Stop the Coddling

Opinionated column on bad parenting!

When I’m asked what my biggest pet peeve is, I’m quick to respond- “Parents who coddle their children.” It happens way too often at this point in time, and it will only get worse as time goes on. Think of a banana. It starts off a little too hard and bitter, but with time, it softens, and becomes a little sweeter, the perfect balance. But eventually, the sweetness turns into that classic tinge of fermentation, and the banana softens into a pile of a mushy, brown, oxidized mess. This resembles what society has become today- a soft mushy mess. Parents are too nice to their children, and it’s destroying our country.
Last year, my family and I took a trip to Disney. When we arrived to magic kingdom on the first day of our trip, I was appalled by the amount of large children that were still being pushed around in strollers. I’m not talking about four year olds and five year olds- these kids were preteens- maybe up to 12 or 13 years old. Some were even bigger than the parent pushing them. I actually even saw one of them watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on an iPad at Disney. At DISNEY. The real Mickey Mouse was standing ten feet away for peteś sake! These kids were more than capable of walking, and this kind of parenting plays a huge component in the obesity rate of America’s youth.
To make my disapproval known to these miserably inadequate parents, I would raise my eyebrows, make eye contact with the parent, then their kid, then back at the parent. Sometimes, if they were in earshot, I would add a condescending chuckle. I really let them have it.
As much as seeing 100 pound children spilling out of their strollers makes me gag, I am even more distraught when I see a toddler begin to cry, and get handed an electronic device to shut them up. I was at a restaurant a few days ago, and there was a young family sitting at the table next to mine. The two year old at the table began to cry, and I felt a tinge of sympathy for the parents. The sympathy faded quickly though once I saw the mother nonchalantly pull her phone out of her bag, and toss it to the two year old. He leaned out of his high chair to pick up the device, and typed in the password with his pudgy little baby hands. His tears were gone, and so was his childhood. There were coloring books in front of the child. He didn’t need a phone to make him feel better, but his parents spoiled him and gave it to him anyway. But the mayhem didn’t end there. The kid wasn’t crying anymore, but for some reason the mom STILL thought the phone wasn’t enough. So she passed the little bastard a pair of beats headphones.
I was in China over the summer, and was made to act in a Chinese play (if you’re wondering how I ended up in this situation, so am I). The actors ranged in age from eight to 17 years old. One day, during our seven hour rehearsal, I was on stage making my big debut when I heard a scream from behind me. I turned around. An eight year old, whose “English name” was KK, had fallen- into the velvet curtain. Didn’t even hit the ground. Only the velvet. Our acting instructors, one of whom was his dad, ran to KK’s side to comfort him. He was crying uncontrollably. I was left alone on stage without an audience.
“Are you joking? He literally fell into velvet,” I said. Nobody responded, because they didn’t speak English. I watched in disgust as KK’s dad held his limp son in his arms, and stroked his head while the other acting instructors frantically wrapped bandages around all four limbs. If this had ever happened to me, ya know what my dad would do? Nothing. Because he’s not an obsessive, over-protective, irrational parent. And, falling into velvet really isn’t that bad.
I’m sick of watching parents act like this. I’m over watching them turn their young children into spoiled, manipulative brats. Softies need to harden up, and they need to do it fast. Our society today is clearly unraveling, and this is a call to action.