Monster Parents

Here in the US, we've become accustomed to parents who beat the devil out of an umpire for calling a kid out at home plate or the parent who attacked a coach for pulling the parent's kid from the line-up.

We are aware of parents who go to school to trash a teacher for putting their kid in detention or throw a fit because of a failing grade.

We know that sports are being curtailed on playgrounds because someone might get hurt or someone might be the last to be picked to play on a team or might not be picked at all.

We have heard of graduation ceremonies for kindergarten, elementary school and middle school and about the kids who took part in those ceremonies who can't make the grade or quit before they can participate in high school graduation.

We know that there are competitions for kids where everyone gets a medal and a lot of people have wondered where all this might lead.

Well, in Japan, I think we might have a first in this mass absurdity. In Japan, they call parents who think their kids can do no wrong and should be rewarded regardless of merit "Monster Parents."

They even conspire to get teachers fired because their kids aren't always first in everything they do.

In fact, this whole trend can be called a vast parental conspiracy. They plot, they intimidate, they rant and rave and it's all about destroying values and institutions.

It's all about narcissism.

But most of all, it's all about stupidity.

Can you imagine a play or a movie with no supporting cast? No, I'm not talking about a monologue. I'm not talking about a performance in which a single actor plays multiple roles. I'm talking about a school play in which everyone in the cast plays the same part because the parents insisted that their kid got the lead role and the school didn't have the gumption to say no or better yet, just cancel the play.

This conspiracy is not as sensational as who assassinated whom. It's not as scary on the surface as who crashed planes into the WTC, but what kind of society can we expect in the future when these kids who've never heard the word no come of age.

Yeah, I know that every generation since the emergence of Homo sapiens sapiens has thought that the younger generation is the beginning of the end, but I'm not sure that we've ever seen a generation that doesn't understand hierarchy and the importance of every position and the importance of promotions based on merit.

We've seen generations who expect that they should be CEO right out of high school or at least that's the way they act, but we can chalk that up to naiveté. What will happen when we have a generation who will sink the boat because every single person can't be captain.

Well, judge for yourself as to where this may all lead.

The stage was set, the lights went down and in a suburban Japanese primary school everyone prepared to enjoy a performance of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The only snag was that the entire cast was playing the part of Snow White.

For the audience of menacing mothers and feisty fathers, though, the sight of 25 Snow Whites, no dwarfs and no wicked witch was a triumph: a clear victory for Japan's emerging new class of “Monster Parents”.

For they had taken on the system and won. After a relentless campaign of bullying, hectoring and nuisance phone calls, the monster parents had cowed the teachers into submission, forcing the school to admit to the injustice of selecting just one girl to play the title role.

www.timesonline.co.uk...

Read the whole article. It really does get worse.

[edit on 2008/6/8 by GradyPhilpott]

It's about time someone recognised the rampant scheming that takes place in the middle-class society.

It's gone unnoticed for far too long, i reckon.

my god its as bad as the middle east schools (i work and live in a middle east, so i kinda know what monster parents are like)! i always admired Japaneses schools and students for their respect to teachers and education... but this is really a big problem!...
good thread OP

[edit on 8-6-2008 by codex code]

I could only imagine that the offspring of such parents would end up having to face quite the shock, once they grow up and find that mommy and daddy aren't able to get everything for them.

Reality is harsh. Perhaps the 'entitlement' thing will fade fast with these ones?

Wow. Unbelievable. Times sure have changed since I was a child in school.

I have a 4yr old daughter and when I tried to put her in preschool....some of the things they were being taught was "Everyone is a winner". And any game they played there were NEVER winners or loosers.

Sorry, but that is not how I raise her. Needless to say, she is not in that program anymore (for many reasons, this being one).

I actually FEAR her going to school next year. There are way more issues to fear then when I was growing up...and im not talking about sex & drugs.

Great thread! ....subject matter is ridiculous !

Wow this is
OUT
OF
CONTROL!

So I guess Japan is overtaking the US and UK as the nation fastest approaching rock bottom? It's sad that such a great country with such an impressive culture could degenerate into a bunch of whining man/woman-children.

Over here I blame the hippies and that generation for never wanting to grow up/conform/abide by rules for not disciplining their children and schooling them in the ways of the world. But did they even have hippies in Japan? I doubt it. What could have caused this behavior to erupt so suddenly?

I think there's a choice parents have to make.
Is your job to protect and baby your child(ren) and keep them infantile or is it to help them grow up to be the best adults they can be?
IMO it's the latter.
I know my kids have accused me of being mean before but I've explained to them that I would be a bad mom if I weren't "mean" sometimes. That my job is to love them and help them be their best not to be their friend.

my $0.02

At least in Japan they seem to be calling these parents out. In the US it has just become common place and we are too PC to call anyone out on it. It really is a disturbing trend. This type of parenting leads to a ridiculous sense of entitlement in their children. So you have hordes of spoiled children, combined that with peer pressure and pack mentality and the "good" kids who are raised correctly don't stand a chance.

Monster Parents sound a whole lot like Helicopter Parents on steroids.

Helicopter Parents

Can you imagine what these kids are going to do when they have to start thinking for themselves and Mommy and Daddy aren't their to help. They're going to have a hell of a time living life in the real world.