I've had it! (This first and maybe only Fastcar Rant)

[fastcar]

I don't watch Good Morning America or My Super Sweet 16 whatever the heck it's called, but two stories came out this past week that have got me friggin' pissed.

THIS PANDERING TO TEENAGERS HAS TO STOP! When do we as a society tell our kids NO? (http://messageboard.cinescape.com/cinescape/forums/showthread.php?t=1195) as Kah wrote. I agree!

GMA had that segment where they asked the question, "How can parents dance without embarrassing their children?" and Super Sweet 16 has filmed a segment where Kanye West will be brought in to sing at one of the girls birthday parties. It was discovered that Kanye had already done this for a kid in the past. Now Kid "B" is pissed because she wasn't the first and only one to have had West at her party.





So, I am going to write a book. It's called,
I Beat My Kids So You Won't Want To.
This premise is that you see one of these kids on Super Sweet 16 or the GMA segment, you want to smack them. Then you realize, is it really their fault? Did the parents perhaps miss a memo about raising their kids? How do you right the wronged ship?
I was at the movies last week and I saw a kid with his jeans waaaay to big for him and hanging off his ass. The only positive thing I could think to say is that I probably could steal his wallet and he wouldn't be able to chase me, he'd be too busy keeping his pants up.
Case in point, Listen to Dennis Leary's "No Cure For Cancer" track #3 Rehab.

Here are some of the chapters.
YOU'RE GROUNDED: GO TO MY ROOM!
This chapter outlines the dangers of giving kids everything they want, Game Consoles, Phone Lines, Internet Access, they'll never leave their own room. I have a bed, a dresser, a lamp, and a 2nd floor window with no trees near it. That's punishment!

OUTLET COVERS: EFFECTIVE AS CHILD PROOF CAPS.
How we try to put kids in a plastic bubble only to smother them like it were a plastic bag.

KIDS FASHION: DRESSING LIKE PARIS OR BRITNEY IS A GOOD THING?
We explore the world of kids fashion and wonder why kids make a top 25 list.

ROLE MODELS: I WANNA BE LIKE BARRY AND T.O.!
What happened to our heroes?

BLAMING THE MEDIA: MY STUDENT SHOT YOUR HONOR STUDENT!
When I was 13, I saw Die Hard in the theater, Revenge of the Ners on HBO, and played WAR in the backyard with fireworks. I'm fine. Why is it the fault of the DOOMs, Rammsteins, and Janet Jacksons of the world that our kids are screwed up?


That's it. I feel better.
Digest, Rinse, Repeat....

[Bill_the_Pony]

Pandering to kids has always been around. Advertising has always thrived off of it. (remember the Soupy Sales scandal several decades ago, where he urged kids to take money out of Dad's wallet?) :(

Because they whine. They bitch. They moan. They threaten. They throw tantrums. They try every trick in the book and then some to get what they want.

When they're babies, they cry, and scream. You hear it every time you go to a flippin' retail store. EVERY TIME. Even so, annoying as it is, they trade that in for more intelligent tricks as they get a little older. I love the bargaining one. And the begging.

Mix all this with the parents' attitude (and a CLICHE one at that) that they want the kid to have everything they didn't have as kids....and you have matches and gasoline.

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad I am not heterosexual. That's MY rant. :smirks:


ps....I hope your book becomes a bestseller!

[Queen Mae]

My best friend lives in a very affluent neighborhood and I cannot even begin to describe the abhorrent behavior of the children in that community; but the parents are worse than the children.

I was in Victoria's Secret last month and a woman was there for an appointment (I didn't know you could make appointments at VS, but whatever). She was in the dressing room while her two daughters, under the age of 7, were outside running amok in the store. They were taking the bras out of the drawers and throwing them everywhere - sometimes they'd bring the bras to her dressing room and throw them at her. The woman's response "You're interrupting my appointment, Priscilla" (yeah, she actually named her daughter Priscilla). She didn't bother to come out of the dressing room to stop her children from running around. She just casually yelled at them. Her final threat was this "If you two don't stop misbehaving I won't take you to get your nails done!" Again, these girls were under 7 and she was already paying for them to have manicures.

She did make one comment to her children of "You're embarrassing me." I was in the dressing room next to her and I said "No, you're embarrassing yourself," but I don't think she heard me.

[Bill_the_Pony]

They don't call you Queen Mae for nothing! :D :hugs:

[kah]

Preach on Brother Fastcar!

My parents hit me, grounded me (sometimes for months), and told me that if I wanted to cry (as in:throw a tantrum), then they'd give me something to cry about. It all worked, too. Eventually.

The problem is that parents don't back up their threats. Kids know it, and exploit it.