Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Time to weigh in on the Miley Cyrus pictures

Yea, Hannah Montana. I know, she's so "tween" but I have a tween so I need to be aware of what her favorite celebs are doing.

You see, I'm cursed with being an avid follower of TMZ and Perezhilton - two celeb-doings blogs that pretty much cover every antic performed by the famous. So I know these antics before my tweenie does. It's up to me to clean up the explanations when she comes to me with, "Jamie Lynn is pregnant."

Yes, these things are a fact of life. But it's my choice to explain procreation to my child, and all the intricate details, on my terms - not on Britney's little sister's terms. It's annoying. Yes, she made a mistake and she's making the right choice in having her baby. But I don't like that her actions are being glorified as acceptable to young minds. She's still an underage mother, albeit a rich one - that definitely changes the equation.

Back to Miley Cyrus. Here we have a "Christian" girl posing in sexy photos that are being posted all over MySpace. I've heard a bundle of excuses - one of which "she's just discovering her sexuality." Wow, that's funny because racy pics don't compute with said Christian upbringing. This child, and she is a child, has professed to being very concerned with being a good role model for her fans. She's starting to fail miserably.

Miley needs some parental control and quick. She's not only making a spectacle of herself but is failing miserably in the backpedaling she's now trying to do with the Annie Leibovitz photos in Vanity Fair. How can she profess to be outraged at the sexy images when one week previous she was posting suggestive pictures on the web, for free? Hello! It doesn't compute.

I'm not knocking teen discovery but in this day and age of the Internet, these young stars need to exercise some serious judgment. And if they can't do that, then their parents must keep track of their actions. It's like latch-key Internet kids lacking appropriate supervision.

And that's what it is - Miley needs some serious supervision.

Her life is under a microscope and I'm sure that's hard. However, she (and her family) chose that life. With it comes a responsibility for appropriate behavior. She's still a kid, still underage, and still making horrible choices - which is a typical kid thing to do.

Hello Miley's parents? Wake up and take care of your kid. Before she ends up like another Britney or Lindsay.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Middle school girls tape beating

And we have another beating showing up on line.

This time, a group of middle school girls have taped the brutal beating of a classmate and posted it on the internet for all to see. The difference between this taping and the one earlier this month is the age of the kids involved. This group ranges in age from 12-14, too young for anything more than a grounding and a slap on the wrist. See the story here:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/19/girl.beating.ap/index.html#cnnSTCVideo

I think we, as parents, need to take a very close look at our children. This very same thing can happen to our own kids. They could be the participant or the victim. They could be the planner or the observer. Any one of them could be on the receiving end of violence when outside of our supervision.

In an earlier post, I said we need to teach our children about accountability. We also need to teach them about consequence. Cause and effect. You do this - punishment equals this. Seems an easy concept, one many of us grew up with. Why are we having such a hard time instilling this in our own children?

I think part of it begins with not completely enforcing punishment. Totally. Our authority is lessened every time we parents cave in and allow the computer time, phone use, or Ipod to come out despite our edict preventing the use of these items due to punishment. When the hammer comes down, it needs to stay down.

I also believe our kids don't fear and respect us. As a child, even as a young adult, I was afraid to disappoint my parents. I had and have wonderful, supportive parents who were strong authority figures. I made every effort not to disappoint them.

I look at my own tweenage daughter and I see a sweetheart, when she gets her way. Normal enough reaction from a child. But I detect an underlying sense of entitlement, just as I do in my 18-year old stepdaughter. I see children willing to argue their point, believing they are entirely equal and able to make decisions, come hell or high water or right or wrong. I see children that have been allowed to express their views openly and as a result, completely disregarding the very possibility that someone else might have that right.

This entitlement will be their downfall. And we as parents have had a hand in it.

What makes children broadcast a violent crime against another? What makes someone relish, as the tender age of 12, the pain of another? I can't imagine. I'm at a loss.

I will be speaking to my daughter about this. I think our talk will begin with consequence.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Animal rescue

That handsome devil on the front page of my blog is Thomas O'Malley. This little gentleman had a rough life. He was a stray in Dickerson, MD. And he's not very good at crossing the road. O'Malley was hit by a car and broke his back leg.

