And the prize for the weirdest “parenting technique” of the month goes to the following:
There’s a parenting technique where people force their children to give to charity in an attempt to teach them the value of charity. For example, they might require the kid to put aside a certain portion of their allowance for charitable donations, or they might make a rule that the kid isn’t allowed to get presents at their birthday party and instead the guests should make a contribution to a charity.
Of course, there is always teaching by example. Giving up one’s own luxuries and gifts in a quiet and unassuming way, making sacrifices to help the needy, things like that. But who needs all that trouble when you can unburden your pent up aggression by persecuting a defenseless child while sighing hypocritically about how it’s all for a good cause?
This reminded me of the time when I was taking tango lessons and my teacher would stand next to me and yell, “Be sexy, Clarissa! I TOLD YOU TO BE SEXY RIGHT NOW!!!”
Being ordered to be sexy is as productive as being forced to be charitable, which is why I can’t dance tango worth a damn.
Filed under: parenting
