Teaching our kids how the terrorists feel

PBS has come out with a series to teach high school kids how the terrorists feel. It includes interviews with failed suicide bombers, recruiters, etc.

WHY????

We should be teaching our kids that terrorists are the enemy and we should stop them at all costs. Not make them concerned about how hard their lives are and that we should feel bad for them.

There is a time and place for empathy. None of those include anyone that has participated in any activity that was meant to harm other people. These people are evil and should all die. Not be treated as victims for the choices they made to get involved in these groups that seek to kill innocent people.

Are we ready for CO-ED dressing rooms?

A blogger recently wrote a story about an experience a male friend of his had when helping his daughters try on clothes at a department store.

At first I thought, what person would actually complain about this to a manager, but then...I started thinking...this man was with his wife and 2 daughters. Yes, he has the right to help them choose clothing but why didn't his wife go with them into the "ladies" dressing room?

And then I thought, what would have happened if he was a single father with no female to help him in this situation. I'm torn...what should have happened here.

Could he have taken them into the mens changing room? Would that have been preferable? What if his daughters had encountered a man changing in that dressing room? Isn't it possible that they would have been equally as "traumatized" as the daughter of the woman filing the complaint?

The mother that complained most likely worried that her daughter might be seen by someone of the opposite sex and feel uncomfortable by the encounter. Do you really blame her? Would you want a man wandering around the ladies changing room when you are in there trying on clothes? I'm sure seeing little girls wandering around the mens room with their father's is awkward for many men.

Even if the rooms are all private, there really is no true "privacy" when you are in a public place and you're getting naked. Anyone could open the wrong door at the wrong time and...BOOM! Instant awkwardness!

Maybe it's time to install "family" dressing rooms that are larger and in a more neutral location to allow either parent to assist their children. I don't know how this changing area was laid out so it may have been such an intimate setting that there was no way to avoid her daughter running into the man but I think this issue needs to be addressed. There are way more single parents these days that have children of the opposite sex and could be subjected to this practice. Much like the lack of changing tables in mens rooms, we need to have a more universal place for parents to help their kids without being subjected to nasty glares and rude complaints.

When parents enable the entitled teens of today

Mother protests school dress code by wearing daughters dress to graduation

I'm all for letting your kids express themselves and be unique but there are rules that apply to life and they must be followed. If your kids can't even follow the dress code in school, how do you ever expect them to know how to follow rules in real life? Dress code rules are easy to follow. Stop letting them get away with pushing those boundaries! You are the parent...act like it!

This mother decided to protest her daughter being sent home for a skirt that was too short by wearing it to graduation. Way to be a good role model and let your kids know that it's ok to break the rules. This is why we have so many criminals and juvenile delinquents. Kids don't believe there will be any consequences and that someone will always stand up for them if they break the rules.

As we all know, that's not how real like works! Being an adult is all about following rules, laws, etc; not being an entitled ass & learning to adapt to your surroundings with courtesy for others and common sense. I think most kids have never learned some of these skills and the world is definitely going to hell because of it.

Stop forcing discrimination on our kids

Elementary kids call out LEGO for discriminatory play sets

I find this comment from a viewer interesting:
"I have always been frustrated that LEGO decided they had to market separately to boys and girls, and that "girls" sets had to be pink and purple and pastel. Until that point I had not realized that primary colors were for boys only."

Perhaps this is because the commentor is more open minded and doesn't let themselves get pigeon holed into what people think is male or female appropriate. I think we spend way too much time looking for discrimination in everything that we do and it's what is causing the world to be such a negative, bitter place.

Yes, it's great that Lego now wants to make these more "fair" and put more variety in their toys but these kids didn't know the difference until an adult pointed this out...I'm sure of it. They didn't feel discrimination before but now they do and will probably continue to look for this in everything for the rest of their lives.

Congratulations, we've just made a new generation of paranoid, hypocondriacs who will want to sue everyone for some sort of discrimination when things don't go their way.