The wonderful folks at Friends of Montgomery County Animals rescued O'Malley and took him to the vet to analyze his condition. The debate began with whether his leg could be saved. It wasn't crushed but would require pins and complete rest to heal properly. The decision was made to operate, work that was taken on gratis by an orthopedic vet in Rockville.

O'Malley went home with his foster parents to begin a very long recovery. He was pampered, well fed, brushed every day and generally spoiled rotten. These wonderful people gave unconditional love to this animal and turned him into the sweetest animal alive.

We lost our beloved Dude, a gorgeous black cat just 3 weeks prior to fostering O'Malley. Dude had kidney failure after exposure to the tainted pet food last year and at the old age of 17, his body just shut down. Dude's sister, Maui, spent her days and nights howling at the top of her kitty lungs looking for her brother. We decided we needed to find her a special, gentle friend.

Enter O'Malley. I googled pet rescue organizations in MD and located a company called petfinder.com which posts pictures of adoptable animals. I contacted FMCA and told them my story. Maui was the biggest concern and theirs too! We made a plan to meet up to see if O'Malley liked us. The rest is history.

His transition into our home was smooth. Maui has stopped howling. She has totally adjusted to having another strange cat in the house. I didn't want her remaining time with us to be filled with sadness.

O'Malley is a joy. I attribute his incredible good nature to the phenomenal care and love he received from his foster parents. Without them, he may have never made it into out home.

I know Dude would approve.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Woo Hoo!! Two Lady Terps go in the first round WNBA draft and other MD basketball tidbits!

Crystal Langhorne, an outstanding center for the Maryland Lady Terps, is staying close to home. She was drafted by the Washington Mystics. Langhorne was the 6th overall pick. Laura Harper went 10th and will be playing in Sacramento.

This brings to mind Juan Dixon being drafted by the Wizards when he entered the draft. Almost makes me misty-eyed, pondering just how long it's been since Juan and Company kicked some serious basketball tail at College Park.

Our prospects are good for next year. MD has some snappy players in the lineup. Among them Gus Gilchrist, Bobby Maze among them. I have to say, this write up makes me clasp my hands together in prayer. I so HOPE this guy is this GOOD!

Maze had a perfect game against Friends University JV on NewYear's Day, going 7 of 7 from the field and 5 of 5 from the free-throwline for 19 points. He also added 12 assists and had no turnovers with two steals and a blocked shot. He then scored 21 points on 7 of 13shooting in an 80-76 win over Seward County on Jan. 5

7 of 7 from the field and 5 of 5 from the FT line?? Ah, to have a sure player, to have someone who's that sure of himself might boost the confidence of everyone. He's at Hutchinson Community College, so hopefully, he'll come in with maturity and leadership skills. We're gonna struggle with the loss of Boom and Gist.

Ah, I have to wait SOOOOO long for Midnight Madness :)


Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Teen beating

It's come down to kids beating others to have a video to post on MySpace or YouTube.

We can say "what is the world coming to?" but instead, we should be saying "what have WE done to contribute to this?"

Check out this article for the full story:

http://www.wftv.com/news/15817394/detail.html

Kids today test limits in ways we never would have considered when we were young. You see, all those people that just say kids are acting out the same way are wrong. We fought because we were mad. Not for entertainment. We didn't set up "lookouts" to prevent getting caught. That's premeditation. We didn't hold a video camera in our hands, urging the escalation of a beating that never should have happened in the first place.

Kids today have an avenue for broadcasting their brutality, sexuality, and personality from east to west on the internet. Privacy means nothing. Integrity means nothing. And parents walk with their children right into this trap of more high speed stimulation for kids who really just need to slow their lives down.

Parents need to quit blaming everyone else for their kid's problems and own up to the fact that they are the parents. It is NOT the responsibility of the school to socialize your kid - it's YOURS! When they screw up, you are responsible for dealing out discipline to correct the behavior. I promise it won't ruin your little darling.

This video sums it all up. It's the ultimate example of the indulgence of today's kids. Those that think it's perfectly alright to violate the rights of another person just to get their kicks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYvuZ7QoeeU

It's time for parents to start being accountable. It's time for parents to start teaching their kids about accountability. The really horrifying thought is that these are the very kids who will be our doctors, lawyers, state representatives, senators, and congressman in just 15 short years.

Accountabilty.
Learn it.
Teach it.
Live it.