|
| |
| |
Click here for some great mommy and baby freebies from BabiesOnline.com
 | |||||
 Main Page Site Index Getting Pregnant Pregnancy Parenting Pregnancy and Parenting Journals
|
"Pokemon Parents" Need to Start Parenting by Marty W. Stewart My nine-year-old son was fuming as he tried to go to sleep one night recently. I sat on the side of his bed and could clearly see that he was anxious and distracted. This was unusual for him at bedtime. "What's up?" I asked as he turned to me with his forehead crinkled and smoke seemingly seeping from his ears. He could barely get any sounds out when I heard those "dreadful" words most parents seem to be spooked by, Pokemon cards! Now this evening happened to come after a very long and tedious day at work and I was in no mood to have to referee my nine hundred and ninety ninth Pokemon trading card dispute. For "Pokemon Parents" who have been through the grind of having to make sometimes "King Solomon-like" decisions over such silly trading cards, this would have been enough to send them over the edge. The mere mention of the words was now making me anxious, as I watched my son so upset and felt the tension rise within me as well. I tried to stay calm. He was writhing and retching from frustration. "Please calm down and tell me what happened," I said quietly trying to show him I was still relaxed and not a stoked furnace inside. He then proceeded to tell me that one of his valuable Pokemon trading cards was stolen from one of his friends. His hands were balled fists and his ire was increasing as he told me the story. He was so mad that he wanted to punch somebody, he said. For him to show such animosity and aggression was quite rare and my short Pokemon- trading-card-fuse was already glowing. But this gave me a good opportunity to practice responsible parenting. As much as I wasn't in the mood to begin the process of trying to make him understand the bigger picture, I chose to dig deep and use this situation to continue my efforts to teach my son responsibility and reason. In this case, my son had allowed one of his friends to carry around one of his prized Pokemon cards, against rules we had earlier agreed to. His friend did not keep a good eye on the card and someone took it. And now my son was in a cold sweat, and acting out aggressively. I told him I understood his frustration. But then I explained to him about the choices he made and the ramifications of those choices. I began to realize this was the perfect situation to reiterate some of life's basic lessons, responsibility and self-discipline. Parents who have cursed the Pokemon craze and wish it would all go away need to switch gears and start parenting. This particular fad has caused so many disputes in my household, but I am happy to say my two children (my seven year old daughter loves the little buggers too) have learned some valuable lessons from this seemingly useless obsession. In fact, on the heels of the Beanie Babies fad (and all of the irrational behavior by parents that has caused), it's high time parents begin acting like adults instead of similar to their children. Parents, who have been overwhelmed by the popularity of Pokemon and Pokemon trading cards, need to dig deep and begin using this simple situation to exhibit healthy parenting. Six- to ten-year olds need to be taught responsibility and respect, and what better way to do it than with silly trading cards? Every facet of the Pokemon trading card craze is a perfect opportunity for parents to teach their children valuable lessons in life. And more importantly, this can be done on a level kids can understand and with something they value. I discovered early that Pokemon trading cards could be purchased much cheaper on the Internet. I found a Web site that offers Japanese Pokemon cards and these became valuable trading bait for both of my children. But this also caused them to become targets of other kids who wanted to try and manipulate them into unfair trades and other tricks. They learned some lessons about protecting themselves from being manipulated and being responsible with their valuables. In fact, my son was tempted to "buy into" the practice of weaseling younger kids out of their valuable cards. That gave my wife and I a great opportunity to teach him about treating others the way he wishes to be treated and to empathize with those he had thought about persuading to make an unfair trade. Some parents have gathered together and filed a class-action lawsuit against the makers of the Pokemon trading cards. They seem to feel their children have been captivated in some cult-like fashion, or by unfair marketing practices. These parents should realize this is an opportunity to show some strong parenting skills. They need to stay in control and not let such a short-lived fad cause such anxiety in their children or their family. In caving into the perceived pressure, what message are they sending?
|
|
|||
Please feel free to email us at 
if you have any questions or comments!
© Earth's Magic Inc 2000 - 2010. All Rights Reserved. [ Disclaimer | Privacy Statement ]