Comments on: Sixteen Going on Sixty

By: Katie

Katie — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 02:22:18 +0000

That poor girl! I hope she was able to celebrate her birthday.

By: restaurant Gal

restaurant Gal — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 04:18:41 +0000

Michael–That MTV show is exactly what prompted me to consider writing this post. Unbelievable contrast, almost trite. But very real, in this case. Thanks for reading and commenting.

By: Michael V

Michael V — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 00:07:49 +0000

I feel really bad for this girl. To watch MTV’s show about those spoiled, selfish little brats and the parties they expect to have thrown for them, and then read about this girl who called your restaurant is depressing. I hope she found a place that could accommodate her, but being in the restaurant industry myself, I realize how difficult that is. What crappy parents.

By: Aaron DeLay

Aaron DeLay — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 18:19:46 +0000

Poor girl. She’s gonna be a wreck in a couple of years when she doesn’t know how to slow down and have a root beer float on the patio while listening to some Beach Boys in the sun. Stupid parents. Gotta teach your kids how to live, not how to race in the rat race.

By: little miss

little miss — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 05:57:00 +0000

That was one of my favorite posts in a long time! That poor girl. Good on you for brightening her day, even a little!

By: Ranx

Ranx — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 01:16:59 +0000

Hi RG, hope the melancholy bent of your last couple of posts is a new writing style your trialling and not an indication of your frame of mind. Lovely read anyway

By: Panda

Panda — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 00:07:49 +0000

That is so sad. I used to work for a summer camp in a high-income area & so many of those kids were pushed so hard…the parents could barely let them be kids even when they’d paid thousands of dollars to get them into a camp. Someone was always having to leave for tutoring or swim practice or a performance. Just let them be kids!

I hope she had a moment of her own.

By: Julie

Julie — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 18:06:40 +0000

Back in my nanny days, the kids were enrolled in all sorts of activities. Thank goodness that they had a bit of control. They played soccer, t-ball/baseball/softball for one season to see if they liked it. If not, they didn’t get signed up again. The parents wanted them in at least one sport per year and only one at a time. They took music lessons until they weren’t getting anything out of it anymore as well.

While their parents are both very busy, they made sure that the kids’ events were a priority as well. More than once, one of them would leave a dinner meeting that was taking longer than expected to make sure they were at the kids’ concerts or performances.

While they were both wrapped up in their careers, they remembered that their kids needed them to be present — especially for the big things like birthdays and concerts.

I can’t imagine them not making some elaborate plans for either of the kids and their closest friends for something like their 16th birthdays.

Can I thump that girl’s parents on the head?

By: briliantdonkey

briliantdonkey — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 17:07:55 +0000

great post. It is, I am sure a fine line to tread between pushing your kids to excell and failing to let them be kids at all.

By: Kim Ayres

Kim Ayres — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 11:03:12 +0000

Well if her parents don’t screw her up, then what on earth is she going to talk about in therapy when she’s older…?