Spoil me rotten, because you're a bad parent if you don't!

The place to go for debate on politics, religion, sex, and other tasty topics!
Post Reply
Feuerstein
Deck Swabber
Deck Swabber
Posts: 538
Joined: Mon Feb 26, 2007 10:07 pm
Location: Something doesn't make sense here....
Contact:

Spoil me rotten, because you're a bad parent if you don't!

Post by Feuerstein »

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22441984/?GT1=10645

When I was a kid, it was Pokemon cards that kids went wild about, stole from each other, had fistfights in the hallway over, etc.

Now, apparently, it's fake-blonde teenage superstars. (Actually, that sounds a little like Britney Spears, so maybe it's not so different.)

I don't say any of this to rat on Miley Cyrus or her TV show or anything. What little I've seen of the TV show has seemed pretty well done. (I've honestly never heard her music. ^^") Good for her for becoming the children's fad of the decade. She's about as well known as Harry Potter.

But this is the second story I've found in which parents did some crazy scheme to win tickets to one of her concerts! The first one was a father standing with his hand on a giant statue of Hannah Montana (she has her own statue??) for six days straight (with meals being catered to him so he didn't have to move!) in order to win concert tickets. He one other mother, and decided to let her have the cash prize. So... do these parents just have some really awesome bosses who know how important Hannah Montana tickets are and were willing to let them off work for a week to win them? Or were their vacations just so boring they didn't mind standing in one place for six days straight? (Here's the url for that article: http://www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/stories ... arch_story

Now to the article at hand. The contest was to write an essay to win Hannah Montana contest tickets. So the woman and her 6-year-old daughter (who is either extremely shrewd for her age, or her mother is insanely competitive) sat down an wrote an essay. They just didn't bother to write a truthful essay. Maybe the mother didn't know essays aren't supposed to be fictional, because then they are short stories. But I'm pretty sure she knew full well she was deceiving people. After all, the subject of her daughter's "essay" was about how she'd lost her father in Iraq. And she describes this as "doing whatever she had to to win." I suppose she thinks she's being very clever by playing on the sentiments of other people to get what she wants. To me that just shows a huge disrespect to the soldiers fighting in Iraq. All she's doing is greedily taking advantage of the sacrifice they're making. And in my opinion, it doesn't matter if you're pro- or anti- the war in Iraq, you do NOT disrespect those men and women fighting over there. It was like a punch in the gut to read that this woman had used them as a way to make sure she won the contest. It's not even imaginative anyway. Anyone would be moved by the story of a little girl who lost her father in a hugely controversial war.

What on earth is going on that parents are getting as wrapped up in this poor, over-hyped star as their kids? It's nothing new for parents to go even more crazy than their kids over some new fad. And here I lived under the impression that parents are supposed to set a good example for their kids. I suppose this woman is teaching her daughter how to be clever and a go-getter. In the process, teaching her honesty is cheap and other people's feelings don't matter. Well, I guess which is more important is a matter of opinion, but someone should point out to this lady that selfishness has only ever caused war and plague and pestilence!

I wonder how Miss Miley Cyrus feels, being the most sought-after girl in the country.

I've rambled long enough, now what are your thoughts?
Steyn: Oh sweety, no, the elvis boys are across the street at the wolverine forum
Tessa: LMAO
Steyn: here we do Paul Young
fourpawsonthefloor
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 3958
Joined: Tue Nov 09, 2004 3:49 pm
Title: Executive Administrator

Spoil me rotten, because you're a bad parent if you don't!

Post by fourpawsonthefloor »

Some parents are really crazy. It IS like a competition. What can you spoil your kid with next and proove that you are that much better! I mean...a lot of it is because you'd do anything for your kid. You love to see them happy. But some parents seem to forget that material stuff/trips/money /= happyness.

It drives me nuts at how over the top somethings get. For example birthdays - I know one mom who I adore, but she took 30 kids to a gym and hired a 'princess' and pizza/balloons/goodie bags ect...so it had to cost at the very least $700. That to me is crazy.

So...you take all these kids who have always had everything handed to them - if they want something they just go to mom and dad. Job? Babysitting? Nah - the parents want them to 'enjoy' their youth and 'focus' on school. So what do you get? A young adult who has no idea of how the world works. They are upset when their parents won't just buy them stuff anymore. They figure that they should have a 'fantastic' job and will not 'settle' for a lesser job until they can find something that is 'suited' to them. They are not prepared. They are shocked that things don't just flow to them. And parents are baffled and frusterated that their kids won't stop being spoiled shits and won't stop sponging off of them. It disempowers the kids and sets them up for failure in a lot of ways. No one wins.