Ok, maybe most of these kids won't even remember this "project" when they get older but I do not like the fact that this idea of discrimination was placed in their head and then pounded home day after day as they "researched" each play set to see what sort of options were included.

I'm just so sick of kids being taught to hate and look for the bad things at such a young age. They'll figure it out on their own...let them be young and oblivious to the big bad world as long as you can.

Freedom of expression doesn't mean freedom from consequence

Self expression...we all want it but not everyone has the common sense or decency to know when to put that aside to adhere to the rules and laws in place to make us a civilized society. In our example today we are going to talk about dress codes...in public schools. We all had them growing up. They changed with the times to allow or prohibit certain things as fashions changed.

One thing that didn't change was the fact that you were expected to adhere to the dress code when you went to school and your parents made sure of that.

 

It's not a difficult concept. Dress codes are in place to avoid distractions to the learning process because we all konw there are enough things in school to divert your attention from why you are really there.

 

In this story, several yearbook pictures were photoshopped to cover up some additional skin or to correct dress code violations. Parents, student and even rape prevention advocates are in an uproar because of it. Are you kidding me?

 

The problem I see today is that kids will push that envelope as far as they possible can on the grounds of "freedom of expression" and a large portion of parents encourage this. I will never understand why an adult would give their blessing for a child to knowingly break a rule/law just to express themselves. If you want to express yourself...do it on your own time.

 

In school, as in life/work, you will be expected to follow certain rules and if you don't, you will be terminated (one way or another). School is where you are supposed to start learning the skills of interacting with others, following instructions/rules and working toward a goal.

 

If we continually allow our children to break those rules we are going to end up with a world full of self-centered, entitled brats that think only of themselves.

 

OH WAIT! TOO LATE!

 

 

Lord knows they have enough of these horrible examples in the world of pop culture to learn from. How about if we, as parents, teach them that they cannot do whatever they want or they will face consequences. You may be free to express yourself but you are not free from the consequences of your actions.

 

 



Did you get your "fat letter"?

I am so sick of hearing about these schools sending home letters from the health department telling parents their kids are overweight.

Clearly they have no concept of how this can effect children. Most of whom already know if they are actually overweight. Do they think that those of us that are "fat" don't already know it? I'm sure the peers of these kids have made it clear to them that they are "different" but if they haven't, and they are still treated as equals, these letters could be responsible for putting the fear of being "fat" into these kids heads and cause future problems with self-esteem and eating disorders.

Unless the child is morbidly obese and clearly neglected by the parents, the school needs to stay out of it and mind their own business. Their job is to educate...stick to it!

Stop this "Everyone Is A Winner" Crap!

Michigan school sends note home that field day will not be a competition.

Ok, I'm going to say this and I'm sure many will disagree but I'm sick and tired of this "everyone is a winner" mentality!

NOT YOU ARE NOT!

There are many people that are going to suck at a lot of things and you're just going to have to learn to deal with it. You can't win everything, you can't always get your way, and we are not going to celebrate because you did something you were supposed to do anyway!

This goes right along with my dislike of commencement ceremonies for things other than high school and college graduations. You do not need to put on a cap and gown every time you move to a new school. It's ridiculous! I'm ok for recognizing those that excel but I'm sick of everyone being treated as if they were the best thing since sliced bread!

Many of you are not good at things and you need to learn that now so you know how to deal with failure in the future. Life is not a fair or fun place...stop treating kids like they can do whatever they want and be considered a winner!

Ok, sorry...but I'm sick of this mentality and feel it really has caused this horrible sense of entitlement that so many "young folks" have these days!

 

 

 

 

Can we go back in time?

When I listen to the 80'd & 90's stations on Sirius satellite radio I'm transported back to the good old days. The days that I would have classified as "hell" at the time but would kill to relive now. Why do we never realize what we have until it's gone?

Things were so much simpler then. We rode bikes, played outside and the sun going down was our reminder to come home. We weren't absorbed by our electronics, or even the TV, because we knew our neighbors and we played together.

