lemurs, because life is easier lived that way. What ever happened to indiviuality, and drive, and ambition, and work ethic?
I say, screw your teen's opinion. Not dancing to spare their feelings is just as bad as giving them your credit card and telling them to spend as much as they like without telling them they are going to have to pay it back.
What the hell has happened to our society that we feel the need to placate children? When I was growing up, if I would've dared asked my disco-dancing parents to please stop dancing, they were embarrassing me, they would've kicked up their heels, danced till they couldn't walk, and made sure everyone in the place knew I was their kid.
Believe me, it helped me grow a thicker skin. And to appreciate individuality. And to accept that my parents would give in to my needs, but my teenage wants were certainly at a low priority. I wasn't indulged, or given anything I didn't earn, including the right to stay home when they went dancing.
This might seem like a small issue, but it's not really. Add this to the concept being taught to our children that there are no winners or losers. Then add the sense of entitlement children are getting because of their parents' desire to give them a better life than they had. Then think about the parents who want their children to blend, to be sheep, or lemurs, because life is easier lived that way. What ever happened to indiviuality, and drive, and ambition, and work ethic?
I say, screw your teen's opinion. Not dancing to spare their feelings is just as bad as giving them your credit card and telling them to spend as much as they like without telling them they are going to have to pay it back.