good read i agree with much of it as well. On Wed, Sep 3, 2008 at 2:53 AM, Beth In Alaska <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Below from a friend, phrases exactly what concerns me about the Palins. > > "If what I read is right -- and, of course, with all the crap out there, it > may not be -- while Sarah Palin was living in Juneau as governor (with the > new baby), the rest of the family remained in Wasilla. But dad Todd had a > job that required him, too, to be absent much of the time -- one week on, > one week off. So the kids got looked after by other family members. > Unspoken > message to kids: our jobs are more important to us than you are. > > Most of the families in my circle are 2-career couples, and they have made > various adjustments and, yes, sacrifices, especially during the vulnerable > teen years, to try to maintain/improve/ensure the stability of the family, > to make sure that the kids know they are loved, supported, valued, etc. > They > recognize that at least one parent (but preferably both, taking turns as > needed) needs to be around enough to be involved in their kids' lives: > driving them to & fro (and their friends, to be sure to know them and have > their trust/respect, too), sitting in the stands when they compete in > whatever activity they're involved in (and occasionally even peering above > their laptop screen to actually catch some of the action), having meals > together on a regular basis, and so on. This is not the stuff to be left to > various family babysitters -- aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. -- who, > while they love the kids, are still just understudies. To grow up > emotionally > healthy, kids need to know their parents love them more than anything else. > > I don't know a single family that doesn't have issues & conflicts with its > teens. (After all, it's Nature's way of easing the pain otherwise felt when > they leave the nest!) But there are issues and there are issues. After > spending a couple of Friday mornings observing the proceedings of our local > county court awhile back (while awaiting the sentencing of the "friendly > neighborhood burglar" who tried to break into our home), and seeing loser > after loser on the docket, I quickly concluded that my kids are wonderful > and vowed to never again criticize their socks-on-the-stairs habit! > (Although I'm still not happy with their choice, after going off to > college, > to own a fake ID for purposes of procuring alcohol & entrance into clubs, > though I imagine I'd have done the same!) > > Sometimes, in order to put the kids' needs in the forefront, a family will > find that one parent needs to cut back hours, or take a job that maybe pays > less but is closer, or allows flexible time or telecommuting. Sometimes a > parent loses a job and finds a new one clear across the country -- but to > keep the kids in a stable environment, chooses to "commute" for a year or > two, to let a kid finish high school and allow the spouse stay at his/her > job. I can count at least 5 families I know that that's happened to. Others > choose to relocate the whole family, although that's less common when > high-school-age kids are involved. In real life, families need to weigh > what's best for the family and make tough choices like these. > > Throughout it all, if you want to raise children with self-esteem, so that > they can start out in life setting lofty goals and believing they can > achieve them -- and then really go out and achieve them -- your kids need > to > know you're there for them, you love them, you value their achievements, > you > think they make good decisions, you're all on the same team, etc. etc. > Above > all, they need to know they're your #1 priority. > > That's not the message Sarah & Todd Palin are giving their kids. When both > parents are physically and/or emotionally absent (and often when even just > one is), one or more of their children is almost bound to act out -- > whether > through disciplinary problems, lousy grades, unprotected sex, drugs, petty > crime, or whatever. It helps them test their parents' limits and love -- > and > for a kid, negative attention is better than none. > > The whole issue of the new baby Trig is just another example of this > family's not putting their children's needs first. Sarah Palin is trying to > act like it's no big deal having a kid at all! It doesn't have to interrupt > a thing, business as usual! Seriously, going back to work 3 days after > giving birth??? What was she trying to prove? Who was the baby bonding with > while she was busy playing governor? (I hope she wasn't governing AND > getting up every 2-3 hours to feed him!) And this is a child who will need > extensive interventions in his early months and years. She'd be a lot more > believable preaching family values if she or her husband had taken the > maternity/paternity leave they're allowed by law. > > I've never before seen a candidate's children so *not* be their parents' > focus! Has Sarah Palin ever even said anything about wanting a better > America for her children?? They're not in her equation at all! (Of course, > on the other hand, we haven't heard much from her yet anyway.... maybe > Weds. > night!) > > It's not a sexist-type question of woman's vs. man's roles, mom vs. dad. > It's a question of true family values, of a person's and a couple's real > priorities in life. These people are sacrificing their children not for the > good of the country (really, there are other, far more qualified people who > could have filled the VP role), but for their own egos and ambition. (Same, > by the way, went for John Edwards, who IMHO should not have continued his > campaign -- let alone had an affair! -- while his wife was being treated > for > breast cancer. With young kids at home and mom undergoing chemo, his family > needed him home. Ego and ambition over family, just another example.) > > So it's not the pregnancy that's the issue, it's the family dynamics. And > for the insight they provide into the candidate's character, it's a > legitimate issue." > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Adobe® ColdFusion® 8 software 8 is the most important and dramatic release to date Get the Free Trial http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;203748912;27390454;j Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/message.cfm/messageid:267581 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