I never asked my parents for anything or for money past 16. I had a job, and saved for it myself, paid for my own gas, ect. By then my parents had taught me how to save - so half of all my birthday money, wage, ect went into savings for college, and another quarter went into 'general' savings. This set me up for a good and debt free adulthood - I ended up using that 'general' savings for a down payment on our first home.

I do spoil my kids a bit. They got a wii and about $100 each in gifts for Christmas. They have chores to do though, and they have to save their money for things that they want to buy - I don't buy it for them. They get presents on the holidays - small ones on easter and valentines day and bigger ones on their birthday and Christmas.

As soon as they hit 13, they will be babysitting. When they hit 15-16, they'll be getting a job, and helping save for their college/university - we're helping, not footing the whole bill. We can afford to provide more for our kids. But they don't need that - they already have a ton of things. What they need more than toys or other material things is a good life perception.

As for that article - WONDERFUL values to be teaching your kid. Lying and fraud. Way to go mom!

Paws
Image
I'm actually quite pleasant until I'm awake.
User avatar
NachtcGleiskette
Dread Pirate
Dread Pirate
Posts: 3173
Joined: Tue Jan 14, 2003 6:45 am
Title: The Ragin' Cajun
Location: NY

Spoil me rotten, because you're a bad parent if you don't!

Post by NachtcGleiskette »

Personally, I think it's unfair to blame the kid. That's a 6 year old who's going to be sorely disappointed because the tickets she believes she won are being taken away. In essense, she's being punished for the stupid shit her mother pulled. And that's not fair to anyone, to the other contestants, but especially, to that little girl. Because not only is what she's probably over excited about being taken away, she's learned a shitty lesson.

Young children look to their parents for right and wrong. And instilling these kinds of ideas in their heads just leads to feelings of entitlement, selfishness, and dishonesty. Why win something fairly when you can cheat? You still win. Right?

The mother is an asshole, and the worst part is that she will likely not teach her daughter the important lesson here. Likely, the lesson this girl will learn is "Mommy tried, and look how mean this corporation is!" Dishonesty is dishonesty.
"If you live your life to please everyone else, you will continue to feel frustrated and powerless. This is because what others want may not be good for you. You are not being mean when you say NO to unreasonable demands or when you express your ideas, feelings, and opinions, even if they differ from those of others.â€
Saint Kurt
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 2151
Joined: Wed Jan 28, 2004 3:43 am
Title: Derelict Landlord
Location: Watch out for that cow pie!

Spoil me rotten, because you're a bad parent if you don't!

Post by Saint Kurt »

Good point Nacht. Who knows how this will play out in a 6 year old mind.

It sucks that even though the woman did a terrible thing (on many different levels), her daughter is a victim no matter what the outcome.

You know, even though it stunk while it was happening there truly are times when I'm glad I had the upbringing I did. I may have missed out on some of the really good things, but one of the things growing up with alcoholic/crazy people instilled in me early on was a sense of responsibility, independence, and self-reliance. Most important was the lesson was if there was something out there that I wanted, I had to want it bad enough to be willing to go out there and get it myself, because nobody else was going to get it for me.

It seems like it's becoming harder and harder to teach solid (dare I say?) values as kids grow up. (And I'm not talking about that Dan Quayle "family values" crap - just the sense of self-integrity.)

I wish you well paws and all the moms and dads out there!

-e
Image
Feuerstein
Deck Swabber
Deck Swabber
Posts: 538
Joined: Mon Feb 26, 2007 10:07 pm
Location: Something doesn't make sense here....
Contact:

Spoil me rotten, because you're a bad parent if you don't!

Post by Feuerstein »

Another article concludes the issue: http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx ... 4&GT1=7701

I'm glad the mother apologized. I think her eyes are now opened to what she really did. Though I feel bad for the little girl having the prize taken away, I think it was the right thing to do. So many other contestants who submitted legal entries were jipped by this woman's bad decision. The little girl will get over her disappointment and hopefully learn from her mother's mistake.
Steyn: Oh sweety, no, the elvis boys are across the street at the wolverine forum
Tessa: LMAO
Steyn: here we do Paul Young
User avatar
german_gremlin
Shoulder Parrot
Shoulder Parrot
Posts: 146
Joined: Mon Dec 17, 2007 1:47 am
Location: in my bubbly sudsy bathtub

Spoil me rotten, because you're a bad parent if you don't!

Post by german_gremlin »

The funny thing is that the dad ahd no idea..and the grandmother ratted the mom out!:shocked
"Hand over your beautiful venches, Captain Eagle...or face the wrath of the Dread Pirate Bluetail!"
Nightcrawler: "...I'm fine ...why are the gypsies dancing the lambada --?" #UXM 366
Post Reply