Two twenty-something siblings - Steven and Kathryn Miner - took their mother to court, suing her for "bad parenting" leading to their emotional distress. What the adult children accused her of...
- She didn't send her son care packages when he was in college.
- She didn't buy her daughter the homecoming dress she wanted.
- The birthday cards she gave her kids didn't have checks in them. Exhibit A, presented by her son - a checkless birthday card his mother gave him contained this handwritten note: "Son I got you this birthday card because it's just like you...different from all the rest! Have a great day! Love & Hugs, Mom xoxoxo."
- She threatened to call the police if her son didn't fasten his seat belt.
- She forced her daughter to come home at midnight from a homecoming party.
The judge dismissed the case.
The mother did make one mistake, however. She created a family culture in which the kids believed they were entitled to anything they asked for. A couple of certified silver-spooners.
On the other hand, maybe it wasn't the mother's fault at all. According to the article, when the parents divorced in 1995, the kids (they were only 6 or 7 years old) went to live with their father, Steven Miner, a lawyer. Could it be that it was the father, not the mother, who spoiled them?
And guess what. The father was one of the lawyers who represented the two children in court. So the trial wasn't really about the mother at all. It was about the father, Steven Miner. And his son and daughter. Now it's news, and their behavior is exposed for everyone to see.
It's true what they say about the real world. It really is stranger than fiction. If you want to be a novelist, just read the news. You couldn't make this stuff up.
About the "sliver spoon syndrome"...
Books teens need to read...
Conversations with the Wise Aunt (for girls)
Conversations with the Wise Uncle (for boys)
Post by Dennis E. Coates, Ph.D., Copyright 2011. Building Personal Strength . (Permission to use image purchased from istockfoto.com)
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1 comment:
As a self-development professional and soon-to-be blogger, great post!
As a parent, great post! It's a constant battle between wanting to give your child things that you never had and wanting to make sure they appreciate them and don't grow up to expect everything to be handed to them. It really bothers me to see young people with this entitlement attitude. If you come up with a program to overcome this, let me know and I'll be your biggest affiliate! :)
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