The Rant! Kids need jobs and responsibility as well as love and care!

John volunteering at a Bikers for Foster Kids event!

Presley and her friend Morgan "selling" houses at the Get Down Downtown event last fall.

http://youtu.be/kl1ujzRidmU

Click on the link above if you missed my video I posted earlier today on Facebook.

I knew when I saw this video this morning, there were gonna be liberals have a problem with it.  I knew the liberal media would jump on this like a pitbull on a 3 legged cat!! I knew it! 

Let me tell y'all somethin' about the Philpott's.  We ain't too much different than this guys family it sounds like.  Our kids have chores.  ALL kids.  Little kids-Addy.  Foster kids.  Bio kids and adopted kids. 

John is 14.  Every morning he gets up and lets the dog out.  Since she sleeps in the garage, he cleans up any "accidents" she may have had the night before.  He helps his baby sister get dressed  and he does her hair.  After school he empties the tea maker, cleans the tea maker, makes his bed, takes out the trash, helps clean up after supper, sometimes, after school he has to help his Dad build houses and every weekend he works with his Dad or some other group of Philpott Builders building houses.  Most afternoons, weather permitting he rides his scooter to check on said jobs and make sure doors are locked, keys secured and expensive tools are put up.  He has a pet Bearded Dragon that he has to feed and clean and care for. 

Presley is 11.  Every morning she makes her and her sisters bed.  She has enough trouble getting herself ready for for school, so the rest of her chores are afterschool chores.  She has to unload the dishwasher, clean the cat litter, clean the countertops, carry everyones dirty clothes basket to the laundry room, then she WALKS to the kids house she babysits afterschool and she babysits for at least 1 hour and usually 2.  AND she watches her sister.  She walks the dog.  She helps pick up trash on job sites.  She sweeps up sawdust, and runs errands for workers on jobsites.   She has a beta fish she has to feed, clean and care for.  And back to the babysitting....she takes this very seriously.  She makes up games and activities for the kids to do.  She takes PRIDE in her babysitting job!

Addy is 5.  She has sorted laundry since she was 3.  That is how she learned her colors.  She helps Sissy put away the dishes from the dishwasher.  She picks up her toys and she helps make her own bed.  She cleans up messes.  She helps make supper.  Sometimes if Bubba is busy, she feeds and waters the dog.  She picks up trash from jobsites.  She runs errands for workers on jobsites.  She knows what a hammer is and a paintbrush and she knows the difference between duck tape and painters tape.  She is 5.

Are these kids slaves??  Merriam Websters defines Slave as: "a person held in servitude as the chattel of another
or one that is completely subservient to a dominating influence."  Thats what one liberal group was spouting off about in reference to this video.  That kids are not meant to be slaves.  Really?? I love history.  I know an awful lot about history.  I seriously doubt my KIDS are slaves.  They get room and board.  They get good clothes.  Some are hand me downs, but many are name brands.  They get free (to them anyway) medical care.  They have laptops, Ipods, cell phones and rollar skates.  They play sports; football, track, soccer.  So they get sports equipment, money for games, free transportation, the rarely ride a bus!  I think its very ignorant for liberals to jump on this guy and say he treated his daughter as a slave.  That laptop he shot up with his .45? That was HIS laptop. He bought that!  She didn't.  She  merely borrowed it!  She barely assumed ownership and I say barely cuz HE was the one that took care of the upkeep, etc.   These kids today, and I mean mine included are so spoiled.  They have so much more than we had as kids.  A friend of mine posted a thing the other day....she said, remember when we were kids and we all had them old timey Nintendo's?  And if a game didn't work, we just pulled the cartridge out, blew on it and it magically worked again??  She said, "How did we know this??"  Kids all over the Nation did this and we didn't have any message board or facebook to post problems on, but somehow we got through!  She said "kids today are soft!" And it's true!   I want my kids to have more than I did. Not just materially, but otherwise too.  I demand more of my kids then truly my Mom demanded of me.  It takes more for kids these days.  I have high expectations.  Yes, John works his 14 year old hind off, but you know what?  He gets all that I mentioned above, PLUS, he "gets" respect from other kids and their parents, he also "gets" consideration from teachers and community leaders, he "gets" good grades and he absolutly gets our love and attention.  Same for Presley.  Same for Addy.  In life, you get what you give.  My kids give alot.  I want them to get a lot, too.   Again, are my kids perfect?  Heck no!  Am I perfect or David perfect?? HEEEEEECK no!  I just believe you can't pamper these kids hind ends!  I don't think we need to try to be friends with our kids. What the heck do I want with an 11 year old friend anyway??  Not a dern thing!  I gotta enough to deal with-I don't need that middle school mess/drama all over again!  When we quit trying to please our kids and make them happy at every turn, I think they do better in the long run.  Kids want direction and discipline.  They need this! They want to know their boundaries where they fit in the grand scheme of things.   I remember one time, John told us, before we adopted him, that he actually felt good when we got on to him, "cuz that means you actually care.

 

Thanks for reading! 

Lola Philpott