[quote name='mykevermin']Speaking of being a hypocrite, I really thought that the most recent US anti-drug ads were really poignant for once; it was the whole "it's okay to be a hypocrite and tell your children not to do drugs" campaign. Hypocrisy, while often used as a tool of condemnation (and rightly so), is not always the worst thing in the world. After all, I'd rather be a hypocrite than have a drug using child.
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I don't watch TV--what were these antidrug ads? Why were they hypocritical?
I see no hypocrisy in saying, "I'm asking you not to do this thing. I used to do it, I don't do it anymore because I realized it's bad/harmful/etc." That's not hypocrisy, that's growth.
Saying to someone who is your 'equal', "I can do this, but you can't", is hypocrisy. [I fully expect parents to do things they tell their kids they can't, and in most cases I don't see that as hypocrisy.]
No, OP, you don't sound like an asshat. This is the old 'Mom/Dad was right' syndrome, and I've got it too-some things my folks wouldn't let me do, that I wanted to, I now see the wisdom of that decision and will most likely emulate it.
Genderization: Well, there is a difference between boys/girls and men/women, and it's important that they remain different to an extent. A lot of the anti-gay-marriage/adoption folks aren't necessarily against gays marrying/having kids, they're *for* kids having a male and a female role model [And yes, before it goes down that path, of course two gays being good parents is better than say a crack dealer dad and an abusive alcoholic mom being bad parents. That doesn't invalidate the core point.].
All of the parenting magazines are pretty much in accordance with this; moms and dads raise their kids a little differently, and that's not a bad thing.
My boy has lots of toys--lots of trucks, Hot Wheels, things that go 'smash' or 'boom'. We have not purposefully aimed him in that direction or away from other directions, at this point, if we're going to get him toys, we usually let him pick out his own. His favorite show is Dora the Explorer, and he also likes playing with female action figures [otherwise known as dolls] and he treats his stuffed puppy like a baby sometimes. To some extent, the genetic differences between male and female will pull a child toward one direction.
Oh yeah, don't forget, PAD, that public good--you know, Alaskan bridges to islands with one resident, and subsidizing 'artists' whose 'art' is so good, no one wants to buy it. Important 'public good' things like that.
And watching a horror movie or playing a game like GTA does not [necessarily] mean the person will go out and emulate those exact acts, and usually if they do, they were messed up to begin with. It generally means the child/person later expresses a greater tendency toward violence/aggression, which does not translate to killing people. It can manifest itself as being a bully in school, aggressive driving, calling people insults on anonymous message boards, etc. The effects vary by child, and can be reduced by varying what the child is exposed to, but children do tend to take up the traits they observe around them.
ing GROCERIES?). I don't think a tool set is cool; tinkertoys, lincoln logs, erector sets, the kind of shit that makes you use your imagination and creativity, however...the boy or the girl will get them, no doubt.
feel free to post some wisdom up though, if I sound like a complete asshat.