We played flashlight tag, basketball & took time to swing at the playground. We ran through cornfields, caught fireflies & collected locust shells.

Other parents watched out for your kids and you didn't have to worry about tracking your child's whereabouts via an app on their smartphone.

We've come so far but have we gone overboard? We've become so dependent on electronics and we no longer enjoy the world around us.

I wish we could go back and enjoy life again.

Kids these days

Dear parents of teens,
Do you have any idea what your kids are doing online? Do you monitor their social media accounts? Do you know their passwords so you can control what they are doing?

Think this is an invasion of their privacy? Tough...until they grow up and move out, they shouldn't assume they have the right to any privacy at all.

It's pretty easy to identify a kid with parents that don't monitor their online activities. They post provocative pictures of themselves, curse & talk about doing drugs & having sex.

It's clear their parents let them surf the web unchecked. It's possible 90% of their posts are pure fiction...published to make themselves appear more interesting than they really are. But...how do you really know?

Seems too many parents take the "what I don't know won't hurt me" approach. Thinking that there won't be any problems if they ignore the signs.

Had a conversation with Josh about some of the things I've seen posted online in the last few weeks. He then had a talk with one of the girls because she was making jokes about rape. Seriously?!??!?!?!?! Where are the parents these days?

Pay attention, control your kids & be involved...before something bad happens!

Dealing with disappointment

I know that children will eventually do things that disappoint their parents. What I didn't expect was a time when EVERY single action would throw me into an anxiety attack. I pray that someone can tell me a short bout of aggressiveness is normal for all teen boys & that it'll end quickly. Unfortunately, I doubt anyone will be able to give me any assurance that we'll both make it through this unscathed.

The timing couldn't have been much worse. 1 month into my new job & Josh has already been suspended from school twice, for a total of 9 days. Today was his first day back & I get a call that he's no longer allowed to ride the bus because of his behavior. How am I supposed to leave in the middle of the afternoon to pick him up?

Tomorrow I'm taking him to Crosspointe for counseling. I hope with all my being that we are able to find something that gets through to him. He doesn't even understand how many other people are impacted by his obnoxious behavior.

I'm at my wits end with him. I feel bad because I frequently feel like I wouldn't be upset if he were to move away & live with his dad or if he were to go away to boarding school. I don't like feeling that way but more and more often I wonder what would have happened if I'd never gone to Colorado, never gotten married, never had a child. How horrible that I have those thoughts...but I just can't help it!

I hope counseling will help us both.

Breaking the rules won't change them

I've observed a severe disregard for rules and laws lately that greatly concerns me. I don't know if it's the parents or the environment that are to blame but I feel it has reached an unacceptable level.

Children and many adults have no regard for rules, whether they be written or understood, and it's making our society a conflict filled place. It seems everyone is out to prove a point and challenge the rules and laws that are currently in place. Instead of going through the proper channels to make a difference, people break the rules and then try to work it out in court by suing people or causing a huge scene for the tabloids. That achieves nothing except making yourself look bad.

If you feel there are laws or rules in place that are unfair, challenge them but don't do so by breaking them. There are proper channels to make changes...breaking the rules will only make you look foolish and set a poor example for your children.

I found this article on Twitter today and feel that this sort of atitude is exactly what is wrong with the world. Yes, if your kids aren't hurting anyone it's not a big deal to go up the slide; however, when you are out in public, the rules of behavior change. You can't just think of yourself and what you want to teach your children. By letting them think it's ok to break the rules if their judgment tells them it's ok you are opening up the chance for them to test those boundaries in other areas, which could be more dangerous.

Bottom line, children need to be taught that while not all rules or laws make sense in all situations they should be followed unless they could cause bodily harm to someone. Since rules are usually in place to prevent harm, it's best to follow the rules as written and take the appropriate steps to change them if you feel it's necessary.

Too many kids are getting the lesson that it's ok to break the rules if you think they aren't right...IT'S NOT! A world without rules would be complete chaos and it could be dangerous in many situations.

