Replies to '06/01 "My Kid's a Star"'

Quote From: jettav

Children should not be punished for making mistakes in a hobby/activity such as dance, sports and things that are basically for entertainment purposes. That is wrong and cruel .now, I am not against discipline when it comes to wrong/bad choices and when it comes to participating in sports or whatever but if it is something that a child dreads and something that parents are FORCING their kids to do then that is plain wrong! Supporting and encouraging a child in something that they WANT and have a DESIRE to do is one thing, but to MAKE them do something that they don't really care about or want to do is selfish and not thinking about the child's best interest. Now, as far as my posts go, it has absolutely nothing to do with the particular kids on the show as the show has not aired yet, BUT I will respond and goive my opinions on the matter regardless of what others think and believe so get used to it, I post all over this these boards and I am not about to back off of responding or giving my opinions. As far as the little girl that you are talking about, I do hope and pray that it is HER wanting to go this route and it is for her benefit, not for the parents benefit. LEt's face it, whether you want to admit it or not, there are parents out there who control their children and force them in to doing something. just becasue a child is good at something doesn't mean they have to pursue it as a career and they should have the right to decide on their own. As I said before, my children have their interests and strong points which is something that we encourage but once they say they are not interested, then that is what it shall be, I refuse to FORCE my children into do something that they don't want to do.My daughters are four and two and they are still young and I will encourage them to be all they want to do and at the same time, they will not be ridiculed for something they don't want to do, not when it comes to sports and extra curriculum. They may be little people, but they certainly have minds of their own and when aloud to express them selves and talk about their dreams and able to go their own pace then they will succeed and be happy in the end, so many children are not happy. I remember when I was in 5th grade and I wanted to help in the lunch room as an assistent after lunch, well, I did it and had fun with it plus I got free lunches. Well, when the next semester came, I wanted to do something else but I was not aloud to, and I dreaded it. It was fun to begin with and I did my time but there was other things that I wanted to explore that following semester. To me that was bad parenting becasue I was forced into something that I did not want to do. Yes, at first, i did, and I signed the little contract for that first part of the year and when it was presented the second part of the year, I was forced to sign it, why? FREE LUNCHES and we had the money to pay for them but all the other kids in my home got to pack their lunches. it was not for any other reason but the parents wanting it. I feel that children have the right to develop their own interests and goals and when they discover something is not for them, then parents need to back off and accept that their little ones are growing and it is ok for them to explore nad discover them selves and parents need to be there to encourage and teach discipline but not punish over a mistake in a field. Any good parent will be able to see whether or not their kids are really interested or enjoying something and they will listen to their kids and allow their kids to be their own person, kids go through phases in life whne they talk about what they want to be when they grow up and it is usually severl different things because their interests and knowledge grows and int he process of exploring and trying different things, they then have the opportunity to figure out what works and doesn't work for them and this is what my children will be doing. Now, when they decide on something, they will be taught to keep a committment but once that committment has expired (such as mine at the end of the semester) then they will have more options. I had a friend who wanted to be on the drill team in the 10th grade, she made the team but discovered that she didn't like it, she finished out the school year but was encouraged by her parents to try something else that she might think she likes. Well, she did find that something eventually and she certainly has not failed in life. my point is to love and encourage our kids to be all that they desire to be and to be there for them and allow them to discover who they are and what they want to do in life, communication is a big key here and giving children choices definetly has it's advantages. I want my children to enjoy their childhoods and at the same time develop into the beings that they were meant to be, and I am not goingt o force my kids into something just becasue it is MY desire, not neccessarily theirs.