everything that glitters is definitely gold in the eyes of a child...T-shirts stamped with "spoiled" and "brat" and "princess" grace the bodies of countless little girls everywhere...the pretty sparkles that twinkle at every turn send the message that "i am special"...

of course, every child is unique and precious in the eyes of their parents...but with more and more ideas/products marketed for even four and five year olds, are we doing the right thing by telling them that it is okay to be so "special" that it means certain rules do not apply?

the princess syndrome is a pervasive phenomenon that enables little girls to walk around wearing enormous (albeit invisible) crowns...it never occurs to them that the answer will be "no"...and even if it is, there are certainly ways to encourage someone to change that answer...

this strong sense of entitlement that exists within these very precocious heads does not prepare them for the real world...

i hesitate to easily label them as "spoiled" because that is too simple an explanation...and yet there is a sense of "well, honey, if you dont like that i will make this instead" or "whatever you want, honey, i'll take care of it"...

in wanting them to grow strong and self-confident we are raising them to be expectant and demanding...

or so it seems...what do you think...

s

I think that this isn't just a problem with little girls these days. There's just as many bratty spoiled boys out there. I think that as generations pass parents want to provide more and more for their children, (give their kids what they never had) and often kids aren't made to do without much of anything these days. Thus they don't really appreciate everything they have because it's handed to them the minute they begin to whine. Also I think a reason for this is that a lot of parents are scared to discipline their children. Things aren't the way they use to be. Families hardly even eat dinner together these days. Core values and manners aren't being taught to a lot of children in my opinion. Kids aren't always taught that they have to work hard to get what they want or that you have to earn things in life. Just tonight I was watching America's funniest home videos and there was a video of a girl throwing a tantrum doing a dance recital because her grandfather wasn't paying close enough attention to her. She was up on stage stomping and pointing, and because of that she won the show and got 10,000 bucks. Nothing like saying tantrums are bad like 10,000 dollars in your pocket. So as for the statment of "in wanting them to grow strong and self-confident we are raising them to be expectant and demanding..." I don't really know if I agree. I don't think a lot of parents today are thinking I want my kid 'to grow up strong and self-confident" I think they're are just thinking about getting by day to day. "what can I do to keep them busy and out of my hair" 'how can I make them stop screaming" 'how can I make parenting easier on myself' basically. Parenting in my opinion is the most important job a person can have and I think a lot of people today don't take that job seriously. It's just something that's taken for granted. Something they go through the motions with. Thus bratty children run amuck and their numbers will only continue to grow.

thats very tru
Hannah Montana is a big influence on them and not just 4-5 yrs old like 3-8 yrs old and its teaching em to get anything they want but theyll never learn

I couldn't say it better LadyT. It seems children are given things to keep them occupied instead of the quality time they need with their parents. I noticed this with my grand daughter. She screams and yells at home but never when she's with me. I watched her while her parents worked for three years. We spent the day gardening, doing chores, reading but always we did these things together. I think it makes all the difference in the world. Children need our interaction, and not sitting in front of the telly or playing with a gameboy.

Arggh Hannah Montana!! Whenever a see a commercial with her on it I feel like my ears and eyes are going to start bleeding haha. But I agree shows and celebrities like that seriously influence the children of today. And it goes for teenagers as well, with shows like 'the hills' and 'the o.c'. Of coarse I'm not saying all teenagers and all children are like this but a good handful of them. I have cousins that think they need designer everything! So annoying. They live in a somewhat small house and their parents seem to be scraping by but they buy them all the new clothes they want. It's just riduculous. Also I just think children's toys today are just well riduculous. I can't think of new words to use, it must be bed time. Anyway as I was saying it seems like kids toys today leave them no room for imagination. I remember being little and being entertained by a cardboard box for an entire day, sometimes days provided the box help up. We'd color on it and it would become a club house or a rocket ship. We'd use our imaginations to play safari in our backyard for hours upon hours. It's so hard to keep little kids occupied today. I babysat on of my 4 year old cousins a couple months ago and was trying to get him to 'pretend' and he just looked at me like I was a complete weirdo and asked to watch a movie haha. I was just at a loss.

