Grown folks business

Spoke with a friend last night.  We talked about 50 million things, and among them was this blog.  She’s really enjoying it and even has one of her neighbors reading it.  She told me her neighbor’s 12 year old daughter reads the blog and enjoys it as well.  That gave me pause.  I don’t know my friend’s neighbor, or the neighbor’s daughter.  But I can state emphatically that this blog is inappropriate for a 12 year old. 

This morning, I thought about that some more.  When I was a kid, correction – even as a young adult, my mother would tell me to leave the room when grown folk talk was going on. Remember those days?  Your mother and her friends would be in the kitchen talking, you’d come in to get an ice pop, and you’d get this: What do you want? Why do you keep coming in here? Can’t you see grown folks are talking? Go sit your behind down!  

But I’ve noticed this trend among mothers who talk with their children, especially their daughters, as if they were best friends. 

Why are you having a conversation with your 9 year old about Baby Phat pocketbooks, and Gucci shoes?  Why are you discussing missed childsupport payments with your 10 year old?  Your 3 year old daughter doesn’t need extensions in her hair.  Any beautician worth the paper her license is printed on will tell you that baby’s hair isn't strong enough for that nonsense.  No, your 7 year old daughter doesn’t need high heels and daisy dukes!  There is no justifiable reason why you and your 8 year old are discussing the fact that a classmate’s mother has been told the child will be kicked out of the school if the tuition isn’t paid by next week!

While I applaud any mother who wants to build confidence in her children, I can think of a myriad of other avenues that are more age appropriate!! Heck you should be leery of even a situation where some 18 year old has become a really close friend of your 13 year old or some man in his late twenties becoming a hangout buddy for your 15 year old son. What the hell could they have to talk about? I’m not talking about the guy in the Big Brother program.  I’m talking about the one that calls for him in the mornings and then they’re gone all day.

Perhaps the problem is YOU need to grow up! You need to get a life! Stop trying to live your life through your children, or allowing them to live their lives unsupervised by you! Your 12 year olds best friend should be another 12 year old; someone with whom they can share the experiences and discoveries of that age.  You had your time, let them have theirs!! Know when to send your children from the room.

To my friend’s neighbor: BooBoo, this blog is grown folks business!!