Excuse me while I adjust my soapbox. In the meantime, in case you’ve been under the magic covers, take a moment to read this article about teen Abby Sunderland, 16, and her quest to sail around the world solo. Then come back here and prepare for an earful.
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Very few things put me out in parenting as quickly as watching parents assign their children’s future. In Brookfield you can watch this happen at a very early age. While I commend, and indeed have participated in, encouraging children to try a variety of activities in case one sticks, I can’t bear to watch parents force their children to specialize at an early age. But neither can I stand to see a child so occupied in outside activities that they aren’t allowed to play. (That’s a soapbox issue for another day.)
This story, of a 16 year old girl sailing around the world alone, makes me ask, “what are those parents thinking?” Yesterday the world stood still as word came that two emergency beacons had been activated. OMG! Something must be wrong!
(Language alert. This one has my back up…)
No shit, Sherlock. You plunk your 16 year old out in the middle of the freakin’ ocean ALONE and there’s a damn good chance something’s going to go wrong.
(It will be safer from here on.)
I just feel desperate for this teen. It’s really hard for me to buy the argument that sailing was her dream. Her older brother made the same trip last year and the family has thousands invested in specialty equipment. I kind of wonder if her dream wasn’t tap dancing or something, and this is what she’s been assigned. Bless her, she’s going to have to adjust to what will surely be the feeling of disappointing her parents. That may take some professional help if her parents are as controlling as it appears.
I know, I know. I jumped to a couple of conclusions here. Still, it’s going to take a whole lot to prove otherwise if you ask me.
This one got me riled as well. You saw an angle I didn’t. If it is true that this was more than the child’s idea, then it’s an even bigger crime than I thought. The parents should be charged with child abuse.
Extremely poor judgement, bad parenting, stupidity, misguided leadership, perhaps trying to live and achieve through one’s child–yes. A crime, no.
If so, every farming parent who allows their child to operate a tractor or any heavy equipment, any parent who allows or encourages their young children to ride motorcycles(bikes) in races or motorcross, to participate in downhill skiing on higher rated slopes, to ride a bicycle in traffic, piloting an airplane, etc. would also have to be charged.
Let’s not involve the government in the ‘doing’ –but maybe if necessary mom and dad should pay for any rescue costs.
Does this kind of parenting boil my blood-yes it does.
Maybe sailing isn’t what she wanted to do, maybe she just wanted to be like her brother. Either way, even as teen myself, I don’t think she should’ve been allowed to go solo. Not around the world. It’s way too much.
The risk of injury during many “daredevil-like” activities is why a lot of events require that participants be 18 or older. Like skydiving. I have always wanted to skydive, because I want to feel what it’s like, and some say it provides a feeling of spiritual freedom. I’d love to go when I turn 18.