Todays helicopter parents??

[True Believer]

Wow...Old Grey Owl....VERY NICE. I will be handing that out at the next meeting.

Thank you very much!

[Hal_Crawford]

There is a piece in this morning's Washington Post that seems appropriate to this thread.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/19/AR2009061901549.html

 

It is not about scouts but rather girls sleep-away camp but it still seems like the kind of parental thinking that we all encounter.

[evmori]

Sad but true Hal. The scary part is when these kids grow up!

[scoutldr]

Correction, Ed. They will never "grow up". But they get older and then WE have to deal with them in the workplace. I'm already seeing it. They just sit and wait for direction....one direction at a time. "Why didn't you turn in your time sheet?" "It's not my fault, nobody reminded me."

 

GRrrrrr. Then they wonder why they ALL don't get awards and bonuses...like they did in T-Ball. And when you have to tell them "NO", they are really shocked.

[evmori]

Correction accepted scoutldr! Right on the money! Unable to think for themselves!

[Eamonn]

A little while back, I had an appointment to see someone at one of our States tougher correctional facilities.

I was a little early, so had to wait in the waiting area.

I have always been a people watcher, watching people in airports and places, trying to imagine where they are going or coming from, has just been something that I've done.

On that day there was a African-American family waiting to get in for a visit. Two women who looked to be in their late 40's and a man who was a little older.

They were dressed up in what looked to me to be their Sunday best.

The man in a suit and the women in floral dresses with big hats.

They looked great, with not a hair out of place.

I'm not sure why? But for some reason people seem to want to chat with me. It happens all the time and just about anyplace I go.

The man started by asking me where there was a local hotel?

I didn't know the area that well but pointed him in a direction where I knew there were a few motels.

He went on to tell me that they were visiting their Grandson.

Before long, without me asking anything I was told a sad story. The Grandson's father was in jail, his mother, their Daughter had died from a drug overdose.

It was 10:00 AM, they had driven from Philadelphia, which is a good eight hour drive. To have got there by 10:00 AM, they must have left really early.

I never asked the name of their Grandson or what he was in for?

While of course it's wrong to make judgments I was left feeling that these were nice and good people.

I couldn't help feeling that their Grandson, had let them down.

Or how lucky he was that he still had such strong family support.

There are times when my son does stuff that I don't like.

I'm thankful that he has never done anything really dumb.

I'm maybe guilty of not telling him enough how proud I am of him.

While I'm good at saying that my love for him is unconditional, the truth is that it has never really been tested.

I don't think he is as "Grown Up" or mature as I was when I was his age. While I'm willing to accept some blame for that, I also think the schools he attended need to take some of the blame.

I really have and do try to give him Roots and Wings.

Eamonn.