Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Picky Eaters...Well kids...

With the three days off between exams, I find myself slumping down in front of the television and giving my mind almost no stimulation as I stare at the mindlessness on American cable TV. One of the components of this mindlessness is Wifeswap - a show on Lifetime about women who trade places for 2 weeks and try to bring something to the other family.  They usually pick wives of 2 extremes. A Christian and a Pagan or a playful, easy-going parent with a strict one... 
One thing that seriously annoys me though is the lack of discipline in some of these houses... especially when it comes to eating. I mean, do people just like proving the American stereotype that the rest of the world has? (And it's not a good one for any of you under that misconception.) 

I was fuming with rage when I heard a little boy say,"I hate mashed potatoes," or watched a mother say that she has to go to 3 different take out places each night to get what each child wants. What is wrong with these people? You're not allowed to say that you don't eat this or you don't eat that until you leave your parents' house! 'Till then whatever they give you you eat! A kid under ten years old can't give a justified reason for not liking mashed potatoes. Potatoes are a staple - there are loads of different varieties and almost everyone in the world eats them. Don't tell me you don't like mashed potatoes.

But parents are to blamed for spoiling their kids. Catering to their every whim can do nothing but harm. And when they're older and people have to worry about their spoilt, picky behaviour... all they become are nuisances.
And the major excuse for these parents not wanting to discipline their children is always,"Well I don't want my kids to hate me!" Are they idiots! I'd do a better job raising kids than these nut-jobs. My parents make me eat whatever they cook whether I want to or not and I've received my fair share or lashes and slaps (in public too but we don't call social services for trivialities like that here) and you know what? I love my parents with all my heart because I know that everything they do is to make me a better person. And as far as I can see, it works a lot better than what I see on Wifeswap :P