Parenting On Trial

So the BBC churned out a programme called "World's Strictest Parents" where unruly British teens are sent to stay with strict parents in another nation.

First point to make is this: the two kids they got were not the sharpest tools in the shed and, more than that, they were little assholes who were poster children for what happens when you make parents powerless (i.e.; the death of smacking as a punishment). I wanted to throttle them (although, to her credit, the girl learned quickly and got herself together) - buy the end of it, I developed a healthy respect and a lot of sympathy for her).

Second point, some of the points made by parents of the American family in this particular episode were valid and particularly their observations about the kids they had temporarily adopted. Their attempts to make time for their kids and teach them the value of working and philanthropy were pretty damn admirable.

However, there were elements of their lifestyle that were just insane. They granted their kids no freedoms. There were the usual things, such as a flat ban on cussing but their kids had no right to privacy. All children in the house (including the British guests) were subjected to inspections that started with their bags and extended to any electronic platforms (cameras were checked, cellphones are audited and any foul-mouthed mp3s are deleted from iPods). More than that, all online passwords were known to them and the kids were watched while they browsed the net...

I understand the parental desire to protect your children from things that may be harmful to them but there are clearly points at which it goes too far.

I'm accused by some adults of being a bit of a harsh taskmaster with the youngsters in my family but, I like to think, I'm also reknowned as pretty damn fun. The way I see it is this: there are rules and, within the realms of those rules, there is freedom to play, have fun and learn. Let's face it, how far can you go to protect your kids? How much cotton wool can you wrap your home in before your kids choke on it?

Still, when you've got idiot kids who whine when people won't bring them kitchen role to wipe some dirt off their fancy shoes (wipe your own fucking shoes!), maybe that's the way to go. Maybe the complete lack of boundaries that the Brit kids had needed the completely insane levels of parenting that the Americans offered... I think the answer is most definitely somewhere in the middle.

Oh, and despite all the conditioning, the eldest American kid totally oggled the Brit girl's tits when they first met. Rightly so - good on you son!