Twelve-year olds are the new 16. Girls are wearing shorts and skirts "mini" enough for me to see their butt cheeks and cleavage seems to be the new hot thing to show. We want fake nails, tans, waxes, dyed hair, pierced eyebrows, noses, lips, etc. Girls are wearing makeup at 9 and 10 years old. And think that push-up bras and a piece of dental floss called a thong are ok to wear......at that age!
Boys are not taught how to properly wear a pair of pants and that a belt is not designed to keep your knickers cinched at your thighs. I do not care about your cool Superman boxers. Boys have no idea how to respect a lady. (A man told me recently that chivalry is on it's death bed........REVIVE IT ALREADY! Why does it have to be something that everyone does before it comes back? It's not hard to open a car door, to help a lady put her coat on, to bring flowers to your date/girlfriend/wife, to compliment a woman on how pretty her hair looks, I could go on, but I digress.)
Kids talk back (on a side note, when I spoke back to my parents, my backside hurt for hours). They want to stay out late and have no curfew. They don't think there should be consequences for breaking the rules. They want to have mixed slumber parties.......and they want to make sure their boyfriend/girlfriend is invited. (yes moms and dads, boys AND girls at the same sleepover). Daughters don't understand why a boy can't go into her room when they come to the house to visit.....what do you mean they can't close the door and have some privacy?! And sons don't get why they have to actually meet the parents when they finally ARE allowed to date.
They want to try smoking because it looks cool (which it doesn't) and drink because everyone's doing it. Another news flash parents........I may get into a lot of trouble for this, but letting them drink at home under your "supervision" is saying to them it's ok to drink underage. Your teaching them that as long as your mommy or daddy say it's ok, laws don't need to be followed. You're not really teaching them anything about respecting authority or rules. And just because you let them drink at home so they "don't go out and run the roads drunk" doesn't mean they're only go to stay at home and drink. I'm sure of this. And to be honest, you deserve the ticket you'll get when the cops find out you're doing it.
I. Am. Scared. For my daughter....and for me. McKenna will be 13 in just 3 months and she is already slammed with messages of how to be older, prettier, thinner, sexier, cooler, the list goes on. How about we teach our children how to be children? How about the lessons of real friendship and proper respect? Why do kids have to "grow up"when they're still just kids?
Anyone?