One of the things I love about RP here is it is very much like playing pretend. Our youth need to stretch their imaginations not get stuck in front of the tube all day. I'll play pretend with you ladyT.

@Oracle I completely agree. Most of the things i've learned in life came from interacting with my mom and my grandma. Helping out on the farm, cooking, cleaning, doing yard work. We'd walk through the zoo and my mom would read the write ups on the animals to use. We'd go to the museum and she'd explain stuff about the different exhibits. We'd go camping and she'd tell us what was poisonous and what wasn't, how to survive if we ever got separated. Now it just seems like everywhere I go the parents are on their cell phones and the kids are running ahead pushing through people and screaming. At the zoo their banging on the glass, at the museum their climbing on things they shouldn’t etc. And if the kids run up to their parents and say ‘mommy daddy look’ the parents quickly hush them and tell them to stop being so annoying, instead of nurturing that excitement and using it as a time to pass on some knowledge. It’s just so frustrating.


Edit: hehe thanks Oracle! It was so weird that he had no idea about pretending though. No not just weird but sad. He couldn't even imagine what clouds looked like. But his mom decided I didn't watch him correctly because I guess he didn't have enough fun so I doubt I'll get to babysit again

hannah montana is just another example of setting little girls on a pedestal...and have you watched her show and others like it?...there is such a heavy vein of sarcasm that runs through it and it is almost "cute" for little girls/young adolescents to behave that way when in reality it comes across as uncouth...

as far as little boys, i considered mentioning it, but that has a longer history...in many cultures, mine as well, it is perfectly acceptable to do everything for little boys...they are given everything, rarely scolded/disciplined, treated as "little princes" and the household is there to serve them...

and i agree with oracle, LadyT, your response was thorough and right on target...

i grew up pretending excessively with my sisters...it was how we entertained ourselves...now children lack the capacity to entertain themselves...they have been programmed to be entertained into a docile state (those car dvd players, anyone??)...

s

actually when i was younger, me and my brother would get punished (spanked) alot and my sisters usually got everything

@lrcy333 - as the oldest of three, i typically was disciplined for my doings and those of my sisters as well...so i know how that goes...

s

yes. well what do you expect. People are losing touch with reality and it shows. Welcome to the society where everyone screams "LOOK AT ME"!!! Its like attention defficit overkill. But who cares, I don't really see it as that big of an issue. People will do what they want.

I hate the car dvd player things. It's yet another thing thats riduclous! When we would take car rides my parents would talk to us. We'd sing with the radio together, we'd play i-spy, we'd talk about school. I just want to shake a lot of parents out there and say TALK TO YOU KIDS!

@lord_maeglin - we are now in a fast-food society...where everything is "my way, right away"...we have geared our young adults and children to create icons of themselves...why...because we want them to feel good about themselves and recognize how wonderful and unique they are...

because "everyone is different"...

s

That's why Communism rules!!! All people are equal!!!

@miki - you never fail to make me laugh...lol...

there is no equality...except in death...

s

And Communism ^^


EDIT: AND HELL NO, GIRL, THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO EQUALITY IN DEATH... Depending from which religion's point of view...

Miki you make me laugh

Well, that's what Miki was made for

I agree though that there is hardly equality in death. What happens to us after death is the great unknown so how can it be assumed we're equal? Certain religions believe they are the only ones going to a higher place while every one else will burn in eternal damnation. Also walking through a graveyard you can tell who had money in life and who didn't. Some people have huge monument headstones and some have tiny little plates smashed into the ground. It doesn't scream equality to me. Unless of coarse your not talking about any of that and your just meaning we're all going to be worm food one day.

@miki - you have brought up a valid point because, as you stated, depending on the religion would depend on the deceased person's "state"...some were given sumptuous burials and lavish gifts at their death...others were merely tossed into a "pit", not even receiving the grace of the earth to be covered with dirt...

(and i think that miki enjoys the attention of making some of us laugh...

s