While channel surfing, I stopped to view a “reality series” on MTV, titled My Super Sweet Sixteen. The premise of the “show” is parents succumbing to the whining wishes of their spoiled children. Parents agree to throw a mega-birthday bash, with a luxury car included. These coming of age parties for sixteen year-olds would rival social gatherings thrown by million dollar celebrities.
Gone are the days of celebrating with a few close school friends at your parent’s house. Eating a Duncan Hines cake with store bought ice cream and your decorations consisted of a few balloons. The fallacy is that parents are being “good” to their children by lavishing them with excess. Moms and Dads willingly allow their child to create VIP rooms and then the birthday boy or girl ostracizes other party goers because of their social status. What is the lesson being communicated by parents? Allowing these types of behaviors only reinforce the self-centered attitudes that can exist in the teenage years.