Dancing With The Spoiled

Dear Mongoose,
I have a 7th grade son who wanted to go to the 8th dance...Not as a date with someone in the 8th grade, but just by himself. Since it's called "the 8th grade dance" I didn't think that was possible, but apparently you can get an 8th grader who's either not going or going alone to purchase a ticket. I told him no. We found out over the weekend that there were about as many 7th graders there as 8th...what's up with that? has our middle school people lost their minds?

Dear Dance Mom or Dad,
Nothing like a bunch of dressed up kids standing in the corner listening to music, staring at an empty dance floor. At least that’s how it was when I was in school.  

First of all, good for you telling your kid “no”.  NO is the most underused word in a parent’s vocabulary these days. The problem with giving your kids everything they want is that they expect the rest of the world to do the same. This is why there are more people in jail today than live in Dallas TX (google it). If I had to guess, these 7th graders didn’t even have to ask twice before Mommy or Daddy moved heaven and earth to make sure little Susie doesn’t have to wait a whole year to stare at an empty dance floor. 

I don’t blame the kids, I bet you a dollar and a donut little Susie had every Barbie she ever asked for and some she didn’t, and when she turns 16, will have a car nicer than a hedge fund manager’s. 

Good ol' mom & dad loving their kids to death and Mr. & Mrs. Teacher scared to death to tell parents no, that’s who I blame. 

Get a pencil and paper, write this down: one or more of this group of kids, (this group being the group that can do no wrong, always gets whatever they want and get treated like they are about 10 years older than they actually are), will end up in jail, rehab, or parenthood before the age of 18. 

Parents, you were told no and survived. We all want our kids to have it better than we did but at what cost?  I’ll take calluses over blisters any day. 
​-MG