A child as a status symbol?
Impossible!
You don’t believe it?
You think it’s all about iPhones and skiing in Courchevel?
But the snobbery of modern parents knows no bounds!
Snobbery is even fashionable.
Modern snobs are all about luxury and prestige.
It’s even at the top of their list of priorities.
Closely followed by materialism, which is decisive for them.
Today, the value system is more tested than ever.
It’s naive!
Society is becoming superficial at the speed of light.
Almost all of us have unwittingly fallen into this trap.
And this snobbery persists despite the teachings of contemporary pedagogues and child psychologists, the advice of web gurus and online trends.
And it concerns us, the parents, not our children.
Decades of deprivation in the form of wars, embargoes, transitions and certainly deficiencies in national style have led to the widespread appearance of snobbery in parenting.
You’ve already heard of gentle, indulgent parenting, and you’ve probably sadly recognized yourself as both the actors and the culprits of such an unsuccessful educational method.
But now imagine this new-age theory: in the absence of various ways to visibly express and prove our personal moral worth through, say, volunteering, civil society actions, etc., we instead try to show our virtue through parenting.
It has become our new feather that we so proudly display on our Facebook profiles, birthdays and playgrounds.
The result is a culture of competition, surveillance and judgment, instead of compassion and cooperation.
Honestly, it’s exhausting and does no one any good.
Breastfed, not breastfed…
Born naturally or by C-section…
Fed sausage or organic milk…
Treated by homeopathy or the most expert…
Goes to a private school with only six other children or to the local public school…
Wears a brand name or supermarket clothes…
Listens to Shostakovich or Pink Floyd…
Is only interested in astronomy or plays soccer all day…
I could go on like this indefinitely.
These are all reasons to despise someone.
Or to simply be proud and parade children around like the new emperors of the world.
Our children don’t deserve this kind of stigma.
They’ve had enough of their parents’ behavior.
Nervous, absent parents who work all day for low wages, the same kind of educators and teachers, coaches and professors.
We poison their childhoods with our fears, our immaturity and our best wishes.
There’s no way to think about what’s best for our children.
Everything seems “small” when we talk about love, play and support.
Of course, it’s not just about that.
There must be a “How to do it in 124 steps…” recipe that you read on every portal for moms.
There are lots of colorful images and likes, they know what they’re talking about.
Now you’re wondering, “So how can we promote them and ensure a better position in society?”.
It’s like a new CD, a “project” at the top of the list.
Are we parents or shopkeepers?
Isn’t the purpose of a good education to help a child become an independent, responsible and compassionate person?
Your heart would surely tremble if you saw someone scorn your child as if he were a smelly cheese because of snobbish bigotry.
So teach him not to do anything he doesn’t want to smell on his skin.
Snobbery used to mean moving from a lower to a higher class.
Today, it looks like ascending from the lower class to the slightly higher lower class.
Are we really going to promote our children for such cheap points?
We’re not talking extremes here.
I’m not saying that the Tarzans and Mowgli’s of this world need to be fed.
Although, as far as I know, they have become good people.
But perhaps small experiments should be prepared for them (us).
Imagine no chocolate or cartoons for a week, imagine us living like most children in Vietnam.
Or that one day, you’re walking around in really old and possibly torn sneakers.
Literally walking in someone else’s shoes.
Not to mock, but to empathize with the other person who isn’t there.
I know, I imagine a lot.
My seven-year-old would be the first to reject the idea demonstratively, and pressure doesn’t get you anywhere.
That’s why it’s up to us to lead by example.
A child will always look at what he sees rather than what he hears.
I’ve already written about moms in the park.
Now we’re expanding the subject even further, taking it deeper, who knows what we’ll encounter in this circle and what thoughts will be harnessed for our health.
Maybe we’ll abandon the control freaks and the belief that we’re better at least at something.
After all, which group do we want to align ourselves with?
Aren’t we rooting for the same team, for our children?
Don’t get me wrong.
I’m not one for relativism either.
I don’t take the easy way out, and I don’t want to take the road less traveled.
But when it comes to children and other very important things, you have to have an attitude, train it well and put it to various tests.
Yes, I’m a breastfeeding fanatic, it’s my snob imperative.
And you, admit it, if you can, not necessarily to others or to me, but to yourself.
What makes you despise others?
And that’s a good start.
Believe me, the kids will soon follow in your footsteps.