I saw a family when I was hiking at Mt. Peak in Enumclaw a couple weekends ago. It was a dad, mom, and two sons (oldest overweight, youngest to young to get big). The oldest kid was complaining that climbing the mountain hurt and he didn't want to do it. I thought the parents should have told the kid to take a break, recover and keep going... instead they let their kid go back to the car while they slowly made it up the rest of the way. I think this is a big problem in our society. If it's easy will do it... if it's hard we won't and we don't have anyone telling us we have to. Am I wrong in thinking that it is the parent's responsibility to show tough love and make their kid do the hike and not let him give up when it gets tough??? Am I not seeing something here or are the parents of this kid letting him fail and take the easy way to a life of lazy unhealthiness?!? Am I being too rough on the parents or am I wrong and the kid is to blame?

Nobody likes to do something for nothing.

Kids are smart, they know people are going to lie to them. Once a parent lies to their child for the firs time, even if it's something which seems silly like Santa Clause, it fractures the trust or faith a child has in their parent.

From that point on, a child has no reason to believe when the parent tells them they need to keep doing something to see the results.

When it comes to exercise, the benefits are not realized until you've been doing it for awhile.

You and I are confident about the benefits to be had, both of us have stuck it out and and seen that exercising is actually beneficial. But a kid generally has nothing to go on other than faith in other peoples word.

When a child begins to feel physical pain exercising, it's their natural instinct to try and prevent that pain. When a parent tells them it's good for them, they start to wonder if they're being lied to again. Physical pain tends to trump faith. Besides, these are the same pricks who told me a fat man squeezes down my chimney to leave me things once a year, when I question exactly how that works they tell me more lies. Why would someone lie to me about something like that and not lie to me about exercising ? How do I know they don't find me being in physical pain amusing ?

The problem isn't that parents aren't forcing their kids to stick with exercise, the problem is that kids have no reason to trust their parents.

Definitely the parents are wrong. Parents are suppose to be in charge of their kids, not kids in charge of their parents.

Kids aren't to blame when they are too young not to know better, (but no matter what age, they sure know how to manipulate their parents, don't they!! ) Still, they don't know what's really good for them, so their parents must guide them through their childhood years with positive "good for them stuff" to carry into their adult lives.

Unless the kid had a broken leg, sprained ankle, or medical problem, yes, the parents should have made him go up the hill, but yes, at a little slower speed as to not be too cruel to the kid. As time goes by, the kid will be able to go up the hill a little faster, 'till one day... he will fly up the hill with no problems at all!! Another challenge accomplished. Kids need challenges in their lives, and accomplishments, thus making them feel proud when they conquered things, instead of learning an attitude of... I don't want to do this because it's hard, uncomfortable, boring, or whatever. Getting away with that kind of attitude as a child, will, for the rest of their life, allow them to always find excuses not to do things.

I see your point, but I wouldn't say Santa is a lie so much as a use of imagination. After all when you were a kid didn't you believe there were dragons to vanquish, superheroes to come to the rescue and Santa to give you a gift or two? I think kids should be dared to dream... dream of great possibilities... dream of being a star athlete or going to outer space... a parent's job is to foster and encourage those dreams and guide them on how to attain said dreams. A parent's job is also to not let their kids give up of the dreams when it comes to putting in the work to get those dreams... whether that is working out, studying hard or putting presents under a tree and fostering the idea that a person could actually squeeze through a water heater because we didn't have a chimney. When the going gets tough, the tough had parents that didn't let them quit!

Great post joebert. That really makes a lot of sense!! I never thought of it that way.

Although I think Santa Claus is more of a white lie then a lie lie, I always hated pretending to my kids that there was a Santa Claus. Society made me do it!! But it wasn't very long in their little lives that I told my kids there was no such thing as a Santa Claus. That was a temporary crush on them, but they got over it quicker than one would think.

I really never did like the guy!! haha. Maybe it's because when I was a kid, we always went to my grandma's house for Christmas. Everyone was there,aunts, uncles, cousins. The adults got a little out of control one Christmas, with drinking and carrying on... so my grandma snuck out in private and went and got the Santa suit, put it on, and just before dark, beat on the side of the house with a chain she had and spoke in German words of anger, she was so mad at them. Well, that scared the liver out of me!! And to this day, I can live without Santa Claus.

That's not the reason I told my kids there wasn't a Santa Claus. I just didn't like telling them even a white lie!!

There's no Santa? What do you mean?!

Yep, you heard it right, just like there's no Easter bunny either!! Oh nooooo....

Those are just about the exact words (There's no Santa?) a kindergartener said to my son when my son told him their was no Santa Claus!! Can you imagine, kids still believing in Santa by the time they are ready to enter kindergarten?!?

I think Santa Claus represents a belief in the goodness of human nature and that the stories are parables for life. Personally, I am going to let my kids believe in Santa for as long as they want to and when reason invades imagination then they will discover the truths that Santa is only a make-believe fictional character meant to inspire society's humanity at least for one night out of the year. There is nothing sinister about that and I don't think there is anything wrong with a kid who still wants to believe in Santa or at least not want to question the logistics of one person helping so many on one night. Let the kids dream there little dreams... you never know... the may grow up to fulfill them!

Exactly, and usually at kindergarten age, I think they are or should be to that point ...

Much past that age, and low-and-behold a bully learns they still believe in Santa, and, oh my gosh, watch out!!

I'd rather bust my child's bubble under my wing, then the possible bully waiting for my child in kindergarten.

Once you send your children "out into the world" they have lost the protection you have given them up to that point. You're not their to defend them anymore, speak for them, fight their battles. It all society fault!!!

Sure... society's fault

It's tradition. Each generation passes it down in order to grasp at fond memories from their childhood, without thinking of or realizing the consequences.

Lying is an instinct of self preservation that is the result of doing something which puts us at an immediately realized severe disadvantage. When tradition has you go out and spend thousands of dollars you really shouldn't be spending and you realize kids are probably going to start expecting it all year 'round, that instinct kicks in.

Yep, I agree. Christmas has gotten way out of control with the Santa thing and presents. Kids expect it. They expect a lot of presents from Santa, and are disappointed if they don't get a lot.

Another thing that shouldn't happen is when kids go back to school after the Christmas break, and the teacher has everyone tell the others what they got for Christmas. They did that when I was in elementary school, I don't know if they still do that today. There are some families out there that don't go over board, which could embarrass the child who has to tell the rest of the class they got one present. Anyway, I wonder how many children today do not even know the real meaning of Christmas!! Now that is .... BAD PARENTING!!

By the real meaning of Christmas, do you mean the one day a year when the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, Superman and Sponge Bob all get together and give thanks for everything they received in the year? Oh wait, I am getting Thanksgiving and Christmas mixed up again, sorry! Wait, Christmas is when Santa comes and rewards good kids and punishes bad kids... we said that already, right?

You have been very naughty this year, not nice!!!! You know what that means!!?!!