Whatever happened to parenting?

[akarunway 1]

Not that I was a good parent but my parents were. Too much tv, internet , porno/violence, modern days two parents have to work to buy all the shiny things crammed down their throats by mass media/ big corps? So as a result Big brother has to watch the kids. What a sorry world this has become http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-10-09-school-security_x.htm

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

[Amazon 7]

Hell I think you should have to take classes in parenting.. and you can only have kids if you pass the friggin course.

TOO many people have children as accidents...and or have kids that are cramping their lifestyle.

Just because you can BIOLOGICALLY be a parent....does not mean that you can be.... or should be a parent.

[Lindsey 0]

We just finished a long game of monopoly. My son IS the Slum Lord. Really. The world has changed, but that doesn't preclude one from being a parent.

Before Monopoly we cooked ribs on the grill and cleaned red gatorade (partially) out of the carpet. AND we chased the cat down, cornered him, and caught him out of the bamboo forest next to our house. Now is that quality family time or what??? :)

linz

--
A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

[billvon 3,120]

I don't know that times have changed that much. In - what? - a generation? In the 1970's, heroin was the big scary drug. Kids saw people getting their heads blown off in Vietnam, and porn was readily available on the newsstand. Kids fell down wells, were abducted by kidnappers, and were killed in car crashes. True, a 2 year old was more likely to be killed when he got catapulted through his parent's windshield than by an online predator, but I don't think overall they were significantly more or less safe.

In 1975, teenager death rates were around 85 per 100,000 population. In 1995, that went up to about 205. Today it's around 95; not much different than in 1975.

Nowadays you are more vulnerable to people spying on you, but less likely to die in a car crash. You are more likely to have someone steal your credit cards but less likely to get emphysema from polluted air. Kids have more opportunities to get in trouble online, but are less likely to get lost, and cellphones help parents keep track of kids (and kids can use them to get out of jams.) Today students are more likely to be shot by a disturbed kid with a gun; back then they were more likey to be shot by National Guard or killed in a race riot. All in all I think it mostly balances out.

[akarunway 1]

Quote

We just finished a long game of monopoly. My son IS the Slum Lord. Really. The world has changed, but that doesn't preclude one from being a parent.

Before Monopoly we cooked ribs on the grill and cleaned red gatorade (partially) out of the carpet. AND we chased the cat down, cornered him, and caught him out of the bamboo forest next to our house. Now is that quality family time or what??? :)

linz

Sounds like good times> Did he start w/ the two cheapest properties? More fitting game for todays world me thinks and Speakers Corner> RISK. You can be your own GWB or a big corps. friend and help conquer the world. I loved that game. BUT, it was a game I don't remember getting blowjobs tho

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

[mattaman 0]

Your right on on this. Everything else important in life requires some test of competency before you can get approved. Its easier to have a child than to do the simplest things in life. Children will always suffer the unfaced conflicts in their parents, they cannot avoid absorbing their parents denial, cause they see it, and then have to forget seeing it to survive.

Those stuck in maya, seek to be seen.

[mnealtx 0]

Quote

Hell I think you should have to take classes in parenting.. and you can only have kids if you pass the friggin course.

TOO many people have children as accidents...and or have kids that are cramping their lifestyle.

Just because you can BIOLOGICALLY be a parent....does not mean that you can be.... or should be a parent.

Absolutely agree... well said!!

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[lisamariewillbe 1]

Quote

We just finished a long game of monopoly. My son IS the Slum Lord

I feel your pain, mine are relentless and wont let me make up rules as we play.

Sudsy Fist: i don't think i'd ever say this
Sudsy Fist: but you're looking damn sudsydoable in this

[lawrocket 3]

There are several things that happened to parenting. The first and most important is that many parents nowadays want to be friends with their kids instead of parents to their kids. I understand this. I hope my son likes me. I hope even more that he respects me.

A second thing is that we simply have more parents in the workforce now. Gone are the days when a mother was always there to provide guidance.

Third - gone are the days of societally acceptable punishment.

Fourth - self-esteem is more important than self-respect. Most people, if offered the choice of things they would want their kids to be, say, "I want my kids to be 'happy.'" I think it'd be swell if mine were happy, and that certainly is something that it up there on the list of nice stuff to want for kids, but I'd rather my son be "good" than "happy."

I could go on, but I've got more work to do.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[rehmwa 2]

Quote

Quote

Hell I think you should have to take classes in parenting.. and you can only have kids if you pass the friggin course.

TOO many people have children as accidents...and or have kids that are cramping their lifestyle.

Just because you can BIOLOGICALLY be a parent....does not mean that you can be.... or should be a parent.

Absolutely agree... well said!!

As nice as this sounds, who is going to write the course? Will the standards be designed primarily by direction of Amazon's freaky mush headed liberals or by Mnealtx's religious wacko rePUBICans?

