End the Mollycoddling!

The big story of the week is the poor kids in Eden Prairie that posted pictures of themselves drinking out of red party cups at parties on Facebook. The savvy administrators did a little Nancy Drew work and discovered the pictures. It's turned into a media circus. Of course the parents are mad at the administrators. How dare they punish their angelic children!

I just don't get it. When did we become a nation where parents are so protective of their kids that they side with their children and not the school officials? The last time I checked the drinking age in Minnesota is 21. These kids were clearly not 21. Plus, a lot of them signed an activities code, which dictates that the students can't drink, do drugs, or be at a party where those things are being done. I recall when I was about fourteen my mom told me that if she ever caught me doing drugs she would take me down to the police station and have me locked up and she wouldn't post bail. Tough love. It worked, though. I am sure if I had been caught in this scandal, my mom and dad would've supported the administrators' decision. I would've been punished at home, too. That punishment would be far worse than being suspended from the tennis team. I am sure I wouldn't have been able to leave the house until I went to college. I am glad that my parents were tough on me. It made me into a responsible adult. I take responsibility for my own actions.

One of my favorite parental comments from this was the mom who made the statement about the red plastic cup: "we don't know there was alcohol in the cup." Wow. She's the naive mom of the year. I can only think of one time in my entire life where I've drank out of a red plastic cup when I didn't have alcohol in it. It was on my Aunt's boat. She always has those cups. I'm pretty sure I had ginger ale in mine because I get boat sick. That is the only time. Every other occasion, I've had alcohol in a red cup.

I really applaud the administration for taking a tough stand on this issue. Kids need to learn a lesson from this: don't put private pictures on a public website. Duh. Also, there are consequences for our actions. They should be suspended from the hockey team or loose their captain position. It's really scary that these kids will someday be adults out in the real world. I wonder if mommy and daddy will rush to their side when the big, bad boss fires them for poor work quality or tardiness.