Yet another reason to keep your kids off myspace

This is coming from a guy who was part of a very large, extended family:

That might be the silliest thing I've read in some time. What worked for my parents when it came to raising my sisters and yours truly did not work for my aunts and uncles. And vice versa. Every person is different. I spent much of my childhood reading. My cousin Colin spent a lot of time chasing skirt. My cousin Kara played soccer. My cousin Mikey watched movies. What worked for me did not work for my cousins. It takes a parent that knows their kid to know how to rear them.

 

HAHA! That's the kind of shit I said before I was a parent. If I could go back in time, I'd slap the pre-children Bubbler for being so brazenly clueless.

You learn some things from others, but mostly, you learn yourself. And until you do it, you've really only scratched the surface of what parenting is all about. I know people without kids hate hearing that, but it's absolutely true.

 

Hey, fine. Y'all know so much more about parenting. Great. I happen to think a lot of my friends are doing a great job and, if I can model myself after them, I think I'll be a decent parent.

 

You are more than welcome to enter the discussion. Just don't be surprised when your comments are given little respect, or outright dismissed.

 

At what age is your daughter going to show her tits on the internet?

 

Yes, I realize your holier-than-thou attitudes get in the way of a two-way discussion. Have at your little myspace hate-on. Carry on.

 

I have no kids, but here's what I've learned from my friends and family on raising kids:

Raising kids seems to be one of the few things in life that is completely on the job training and trial and error. Nothing anybody has done before you, nothing anybody has done after you matters to what you are currently doing. There is no formula and every kid is different.

My sister and I are perfect examples. My mom and dad had to beat my ass on occassion and I was constantly grounded because I never listened/headed their warnings. My sister, on the other hand, required only a look. All they had to do was raise an eyebrow and she behaved. With me, raising a belt usually got me to behave, but there were no guarantees.

I'm scared to death of having kids. There is nothing on this earth I feel less prepared for and that's saying a lot because beyond this profession I'm pretty ill-equipped to handle a whole hell of a lot.

 

If I am blessed with a daughter, poindexter, I can only hope she is confident and independent enough to do as she pleases. If she comes to me one day and says, mom, guess what I did, who am I to judge her? Just as who are you to judge me? Have a great day, poindexter.

 

If you go back a few posts, I think it was you doing the judging--all those selfish parents worrying more about their SUVs than their kids.

Everything on this board doesn't have to be a fucking beer brawl. You can have a difference of experience and opinion without whining and the rest of the crap.

 

One of the most bizarre myspace stories I've seen:

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060611/METRO/606110344

 

"She's a good girl. Never had a problem with her," Terry Lester said.

 

"Hi, mom, can I go to Canada for the summer?"

I'm guessing Mom isn't exactly clued in. And hell, you don't even need a passport for Canada.