Ah, yet another one of those blogs that will piss some people off and have others singing my praises. Here's the thing, I don't give a damn where you stand, this is my opinion. Here I am on spring break (my first spring break adventure ever, mind you) and I have 5 kids with me. Now, of those 5 kids, I have my own two children (ages 15 and 11) and 2 other 15 year old girls and one 12 year old boy. So, to recap, I have 3 children who do not belong to me.
We are staying on a little island in South Carolina - right on the beach. We happen to be on the same little island in the same general vicinity as the Vice President - yes, the VP of the US. (I saw him the other day!!) Anyhoo, point is, there's a shit ton o' people here - young and old. There's a bunch of 15-18 year old boys and a bunch of young girls.
We're staying with my mom in a 950 square foot, one bedroom condo. Do you realize how small that is? We don't spend a lot of time all together in the condo. To be honest, I have given the kids a lot of freedom. The rules are simple, keep your phones on and on you and let me know where you are, where you intend to go, and when you intend to return; you must answer the phone when I call and you must come home immediately if I ask you to. These are simple rules I think. I also think I have given them a lot of space. There's a basketball court, volleyball court, pool, kiddie pool area with water slide, beach, ocean, workout room, and tons of trails. There's stuff to do.
With all of that said and with all of the freedom they have been given, these kids obey the rules and don't make stupid decisions. I would like to think that they are not doing stupid things because their parents raised them right. I would also like to think that all of the children would not disrespect me by making bad decisions.
What brought this blog on is the alarming number of posts I have seen on twitter and instagram of teenagers drunk and unsupervised on spring break. I don't understand. Where are the parents? Maybe I am a prude. I know that at some point, these kids - even the ones with me right now - will make stupid decisions. I am not the naive parent who believes my child will never attend a party or drink. I am not stupid. However, I am also not the parent who is just going to offer them the opportunity by not paying attention or by simply looking the other way.
Parents who tell their children "what happens on spring break, stays on spring break" irritate me. I don't care if your child is 18. I understand 18 is a legal adult. Is that child still living in your house? Is that child able to legally drink? Then why don't you know what's going on? Why aren't you being a parent? Better yet, seeing posts by 15 year olds about how everything is "funnier when you're wasted" seriously pisses me off. WHAT. THE. FUCK. Do you not realize that not only does your child look like trash (and certainly not like someone I want my child to EVER hang out with) but it makes YOU look like a terrible parent.
WHY IS YOUR 15 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER GETTING DRUNK ON A BEACH? WHERE. ARE. YOU.
Judge me if you will. You're entitled to your own opinion. I, personally, would rather my child focus on having fun and relaxing WITHOUT the influence of alcohol. I would rather my child NOT come home from spring break bragging about making out with a bunch of guys and then not remembering what else happened. I would rather my child carry him or herself with respect. Just sayin'
We are staying on a little island in South Carolina - right on the beach. We happen to be on the same little island in the same general vicinity as the Vice President - yes, the VP of the US. (I saw him the other day!!) Anyhoo, point is, there's a shit ton o' people here - young and old. There's a bunch of 15-18 year old boys and a bunch of young girls.
We're staying with my mom in a 950 square foot, one bedroom condo. Do you realize how small that is? We don't spend a lot of time all together in the condo. To be honest, I have given the kids a lot of freedom. The rules are simple, keep your phones on and on you and let me know where you are, where you intend to go, and when you intend to return; you must answer the phone when I call and you must come home immediately if I ask you to. These are simple rules I think. I also think I have given them a lot of space. There's a basketball court, volleyball court, pool, kiddie pool area with water slide, beach, ocean, workout room, and tons of trails. There's stuff to do.
With all of that said and with all of the freedom they have been given, these kids obey the rules and don't make stupid decisions. I would like to think that they are not doing stupid things because their parents raised them right. I would also like to think that all of the children would not disrespect me by making bad decisions.
What brought this blog on is the alarming number of posts I have seen on twitter and instagram of teenagers drunk and unsupervised on spring break. I don't understand. Where are the parents? Maybe I am a prude. I know that at some point, these kids - even the ones with me right now - will make stupid decisions. I am not the naive parent who believes my child will never attend a party or drink. I am not stupid. However, I am also not the parent who is just going to offer them the opportunity by not paying attention or by simply looking the other way.
Parents who tell their children "what happens on spring break, stays on spring break" irritate me. I don't care if your child is 18. I understand 18 is a legal adult. Is that child still living in your house? Is that child able to legally drink? Then why don't you know what's going on? Why aren't you being a parent? Better yet, seeing posts by 15 year olds about how everything is "funnier when you're wasted" seriously pisses me off. WHAT. THE. FUCK. Do you not realize that not only does your child look like trash (and certainly not like someone I want my child to EVER hang out with) but it makes YOU look like a terrible parent.
WHY IS YOUR 15 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER GETTING DRUNK ON A BEACH? WHERE. ARE. YOU.
Judge me if you will. You're entitled to your own opinion. I, personally, would rather my child focus on having fun and relaxing WITHOUT the influence of alcohol. I would rather my child NOT come home from spring break bragging about making out with a bunch of guys and then not remembering what else happened. I would rather my child carry him or herself with respect. Just sayin'
Don't know if I am allowed to make a comment here. I have seen the five children staying in this condo. They are well behaved, don't bicker, and watch each other's backs. They are still kids, being kids.
ReplyDeleteI can't speak to others being good or bad parents, but definitely from what I've overheard, too much excess is happening with some children on spring break. Sad that parents abdicate their jobs in favor of a good time. It's ultimately the kids who suffer.