Parenting question I'm the mother of an 8, 6 & 3 year old. Reading about how the mailbox bomber's dad is trying in a small way to defend his son's actions with the reasoning his son apparently has behind it is baffling me. How would YOU react if it was your 21 year old child that just committed this federal offense?Show results
"It's hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning." - Calvin
Official LR Smilie Director
Posts: 186
(5/12/02 2:59 pm) Reply
Re: Parenting question
BoosterMom, my father has worked in law enforcement for 30 years and he always told us when we were teenagers that if we were dumb enough to get our a$$ thrown in jail. Don't expect him to bail us out or get sympathy from him or my mom.. My sister and brother learned that lesson the hard way.. I myself chose not to be that stupid.. My brother and sister learned a valuable lesson and not been back in jail since..
Official LR Pep Squad Captain
Posts: 258
(5/13/02 1:15 pm) Reply
Re: Parenting question
well from a 19 year old's point of view, i think that the kid should be put in jail for what he did... the parent should still love the child, but not take the blame for his actions... unless he told him to put the bombs in the mailboxes.. which i highly doubt!!! It IS okay for the parent to say to the kid "sorry, you screwed up, you're staying in jail for what you did!!!" I mean, come on... What is the job of a parent??? In addition to everything else a parent has to do, the primary job is to teach their child right from wrong.. and what kind of message does it send when the parent bails the kid out of a mess like this (no pun intended.) and takes the blame for what he did?
I just think there is a line you have to draw as a parent... if your kid is out there putting bombs in mailboxes, you kinda have to say to yourself, man my kid is messed up and needs the kind of help that i can't give him... that's all i can say... it's not ruthless to do that... it's just parenting! but that's just my point of view, and i'm not a parent yet so i really don't know...
"How would you like it if you were a business executive and when you made a mistake, a red-light went on and 18,000 people started screaming?"
-Jacques Plante
Official LR Smilie Director
Posts: 193
(5/13/02 3:20 pm) Reply
Re: Parenting question
Well put msprents, BoosterMom, it's not being ruthless just showing your kids that they are going to have to take responsibility for what they did.. That's the only way they are going to learn.. This kid that did all of the mailbox bombing has to learn that same lesson... I hope his parents let him...
RE: Parenting Question
It is all a matter of "Tough Love". Regardless of what our children do, as parents, we will continue to love them. However, should my child choose to terrorize, he should also understand that he, and he alone, will suffer the consequences. Once your children are grown, you as a parent have no control over their actions, and should not be held accountable for them. This guy is an adult at the age of 21. His dad needs to treat him like one.
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