Murder, Death, Kill & Babies

All kids act up at times, especially if their basic needs have not been met. Like adults, kids need to be well-rested, well-fed and have a balance of structured and unstructured activity in order to be at their best. Although most every child can be oppositional at times, if behaviors like talking back, arguing, defying you as parents and disregarding the rules turns into a pattern, you may have a problem on your hands. Of course, you may also just have a normal kid…. to a point.

When your kids are wee, ideally, you spend a good deal of your time teaching, – rules, regulations, right from wrong, which stuff is dangerous, what isn’t, and then there is Manners – when, where and why it’s important to be polite. General coping skills for maintaining the civility in our civilization.

My kids – I’m not worried about how they treat others, they are well equipped to be marvelous and productive contributors to society. There is  one thing that does worry me about them – it’s whether or not they’ve been put at a disadvantage because we put such an emphasis on making sure they treat others as they themselves would like to be treated, fair, charitably, inclusive, friendly etc etc. My concern is what happens when they come up against kids who not only have had zero exposure to these same or similar values but in some cases have actually had the exact opposite programing –  a life full of negativity, grief and despair and not just a disrespect so much as a total self immersed sense of entitlement and utter disregard for others.

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Cute? Maybe - but you better think long and hard before taking their Barbies....

What chance do my kids stand against kids who could give a rats ass about others, no regard for fair play, or any other of the unspoken rules we abide by that keep us all from killing one other… often this attitude is perpetuated with the parents blessing – in either a misguided attempt at toughening their kids up or because they just don’t care. No doubt, kids are getting tougher and those that aren’t getting physically tougher, are by sheer exposure to the more extreme elements of society – becoming immune to anyone or anything that doesn’t directly impact themselves – they are incapable of feeling empathy.

I don’t just blame the kids (although taking responsibility for their actions would be a refreshing change) – in most cases they are strictly a by-product of both their own wonky upbringing and yes, to a certain extent “The Media” …. there are countless studies showing how subtle changes take place in children who are exposed to violence in all it’s forms, TV, Movies, Video Games etc…

It’s happening everywhere, change or die, even old standards have been forced to “butch up” so they can keep up with the times. Take an old standard, Sesame Street – created and designed from the inside out to speak directly to children. Every single one of us has seen the show and can remember a favorite moment or has a character that really spoke to them or they particularly enjoyed. There can be no doubt about the positive impact the show has had on kids from the 70’s on. Even they have had to make changes and become more “street” to stay current. Is it a good thing, I’m not certain Muppets should be teaching our kids how to clean, load and fire a gun…..or the most vulnerable places on the body in a knife fight…

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If you think people with girls, like me have it any better, because traditionally girls are more docile, sociable and not nearly as aggressive as boys, well even that may be changing. Marketers have finally exhausted the market for selling wholesale violence to boys and so have begun seeking our girls who traditionally aren’t all that interested in the tools of violence…. enter the marketing genius – the man who made the mental leap to welcome those girls into the fold and figure out a way to sell them guns…. it’s so easy – just paint them pink and put hello kitty on them. So they did, see below – a real working machine gun that is selling so fast they can’t keep it in stock….. God Help Us…..

Have a Great Day.