Quote:
Originally Posted by AlphaFrog
I missed opening this thread after this response...
Can you name something that falls into this category? The best in every field achieve fame/notoriety to some extent. From MVP athletes to Grammy winning musicians to Nobel Prize winning scientist to best-selling authors. Different types and levels of course. And saying I'd like to set my kids up to be Olympians or Tony winners or the next Michelangelo doesn't mean I EXPECT that of them, it means I'm like every parent who wants their child to achieve their best. If they happen to be good enough to take that talent to the next level, I want to help them nurture it. I would hate for them to find something they love and are good at when they're too old to just be starting out and be competitive. Most of the time when someone does achieve "the next level", you hear stories of how they've been at it since they were 3.
If they grow up and decide they want to be teachers or lawyers or carpenters or stay-at-home parents, that's perfectly fine, and I didn't mean to sound like I was implying otherwise. I just want to give them the opportunities they deserve.
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I didn't see this until now.
I guess I initially read that sentence as sort of contradictory, but I can see how you are meaning it. How this ties into the T&T discussion - and I am not being snarky, read on.
If you are "setting up" your children to be world-recognized athletes or performers, how can you not have that expectation? In other words (and I am not saying that you do it, but we see it all the time on T&T), what is the expected result of hours upon hours of preparation and lots of money on equipment/training - at a level beyond what most children do as a hobby? And what if that doesn't "pay off"?
Have you seen Micky Wood (mother of Eden Wood, a popular kiddie pageant girl) interviewed? She talks about the "big two million dollar contract" that is going to get her and Eden out of Arkansas and to Hollywood. Sure, her kid can strut around and smile like a trained monkey, but how that will translate into "success" is unclear. Unless simply having a name that people recognize for no real contribution to the world (a la the Kardashians or the Jersey Shore people) is the goal.
These parents on the pageant shows honestly believe that they are setting their kids up for "ultimate success," a.k.a, FAME!! and FORTUNE!!, and proclaim that they'd do anything for their kid to "win." Two points to that - what if the kid isn't as talented as they expect or want them to be, in a particular area, second, what if the kid with talent and all that training and money spent, doesn't "win"?
It's a fine line, but I think "stage momism" is easy to spot when I see it. (Not saying you do it, because honestly, I only know what you share on your links there, but these crazy parents on T&T are on par with the Hockey dads that beat up the dads of the opposing team.)