... or one WIFE away :D

God, that just sickens me. I love how our kid's role models are possibly the stupidest people on the planet. I'm optimistic for the future.

It is a PARENT's role to guide a child to the more productive role models, and anybody who stands bye indifferently while the media does it for them is equally to blame. I have read numerous essays on how there are no real heroes in contemporary society, just people who are immitated because they are always visible. Wars used to be our hero mills, but with the rise of materialism and the media, Paris Hilton is what we get. The poor and stupid choose media figures who appear to have all the luxuries they do not while the ones admired by intellectuals and people who can make a positive difference in our world are never mentioned because they would be considered "boring" by the lowest common denominator.

Good rant Tonchi, you really hit the nail on the head.

One problem I see throughout kids today is that self-improvement is looked down upon. If you ask twenty teenagers if they read or not I guarantee that ten of them will remark how they "don't read" and seem proud of themselves for it. This type of attitude is horrible for America's future. I don't care if you don't like reading, but the people that look down upon reading because it "isn't cool" are complete idiots; these are also the kids that think they are rebellious for drinking (wake up call, 90%+ of teenagers drink). Throughout high school you still hear the grade school remark of "I didn't study" like they didn’t care what they got. Is it that hard to admit that you studied, or do you not want to look like a nerd? I mean, someone who will make tenfold of you in twenty years is not someone you should put down. I won't even get into how it is bad to improve yourself physically.

I like the statement which has been attributed to Bill Gates: "Don't be rough on the nerds; someday, if you are lucky enough to have a job, you will be working for one of them." ;)

I wish that were true, but from what I've seen, the media figures have an even larger following than that.:(

Ideally and historically, when heros are heros for their deeds and accomplishments, the hero worshipers aspire to improve their own deeds and accomplishments.

Currently, media figures are heros for the "bling" they accumulate and their "money for nothing" lifestyle. This inspires the hero worshipers to want accumulate "bling" as a measure of achievement. To do the same as their heros...riches without work.... usually leads to either crime or frustration driven antisocial behavior.

Role models and mentors have a huge impact....even, maybe especially, bad ones.

No saving for the future is shown, so people tend to spend all their money right away and have to live paycheck to paycheck instead of saving money and having a decent living in ten years. A change in role models could do wonders for America, a lot more than most would expect, including myself.

Parents choose.

Yes, parents are paramount.
But in the rebellious teenage years, when they look to their peers and the media for direction, it would be better if there were real heros to choose from.
Hopefully when they get older and stabilize, the parents example will surface.
Of course then we have the parents that are dazzled by the wrong things.:smack:

I hope to still be a role model for my children when they're teenagers.

Speaking for myself, when I was a teenager, there were a few years in there where I found my parents to be very uncool, but when I finally grew up, I went back to thinking they were great.

Took the words right out of my mouth.

I want my kids to be independent and able to make a decision without needing peer or authority approval.

I just had a wonderful conversation with my 16 yr old son about role models this afternoon while we were installing the base moulding in the dining room. He made some comments about how well we get along compared to some of his friends with their parents. I am so proud of him! What a great son I have - even after all he has been through with the divorce and all.

Some parents do a great job yesman. :)

Part of what can make the dynamic between kids and parents work is having multi-generational relationships. Robert Bly wrote a book called "Sibling Society" that talks about how each generation is starting to look more and more at their peers for advice on how to live life. Elders and youngers are becoming less significant in the greater life picture.

When we maintain relationships with elders and have multiple generations involved in our regular, everyday relationships, we develop "vertical" support rather than just "horizontal."

For instance, in our super-close circle of friends we have people who range from 90's to 20's and then teen cousins, so our kids are learning how to have relationships with people of all ages. I've seen this in my cousin's family as well. They still do things as a family unit even though the kids are all teens. They even come to my little kid's birthday parties.

The teens will have real-life conversations with grown-ups because to them grown-ups are real people to them. I'm seeing this with my own kids. They do not seem to be identifying solely because of their age. They'll interact with anyone who is interesting or who will give them the time of day (and not dismiss them because they are short).

There is much value in being able to say, Goodnight John-Boy. ;)