Yesterday my daughter enjoyed a rare opportunity. She was picked up afterschool in a limo, got to drive around in it for an hour and a half and was then dropped off at home. She got to show off in front of her school and in our neighborhood.
No, I wasn’t the one who arranged for her to ride in a limo. It was another parent who did it for her son and eight of his school friends which included my daughter. One might think a limo ride would be a graduation gift. But they are only in 7th grade; they don’t graduate from middle school until next year.
You might wonder if it was a birthday gift. No, it wasn’t that either. The reason this classmate got a limo? He had done well in school all year long.
I have to admit that when his mother first called me a week ago asking permission for my daughter to go and explained why she was getting a limo, I was a little taken aback. When my kids get good grades they get a “good job.” If they get straight A’s, they can pick out something at the store that costs under $15. I just can’t imagine ordering a limo ride.
So now I’m thinking, “If this is what he gets for good grades what should he expect as he gets older?” Every time he does something good, is he going to be richly rewarded? The trouble with that thinking and overindulging teens is that they begin to believe its how life works. We know that isn’t true.
Teens tend to be selfish already. Why fuel it and overindulge them by rewarding them beyond what they probably deserve. Maybe I’m being too judgmental. Maybe I wish I could afford to do something like that. But deep down inside I do believe that some teens are just way too overindulged. I see it in other families as well.
Just as punishments should fit the crime, I also believe that rewards should fit the act. No matter, my daughter was able to enjoy the limo and feel pretty cool for that hour and a half.
Related Articles:
Teens and Toddlers Aren’t that Much Different