Or, even better, by some consensus set of standards by various sicko-intern-molesting public "servants" of both parties?

When people say classes are needed, what they really mean is that they'd like to personally make that decision. They might be good at it, but that's not really the point.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[lawrocket 3]

Why must you ruin a perfectly good idea with pragmatism?

Although I like your idea from a political standpoint, for it bridges the gap between left and right. My personal thought is that the pro-abortion crowd and the teacher's unions are in cahoots with the reactionary right here. It calls for licenses for private sexual conduct (a right wing reactionary idea) enforced by compelled abortion (a left wing idea worthy of Chairman Mao) and classes for the licenses (a huge cabal for teacher's unions - no home schooling allowed there!)

A sweet power grab for all, says I!

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[mnealtx 0]

*shaking head at y'all*

I was thinking more along the lines of the Effective Parenting classes that the military does... instruction on crisis resolution, problem solving and things like that. Teaching the parents how to be more effective without being a dictator or a pushover...

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[SkyDekker 1,465]

Parenting? Isn't that what teachers are for?

[StreetScooby 5]

Quote

There are several things that happened to parenting. The first and most important is that many parents nowadays want to be friends with their kids instead of parents to their kids. I understand this. I hope my son likes me. I hope even more that he respects me.

A second thing is that we simply have more parents in the workforce now. Gone are the days when a mother was always there to provide guidance.

Third - gone are the days of societally acceptable punishment.

Fourth - self-esteem is more important than self-respect. Most people, if offered the choice of things they would want their kids to be, say, "I want my kids to be 'happy.'" I think it'd be swell if mine were happy, and that certainly is something that it up there on the list of nice stuff to want for kids, but I'd rather my son be "good" than "happy."

I have a very simple strategy that I pursue here. My children reply to me with "Yes, Sir", or "No, Sir". Similar for their mother. Likewise they will refer to all adults as Mr. or Mrs. All of my childrens' friends will refer to me using Mr. End of story. No exceptions allowed.

It drives me nuts when I see adults allowing children to address them by their first name, as if they're peers. I quickly lose respect for that adult, because they are no longer in a position of authority with that child. They are now just friends.

It's part of my culture to do this, and I'm proud of it. Everything else follows from that.

We are all engines of karma

[unformed 0]

Quote

Parenting? Isn't that what teachers are for?

No no no. You got it all wrong. Parenting is done by TVs and radio. It's the teachers who take the blame because they don't have enough money to fight back.

This ad space for sale.

[SkyDekker 1,465]

true, though I'd be pretty pissed if any teacher took my kids to a some damn art museum....

[unformed 0]

Quote

true, though I'd be pretty pissed if any teacher took my kids to a some damn art museum....

no shit. this culture stuff is for all the goddamn hippies and lefties. us real men don't need any of that crap.

This ad space for sale.

[SkyDekker 1,465]

Word

[NCclimber 0]

Quote

*shaking head at y'all*

I was thinking more along the lines of the Effective Parenting classes that the military does... instruction on crisis resolution, problem solving and things like that. Teaching the parents how to be more effective without being a dictator or a pushover...

With a few lectures (double entendre intended) on the amount of responsibility that goes along with making babies.

On a different note, my wife told me about something called Parental Peer Pressure. It's about other parents trying to tell you what is appropriate or inappropriate for your children. "Oh, come on, all the girls in the sixth grade are getting tattoos".

[lawrocket 3]

Quote

My children reply to me with "Yes, Sir", or "No, Sir". Similar for their mother. Likewise they will refer to all adults as Mr. or Mrs. All of my childrens' friends will refer to me using Mr. End of story. No exceptions allowed.

I agree with that, although I'm fine with "dad" or "mom." "Yes, sir" just seems a little too "Butters" to me, now.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[Amazon 7]

Quote

Absolutely agree... well said!!

Holy Shit.. isnt that

[mnealtx 0]

Quote

Quote

Absolutely agree... well said!!

Holy Shit.. isnt that

Hey, there's only 5 there... you start without me, or what??

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[Andy9o8 2]

Quote

My children reply to me with "Yes, Sir", or "No, Sir". Similar for their mother.

Whoa. I see you have a "traditional" marriage.

[StreetScooby 5]

Quote

although I'm fine with "dad" or "mom."

So am I.

We are all engines of karma

[Rebecca 0]

Quote

Quote

although I'm fine with "dad" or "mom."

So am I.

As I blossomed into a perfectly lovable teenager, I noticed something peculiar:

"Mom" didn't work anymore. I could say it all I wanted, "Mom.... Mom.... Mom..."

Finally I had to use "FRAN!" to get a response.



Strangely, "Mom" seems to work again.

you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel loquacious?' -- well do you, punk?