http://www.bakersfieldvoice.com/home/Blog/tsimpson/23026 I read an article in the Bakersfield Californian several days ago about the owner of the empty home that was used for party central by numerous teens.&nbsp; The owners decision not to press charges baffled me.&nbsp; He stated in the article that he took the beer back, but returned several other items to them.&nbsp; WHAT?&nbsp; Okay, I look around the neighborhoods and high schools and see kids driving brand new vehicles, wearing $250.00 pairs of jeans, carrying designer handbags and think...what are they going to want when they graduate?&nbsp; Hold these kids accountable for their actions!&nbsp; So they won't like you, who cares!&nbsp; They WILL get over it, and if not......who cares!&nbsp; I am so incredibly fed up with parents NOT parenting, allowing their relationship with their kids to be that of a buddy and not a parent!&nbsp; No wonder our society is the way it is!&nbsp; Okay, I'm done................for now.&nbsp; Thanks for reading and putting up with my &quot;venting&quot;. I read an article in the Bakersfield Californian several days ago about the owner of the empty home that was used for party central by numerous teens.&nbsp; The owners decision not to press charges baffled me.&nbsp; He stated in the article that he took the beer back, but returned several other items to them.&nbsp; WHAT?&nbsp; Okay, I look around the neighborhoods and high schools and see kids driving brand new vehicles, wearing $250.00 pairs of jeans, carrying designer handbags and think...what are they going to want when they graduate?&nbsp; Hold these kids accountable for their actions!&nbsp; So they won't like you, who cares!&nbsp; They WILL get over it, and if not......who cares!&nbsp; I am so incredibly fed up with parents NOT parenting, allowing their relationship with their kids to be that of a buddy and not a parent!&nbsp; No wonder our society is the way it is!&nbsp; Okay, I'm done................for now.&nbsp; Thanks for reading and putting up with my &quot;venting&quot;. en-us Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:44:18 PDT <p>Vent away.&nbsp; I hear you, believe me.&nbsp; I've always been of the mind that you get certain things at certain ages: you don't get a phone at 10 -- you don't get a car at 13 -- etc.&nbsp; Many times parents feel like they are making up for some other shortcoming in the kid's life (or failure in the parent's life).&nbsp; But what they are doing is setting up the child for disappointment further down the road.&nbsp; The real world doesn't run in the manner these kids are accustomed.&nbsp; That's one reason why so many houses are in foreclosure: they bought the huge house they felt that they &quot;deserved&quot; based on the lifestyle they were accustomed to -- and then what?&nbsp; Then they couldn't pay for it, that's what!!!&nbsp; The other day, my husband and I were driving beside a lifted, 4-door, gorgeous Ford F-350.&nbsp; OMG!&nbsp; The &quot;kids&quot; driving it were in their 20s with a toddler in the backseat.&nbsp; What a great way to begin a marriage and family: in debt.</p> <p>I sincerely hope there's room on that soapbox for two.</p> <p>~d.</p> http://www.bakersfieldvoice.com/home/Blog/tsimpson/23026/#c_210052 http://www.bakersfieldvoice.com/home/Blog/tsimpson/23026/#c_210052 <p>Vent away.&nbsp; I hear you, believe me.&nbsp; I've always been of the mind that you get certain things at certain ages: you don't get a phone at 10 -- you don't get a car at 13 -- etc.&nbsp; Many times parents feel like they are making up for some other shortcoming in the kid's life (or failure in the parent's life).&nbsp; But what they are doing is setting up the child for disappointment further down the road.&nbsp; The real world doesn't run in the manner these kids are accustomed.&nbsp; That's one reason why so many houses are in foreclosure: they bought the huge house they felt that they &quot;deserved&quot; based on the lifestyle they were accustomed to -- and then what?&nbsp; Then they couldn't pay for it, that's what!!!&nbsp; The other day, my husband and I were driving beside a lifted, 4-door, gorgeous Ford F-350.&nbsp; OMG!&nbsp; The &quot;kids&quot; driving it were in their 20s with a toddler in the backseat.&nbsp; What a great way to begin a marriage and family: in debt.</p> <p>I sincerely hope there's room on that soapbox for two.</p> <p>~d.</p>