I have said this time and time again, the USA is one of the suckiest places to be a parent, and I have so many experiences which have proven this to me. Once I had conjured this up as a theory, based on the expectation that exists in this country and the ridiculous social pressure which is put on the shoulders of parents throughout every state.
I stayed with my friend for a week in Houston and she’s doing a fantastic job raising her son and daughter in a blended family with her new husband. I suspect she’s a little ambivalent about her new life in the ‘burbs in so much as she’s traveled the world, lived a dozen crazy lives before the one she’s living now, and is not only super intelligent but I’d say, a little rebellious too. It’s conflicting right? I think all parents wrestle with this kind of thing, and for this post, I am not talking about you
I am talking about those parents who place so much faith in their kids, using them for battle, for gain, for family pride, they are the reasons why it sucks to be a parent in the USA. If any of you have ever taken your kids to a school event or to a sports day then you will know exactly what I am talking about. These parents, overweight, underpaid and just obnoxious to the nth degree, shouting and hollering at their kids to be the best, the baddest and the shining lights of the family, happy to trash on anyone else who comes in their way, including other kids, and this starts from a very early age.
Then there are the snooty ones, the parents who just want their kids to be the best, to show the world that they are the best parents who make the best decisions and who happily look down on any parent who they believe not to have been good. The only reprise that comes is when these parents realize that their precious Byron is just as rebellious as the rest, and when he gets caught smoking a joint or stealing from K-Mart, it soon brings those parents off their perch.
This is a country where everyone thinks they are the greatest, and that sadly extends to parenting too. It is not just the other parents of course, you can’t escape the judgement even at school, who should know only too well what a damn difficult job being a parent can be. The first sign of your kid having a rough patch or struggling with social interaction and bang, the knives are out and they come at you for your parenting skills.
Word to the wise America, parenting is not something that everyone knows how to do, we are all trying our best for the sake fo our kids’ futures and your backhanded comments and sly insults are not going to help anyone to believe anything other than the fact that this is the suckiest country to be a parent.