Please, think of the children. They can still be free thinkers without being law breakers as well. Teach them how to change the world, not just how to complain about it.

Don't knock...we're sleeping!

Seriously, this is a sign that I'm forced to put on the door every morning unless I want to be awakened by, what sounds like, Dog the bounty hunter coming to get me.

I forgot to put the sign up last night so I was woken up by the banging...again. I don't know if the kids are incredibly rude or if they just think we are deaf but they will stand outside and bang on the door 3 or 4 times if we don't immediately answer.

I'm voting for "rude" because my house is full of signs w/common sense instructions that these kids don't know. CLOSE THE DOOR, DON'T EAT ALL MY FOOD, PUT TRASH IN THE TRASH, DON'T UNPLUG MY OUTLETS, TURN THE TV OFF.

It's ridiculous that these teenagers don't have any common sense or courtesy whatsoever. What are parents doing today? I know they all work but kids learn by example so what kind of parents do these kids have? I'm scared for their futures.

I hate children...

Seriously, there have been times in the last couple weeks that I have felt that way and had the intense urge to strangle some of them. I used to think that my son (13) was the most ill-mannered, rude child in the neighborhood. This past week, he has appeared (almost) saint-like compared to some of the hooligans that live here.

These kids have no respect for anyone else or their property and are allowed to roam the neighborhood until 1am or later. I can't count the number of red juice stains that I've found on my counters, carpets, etc. Josh's toys always seem to get broken when the other kids are here. They leave electronics and other breakable items laying all over the floor. And they leave the door standing open when the A/C is running. I even put a sign on the door and they still don't close it.

This morning, one of them egged my house because he was mad at Josh. This afternoon, they tried to convince me to take 7-8 people in the back of my car that only carries 5. They swore they would all hide in the back. We aren't going anywhere unless everyone is buckled. Tonight, a group of them came looking for Josh close to 10pm. They knocked once, twice, three times...then opened the screen door and started banging on the glass. If I'd been asleep I would have gone even more ballistic on them than I did.

Seriously, if you knock twice and the door isn't answered, GO AWAY! Especially when all the lights are off. You rude, inconsiderate piece of...sorry! I'm still extremely irritated at how they have behaved today and I'm about to ban them from the house entirely. I don't know how much more I can take.

The apple doesn't fall...Lord Help Me!

My child has been doomed from the start. With only me as a parental influence, he has picked up all of my crazy habits and more. Anyone that has known me for any length of time knows that I have a strange sense of humor and I often say things without truly thinking.

Josh shares my love of laughter and is working on improving his comedic timing. He never fails to make me laugh but some times he fails to ensure the surroundings and audience are appropriate. He can recite just about every line from any Jim Carey movie and knows the comedy routines of Tim Hawkins and Jeff Dunham verbatim. He's even mastered the voices and facial expressions in many scenarios. It's a bit scary at times. He does this one (Subway), including the moves, perfectly!

Of late, he has been more "body concious" and today he asked me if a mani-pedi was something that had to do with a mans private parts. He didn't word it quite that delicately but, you get the point. I'm thankful he feels able to speak freely to me but somethings...I just don't want to know. Frankly, I could have gone my whole life without him ever knowing what other purposes his penis was created for. :)

Instead, I'm already having talks about sex, girls and body hair. Heck, we were talking about body hair when he was 10.
<----- Thank goodness he hasn't progressed to this point yet. I pray he never does or we will be having the "waxing" conversation as well.

Yesterday, he decided to shave (apparently to impress a girl) and I got the pleasure of watching his reaction the first time he applied aftershave. It.was.hilarious!

There are many times that make me question my sanity and my abilities as a parent but then he throws out a "skit" or impression that makes me laugh so hard I could cry. Although crying is a normal emotion when you are raising teenagers, is it not?

Guess I'll keep plugging along and hope for more of these moments of hilarity! They are much more fun than some of the "other" stuff!