Kids rule (apparently)

[DamnYankee]

6th Grader Sues Dad Over Grounding - And Wins - ParentDish

by Brett Singer Apr 8th 2009 6:00PM






Most kids complain bitterly when they are grounded. Some will sneak out, while others will settle for slamming doors and announcing that they hate the person making the rules. But sometimes, kids get creative when they're punished: A 6th grader in Quebec sued her dad because she felt that his punishment was too harsh.

The 12-year-old girl's parents are divorced; in the spring of 2008, the girl's mom gave her permission to go on a class trip to Quebec City in June. But the middle-schooler lived with her father, and after she disobeyed daddy's orders to stay off the Internet, he told her she couldn't go. So what did she do? She took him to court. Of course.

A lower court ruled in favor of the girl, who went on the embattled class trip. Her father appealed -- on principle - -and amazingly, the girl won again. The father's attorney, Kim Beaudoin, says that her client is "flabbergasted" and they are considering another appeal, this time to Canada's Supreme Court. But, the attorney adds, the father has no regrets about the court proceedings. "Either way, he doesn't have authority over this child anymore. She sued him because she doesn't respect his rules," Beaudoin said. "It's very hard to raise a child who is the boss."

 

[DamnYankee]

6th Grader Sues Dad Over Grounding - And Wins - ParentDish

Also from the article:

Lucie Fortin, the Legal Aid lawyer who helped the girl take her pops to court, said that "The trip was very important" to the daughter. How is that a legal argument? Don't parents have the right to punish their children? (This is like making Consensual Living a legal requirement.)

What I'd be interested in is, what was the basis for the suit? What exactly was Dad charged with/sued for?

 

[midcan5]

This story sounds made up? My wife who has taught forever tells me the children today are so self centered and lazy, I would (not?) be surprised if this were true. It is usually the parents who are telling the teachers and other authorities how their little Joane is just a saint and does no wrong.

 

[Neser Boha]

Smart cookie For some reason though, it strikes me as a bit ironic that it hasn't happened in the US first - the no. 1 land of unscrupulous lawyers and frivolous lawsuits... Also, I wonder who paid for the girl's attorney... her mother or father?

Anywho... an entertaining article. I think the girl found her true calling

 

[DamnYankee]

Smart cookie For some reason though, it strikes me as a bit ironic that it hasn't happened in the US first - the no. 1 land of unscrupulous lawyers and frivolous lawsuits... Also, I wonder who paid for the girl's attorney... her mother or father?

Anywho... an entertaining article. I think the girl found her true calling

It DID say a legal aide lawyer represented her.

 

[DamnYankee]

This story sounds made up? My wife who has taught forever tells me the children today are so self centered and lazy, I would (not?) be surprised if this were true. It is usually the parents who are telling the teachers and other authorities how their little Joane is just a saint and does no wrong.

I'd say, based on [parental] experience, that there is an equal number of those who believe their child can do no wrong and those who believe that their child will "push the limits" to see if the boundaries will move. Also, in my experience, there are an equal number of teachers who give a damn as those who don't about the children....

 

[ItsFairmont]

This story sounds made up? My wife who has taught forever tells me the children today are so self centered and lazy, I would (not?) be surprised if this were true. It is usually the parents who are telling the teachers and other authorities how their little Joane is just a saint and does no wrong.

This is extreme (the story, not the above post), but today's kids definitely have a stronger sense of entitlement than earier kids.

And it has absolutely nothing to do with the political persuasion of the parents (ie. liberal, conservative). I've taught in areas that are heavily Democrat and heavily Republican, and it's the same in both places.


The kids are spoiled. They haven't seen hard times (but just you wait).


What's funny to me is when parents complain, year after year, about the schools and teachers their kids have. And I always want to say, "Hey, lady. Guess what all those teachers and schools had in common? Yep, YOUR failing kid."

I also wish I could compare by saying, "Maam, do you realize that your kid has had various issues year after year, but Cindy Miller has had many of those same teachers, and she's still an excellent student who is socially well-adjusted. Maybe the problem is YOU or YOUR KID."


But, alas, I can only dream. Seems the parents are more sensitive than the kids.

I also want to say to parents, "Hey, you can complain all you want to me, the principal, the Board of Education, etc., but it's YOU who has to live with your child forever, not us."


Education begins at home, as well as discipline.

 

[Zoom-boing]

This story sounds made up? My wife who has taught forever tells me the children today are so self centered and lazy, I would (not?) be surprised if this were true. It is usually the parents who are telling the teachers and other authorities how their little Joane is just a saint and does no wrong.

This is extreme (the story, not the above post), but today's kids definitely have a stronger sense of entitlement than earier kids.

And it has absolutely nothing to do with the political persuasion of the parents (ie. liberal, conservative). I've taught in areas that are heavily Democrat and heavily Republican, and it's the same in both places.


The kids are spoiled. They haven't seen hard times (but just you wait).


What's funny to me is when parents complain, year after year, about the schools and teachers their kids have. And I always want to say, "Hey, lady. Guess what all those teachers and schools had in common? Yep, YOUR failing kid."

I also wish I could compare by saying, "Maam, do you realize that your kid has had various issues year after year, but Cindy Miller has had many of those same teachers, and she's still an excellent student who is socially well-adjusted. Maybe the problem is YOU or YOUR KID."


But, alas, I can only dream. Seems the parents are more sensitive than the kids.

I also want to say to parents, "Hey, you can complain all you want to me, the principal, the Board of Education, etc., but it's YOU who has to live with your child forever, not us."


Education begins at home, as well as discipline.

Absolutely. Many parents today do not want to 'parent' their children; they want to be 'friends'. Bull. Kids need boundaries, they need discipline, they need to learn by example and they need their parents to parent. There is plenty of time to be friends when the kids are grown. I've run into too many moms and dads that spoil their kids rotten with material things while ignoring what their kids really crave - - parenting.

 

[catzmeow]

Given that an older generation lambasting an "emerging" generation is a fairly tired old trend, we'll need more than anecdotal speculation to prove this.

They've been making this claim since Socrates. Perhaps, even longer.

In honor of this thread:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSwptm5v1wg]YouTube - My Chemical Romance - Teenagers / live /[/ame]