Yep, life'll burst that self-esteem bubble

[Zomby Woof]

Best article I have read in weeks. All along, I was blaming those fucking "Baby On Board" signs for causing that sense of special entitlement among the many 20-somethings at my employer. Should have known it was the fucking phony self-esteem cabal. As a child of the 70's, I always knew it was rank bullshit. Vindication.

'Baby On Board' signs were still the mark of the beast, though. If 'self-esteem' was the mantra of 80's babies, 'Baby On Board' was its logo.

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Yep, life'll burst that self-esteem bubble
By Sharon Jayson, USA TODAY

Andrea Sobel shudders at those oh-so-positive messages aimed at boosting kids' self-esteem.

She has heard her fill of "good job" or "great picture" or any of the highly exaggerated claims that parenting experts and educators spouted as the way to bring up well-adjusted children.

Sobel, the mother of 16-year-old twins in Sherman Oaks, Calif., says they could tell "what was real and what was fake," even when very young. "I was tired of going to the sports field and seeing moms say, 'Great job at going up to bat.' It hit me early on that kids could see through inane compliments."

More: http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/2005-02-15-self-esteem_x.htm

[Mr.Green93]

1. Good post

Way to go!

[Briarius]

2. Best. Reply. Ever.

LMAO!

[LynzM]

4. I second what Briarius said

Great reply :P

[Zomby Woof]

6. LMAO!

:D

[LynzM]

3. I agree

I read a great article on this in Mothering magazine a couple months ago, same point. Too much praise is as harmful as too little. If everything is valuable, how do you actually know what has value or is worth doing? It's like economics, but for psyche.

[Zomby Woof]

7. Yes!

REAL self-esteem comes from REAL accomplishment. We have this plethora of people at work quitting because they can't handle correction. They aren't committing offenses to get them fired, and we would be happy to keep them if they wanted. They just quit! It's amazing.

[jus_the_facts]

5. Oh I should get my cousin one that says.....*Demons On Board*

:evilgrin:

[Wickerman]

8. Hmmm, seems Bush is just a generation or two ahead of his time

"One of the things the managers talked about is an incredible sense of entitlement for people who don't deserve it," she says. "They'll come in right out of college and don't understand why they're not getting promoted in three months."

Howe blames the attitude on society's high expectations. "We've become a much more child-oriented society around milliennials," he says. "Self-esteem for them meant you're the focus of society's attention."

[Carni]

9. *Bernie Focker*

LOL

Regarding the article and the feel goodyness--I have nieces and nephews that were raised to believe everything they did was fabulous.

They are the most mal-adjusted early twenty somethings I know and two of them are active young republicans.

Maybe this explains the stupidity of people under thirty leaning towards bush!

[Zomby Woof]

10. I agree!

Most of the 20-somethings at work are Bushbots. The CEO's are too, but that is because of their anti-tax ideology and greed. But Bush is the emblem to these kids of how you too can get far on connections, unearned expectations, and self-entitlement. It's amazing. I think you're onto something.

[Carni]

11. I always feel like a terrible parent

Because (God help me) I act like MY parents did
(hiding face in shame lol because I have become THEM)

Apparently the "what the hell are you thinking" philosophy of a *simpler time* rubbed off on me (I heard that often enough)