On a whim (a stupid, stupid whim), I picked up the first Gossip Girl book. I thought 'OK, teen fiction, short book, let's give it a go.' Bad choice! I am absolutely appalled at this book. I mean, I know kids know about and read about questionable topics. Fine. But, what I don't get is why the GG books (and tv show, for that matter) are so popular. The first couple of pages reveal kids in high school having sex, doing drugs, drinking alcohol, skipping school, etc. as everyday occurances, with parental consent. In fact, I would call it parental condonement.
And it's not as if they're experimenting with these things. It's just part of their lives. I remember feeling scandalous reading about Margaret getting her period for the first time. I guess it does not really matter what I think about the GG books because they are popular, and children will read them and think all of these things they are not ready to do are super cool no matter what. However, I definitely think parents should just flip open the books their kids read and read a chapter of them for themselves sometimes. I think they might be surprised at what they find. Then again, maybe not. When you think about how kids (and sometimes their parents) dress and act, you (I) might rethink this.
Speaking of the way kids act, today at the check out, I handed a lady her change. There was a boy of about eight or nine with her (presumably her grandson). She looked at him, handed him a dollar, and said, "This is for being so helpful today." He paused, looked at her, and rebuked her, "A dollar? You're only giving me a dollar?" I was shocked. Before I could stop my mouth, it said, "Most people would say thank you for that." The grandmother looked like she was grateful to have someone finally take her side, and she said, "Yeah. Did you hear that?" The kid looked at me (the bad guy), and said, "She only gave me one dollar." I politely let him know, "It's a dollar you didn't have before." The grandma shrugged, the kid rolled his eyes, and they both walked away. I was close to snatching the dollar out of the kid's hand and saying, "Well, now you don't have to worry about the dollar because it is mine." This is why I think spankings are a necessary punishment. A nice thick leather belt to the bare butt might have helped that child a little.
P.S. I think my vocabulary is too advanced for blogger tonight. I am getting a lot of red squigglies.
You're awesome! I think that I am rubbing off on you.
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