Everyone Is Included

It seems to me that there is a constant buzz in the air of parents that are complaining in order to protect their children. And it isn’t just from dangers like traffic and crime. It is an attempt to shelter them from any possible negative influences on their lives. From music, to school, to television, parents are becoming more controlling in their views. Even though no parent wants  harm to come to their children (and if they do, something should be done), I think that parents are going too far in protecting them. Parents in today's society are trying to prevent anything bad from happening to their children and I believe that it is having a negative effect on the younger generations.

I believe there is a certain point where parents become overbearing and hurt their children's perception of life. After school, not everyone gets a job, not everybody is equal, and people rarely get more than one chance to do anything. But we have created a mentality in children that they can get away with being lazy and that everyone is important. In reality, not everyone is destined to become a doctor or a lawyer like many parents wish. Yet these ideas are implanted in the minds of children from young ages. “Yes Billy, you can become the president someday…” I think that is a little bogus. It is feasible that the fictional child could actually become the president, but it is extremely unlikely. How does it help a child learn his or her mistakes in school when a parent can call up and resolve the situation for the child? Newsflash: parents will not be able to call your boss and explain why you are constantly texting instead of doing your job. Children should be taught the importance of holding oneself responsible for one's own actions. The most successful people in the world got to where they are through hard work. Not with the help of parents and friends.

The hard working characteristic should be taught at a young age to all children because it is one of the most important skills a person can have. Talent is not enough for anyone except for the Brazilian soccer player Ronaldo. He is the only exception that I know of because he was born with so much talent he could still be one of the best soccer players in the world even though he was overweight most of his career. 50 Cent is one of the most successful individuals in the music industry and he works much harder than most. He once said "Sleep? Sleep is for those people who are broke. I don't sleep because I have an opportunity to make my dream a reality." 50 Cent shows that he earns everything he gets. He does not sit on his laurels waiting for good things to happen. He makes them occur. It is important for people to learn the need for hard work at a young age.

I’ve noticed a lot of students just going through the motions without working hard. If there is someone out there working harder than you are to become successful then you are going to get beat. Instead this generation of parents feels the need to make sure children never feel inferior to those with a higher work rate or more talent. They applaud everyone so nobody feels left out. Unfortunately their children lose an opportunity to learn a valuable life lesson. If they do not make a team or a band or group, they have the option to work harder and comeback and make it the next year. If adults maintain the “everyone is included” attitude, mediocrity will appear to be good enough. While in high school I was part of the select choir which everyone had to audition for every year. I was lucky enough to be in it all four years of high school (it probably had a lot to do with the fact that I am a male and males almost always were selected), but my sister wasn't as fortunate. In my opinion, she has the most incredible voice in the world and could succeed as a professional singer. She didn't make the choir her freshman year and was told that if she worked hard enough in the ensuing school year she would have a great chance to make it the next year. That is what she did and she ended up becoming one of the officers of the choir in both her junior and senior years. I feel that if she was accepted right away, she never would have become as incredible as she is now. She made the most of her initial disappointment and created a tremendous comeback through hard work and perseverance. 

Adults may have the best intentions while “protecting” their children, but I fear this may be a double-edged sword. It is critical that a child develops a positive self-esteem while they are young, but in preserving this, parents are not allowing their children to experience failure. People have been saying for centuries that it is necessary to fail in order to become better, and parents are too scared to let their babies fail. Even though they have their child’s best interest in mind, there may be a price to pay for their actions.