Teach Your Children to Look at Celebrities & Sports Figures as Idols

Children are going to look up to "famous" people if we as parents like it or not. The problem lies what you do to teach your kids that this more than likely is not going to be their life. They are going to have to go to work, go to college, take care of their loved ones and pay their bills. It is that simple. The rich and famous have it easy in that respect because money solves a lot of problems. That is not to say that celebrities don't have problems also (ones that I don't begin to understand) and I don't want to prejudge but let's face it, that is not the way "real life" works.

The last straw with me was when O.J. Simpson (extreme case I know) said and let me paraphrase "I thought what happened in Vegas stayed in Vegas." Are you kidding me with this guy. He got away with murder (literally) and now he feels he is untouchable. Are they that ignorant to the way that the other 98% of us live? This goes for many celebs from Brittney Spears to Lindsey Lohan.

Rap videos is the next thing that just cracks me up. Now let me say that I like rap music. Many artists do have a talent that I only dream of having. My problem is the glorifying of everything from drinking and drug use to the way a women is treated. Even the respectable hip hop artist out there such as Jay-Z have stooped to this low. Why is my question? Is it that they have a rep to protect? Or is this the way that life is for them? I understand that many hip hop artist grew up in a low income background, in horrible neighborhoods where violence and drugs were the norm. My point is BREAK THE CYCLE. Step up and show young youth that this is not the way to live. I am not sure but many, many impressionable minds watch MTV (as I did) as a kid and many cannot decipher what is reality and what is not. I will tell you one thing, if my son ever call a women a derogatory name in my presence, he will know that I am not happy and will learn that this is not right.

Sports Figures are a tough one. Many, many do good things for their community and the bad ones are the exception not the norm. Barry Bonds is the poster child for what is wrong here and the media runs "Barry 24/7" about his steroid use. My guess is when the dust settles with all this that he will get off with a slap on the wrist because he has money and the lawyers to make these seem like he had no clue what he was doing. I don't know about you but if someone was giving me something that I was unsure of to eat or rub on my body, I would question it. He is flat out lying and he is teaching the youth that it is OK to lie. Further more that performance enhancing drugs have now allowed him to hit 73 home runs in a season and break Hank Aarons' record. In my mind, Mr. Aaron is still the home run champ, not Barry Bonds. I don't care what Major League Baseball says.

What this all boils down to is that parents have to do their job. It is an unfortunate fact that many do not and the cycle will continue unless parents simply talk to their kids because the celebrities in the world are certainly not going to help us. In my mind it is that simple. Your kids look up to you for direction. You need to communicate to your kids that what they see on TV, read on-line or see in a magazine is not the truth. What is reality is that Mom and Dad go to work everyday to put food on the table, clothes on your back and make sure you are safe. Believe me, I was 10 once and I could care less at that point what they were telling me about how hard i worked. What it did do though is shape me as I have gotten older. I respect greatly the values my parents instilled in me and I am doing the same for my kids. For the short run they will hate you, for the long run, they will thank you. Thank you Mom and Dad.