When my oldest daughter was in second grade she brought home a questionnaire for me to fill out about her. There was the basic stuff: Name, birth date, likes, dislikes, strengths. (no space for weakness-bad for morale). And lastly was the question:
What advice do you have for your child?
Well I took this to heart and my answer was:
"Life is not fair so get used to it!"
I thought it was and still is good advice. So time passes, the questionnaire is forgotten until the dreaded back to school night. And there they are for everyone to read! All the other parents (and I mean ALL) wrote nice sweet little tidbits about how little Johnny can and will do anything he wants. And how Susie is such an amazing human being she is sure to be the next queen of the world. And there was mine...yup just hang a sign around my neck that says "BAD PARENT"!
My kids have never accused me of giving them false hope which is why you don't see them making fools of themselves on American Idol or So You Think You Can Dance. I think they turned out okay.
PS....Little Johnny is in jail, and Susie is a prostitute. ;-)
This is what Bill Gates has to say on the issue..I think he is a pretty smart guy.
What advice do you have for your child?
Well I took this to heart and my answer was:
"Life is not fair so get used to it!"
I thought it was and still is good advice. So time passes, the questionnaire is forgotten until the dreaded back to school night. And there they are for everyone to read! All the other parents (and I mean ALL) wrote nice sweet little tidbits about how little Johnny can and will do anything he wants. And how Susie is such an amazing human being she is sure to be the next queen of the world. And there was mine...yup just hang a sign around my neck that says "BAD PARENT"!
My kids have never accused me of giving them false hope which is why you don't see them making fools of themselves on American Idol or So You Think You Can Dance. I think they turned out okay.
PS....Little Johnny is in jail, and Susie is a prostitute. ;-)
This is what Bill Gates has to say on the issue..I think he is a pretty smart guy.
Bill Gates speech: 11 rules your kids did not and will not learn in school
Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!
Rule 2: The world doesn't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.
Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.
Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.
Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.
Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.
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