Parenting - another view
From the incomparable Dave Barry:
A while ago The New York Times printed an item concerning an 11-year-old girl who was overheard on the streets of East Hampton, N.Y., telling her father, "Daddy, Daddy, please don't sing!" The daddy was Billy Joel. The irony, of course, is that a lot of people would pay BIG money to hear Billy Joel sing. But of course these people are not Billy Joel's adolescent offspring....
Yes, parents: In the ongoing battle between you and your adolescent children, you possess the ultimate weapon -- The Power To Embarrass. Use this power, parents! If your adolescent children are in ANY way displeasing you -- if they are mouthing off or engaging in unacceptable behavior -- do not waste your breath nagging them. Instead, simply do what Billy Joel and I do: Sing.
A while ago The New York Times printed an item concerning an 11-year-old girl who was overheard on the streets of East Hampton, N.Y., telling her father, "Daddy, Daddy, please don't sing!" The daddy was Billy Joel. The irony, of course, is that a lot of people would pay BIG money to hear Billy Joel sing. But of course these people are not Billy Joel's adolescent offspring....
Yes, parents: In the ongoing battle between you and your adolescent children, you possess the ultimate weapon -- The Power To Embarrass. Use this power, parents! If your adolescent children are in ANY way displeasing you -- if they are mouthing off or engaging in unacceptable behavior -- do not waste your breath nagging them. Instead, simply do what Billy Joel and I do: Sing.