A lot.
I don't know what it is about a hotel, but parents seem to be under the mistaken impression that it frees them from responsibility.
I can't tell you how many times I find kids wandering the halls after 1 a.m. in the morning.
Or worse.
It wasn't that long ago that there were a group of parents that were supposed to be chaperones for a large group of kids - only they left the hotel. All of the parents. To go bar hopping.
Wanna guess where the kids were?
It is just dumbfounding to me. In my entire life, I can't ever remember my parents letting me wander a hotel at ANY time by myself, and I know they never just left my sister and I at a hotel, by ourselves, for any reason.
I mean, beyond the trouble that kids can get in trouble by themselves, what about other dangers? Think about it - anyone with an I.D. and a credit card can get a room at a hotel.
Anyone.
Believe it or not, at the front desk of a hotel, there is no "bad person" detector. I've checked. Wish we had one. Most of the time, the employees at the front desk don't know the person they are checking in. That means the first indication we get that a person is not a fine, upstanding individual is usually after they have demonstrated it in some way.
Parents have to do their jobs when it comes to their kids.
Anyway, getting back to what I was saying, I see a lot of bad parenting... which is why I tend to notice good parenting.
Evidently, so does the media.
Just this morning, I came across this article this article, about a woman who sold her son's car after finding alcohol in it. When she bought the car for her son, she only had two rules - no alcohol and keep it locked. Evidently, these were too difficult for her son to keep! The woman, with an obviously great sense of humor, wrote this ad for the paper:
OLDS 1999 Intrigue. Totally uncool parents who obviously don't love teenage son, selling his car. Only driven for three weeks before snoopy mom who needs to get a life found booze under front seat. $3,700/offer. Call meanest mom on the planet.
And, that isn't the only moment of good parenting that got publicity.
You might remember, back before Christmas, there was this article about a man who had been on the hunt for an elusive game for the Nintendo Wii, Guitar Hero III, for his son for Christmas. After two weeks of looking, he was able to get the game in an online auction. Christmas was all set.
Then, one day, the man comes home to find his son and two friends smoking pot in the backyard.
The man decided to teach his son a lesson he would not soon forget - by selling the much sought after game on eBay.
If you follow the link to the article, there is a link to the actual eBay listing (which I can't directly link to for some reason). The link is the highlighted words "being debated online." Check it out - the listing is really, really great. My favorite part is where he mentions his son doesn't know he was getting the game, but once the auction is up, he will tell him and they can watch the auction end together, as a father/son bonding experience.
The man paid $90.00 for the game, and was able to get $9100.01 for it.
Sometimes, I guess, good parenting is rewarded really, really well!
Type at you later!
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