spoiled

why are american kids so spoiled?

i definitely think we coddle our kids. i've tutored a few kids over the years and have seen what some parents let their kids get away with... sheesh! also, since i do the steering stuff at long beach i'm constantly emailing teams. a lot of these are high school or college teams, and they are generally pretty SHIT at responding to emails. it's not like they're not online, they just don't respond to emails because they don't think it's important. that's a ridiculous attitude!

i definitely think it's "our" fault tho. i remember back in the day when we were a high school or college team, we were on top of things! we were self-taught. we coached ourselves, set up our own practices, figured out our own finances, got to practices / races on our own, turned in paperwork without needing reminders... all of the high school teams now all have an adult coach / team manager. why is that? we did it ourselves, why can't they?

"...my husband and I gave them a new job: unloading the grocery bags from the car. One evening when I came home from the store, it was raining. Carrying two or three bags, the youngest, Aaron, who is thirteen, tried to jump over a puddle. There was a loud crash. After I’d retrieved what food could be salvaged from a Molotov cocktail of broken glass and mango juice, I decided that Aaron needed another, more vigorous lesson in responsibility. Now, in addition to unloading groceries, he would also have the task of taking out the garbage. On one of his first forays, he neglected to close the lid on the pail tightly enough, and it attracted a bear. The next morning, as I was gathering up the used tissues, ant-filled raisin boxes, and slimy Saran Wrap scattered across the yard, I decided that I didn’t have time to let my kids help out around the house."

...did you notice anything wrong with this? she cleaned up after he messed up. your kid is 13; he can pick up broken glass without bleeding to death. and if he does get hurt, it probably won't be badly, so it's not a big deal. (it's good though that they didn't take away the unloading task) aaron wasn't careful when doing his chores, but if he doesn't have to deal with the consequences, he'll never learn to be more careful. why should he care if bears get into the garbage? mom will clean it up anyway.

i'm not saying that you should make your kids grow up as fast as possible (tho it seems they can handle it), but you shouldn't coddle them. teach them to be independent. supervise, but don't do it yourself. let them figure it out first before telling them what to do. your kid is smarter and more capable than you think.