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What Type of Child Are Your Raising?

July 1, 2010 by Lance Somerfeld

Have you often pondered, what type of child are you raising?  Will my little one be respectful, be generous, be outgoing, be a brat?  My little guy is only two, but I work hard on my child-rearing skills – some rough play, modeling appropriate behavior on the playground and in the play gym, brushing his teeth, reading together often, giving him plenty of room for self exploration, etc.  Even though, I fast forward once in a while to predict what type of young man my son going to turn out to be, not once have I considered if I was raising a douchebag!

Credit to Robert J. for passing on this amusing article from Details Magazine (one of my favorites from my college hey day),
Are You Raising a Douchebag? by David Hochman, questioning whether “your indulgent parenting is spawning a generation of entitled hipster brats.” Basically, the article explains that if your little one is a brat, and you are looking for an explanation of how it happened – take a hard look in the mirror at yourself:

“Put it this way: If it’s your child, not you, who gets to choose your weekend brunch spot, or if he’s the one asking how the branzino is prepared, it’s probably time to take a hard look at your own behavior….Alas, convenient as it might be, we can’t blame the children. “There’s no such thing as a spoiled gene,” says parenting expert Michele Borba, author of Don’t Give Me That Attitude! “The brat factor is all learned.” Which means that if you’re the dad pushing Junior around in a limited-edition Bugaboo stroller by Bas Kosters ($2,000), carrying a Louis Vuitton diaper bag ($1,380), and checking in at a members-only parenting club like Citi-babes in Manhattan (annual membership: $2,000), your offspring are probably developing some serious entitlement issues.”

Ok, so I sport a Bugaboo (not the limited edition), and tote around my charcoal gray Skip-Hop Bag ($60), and I am a member of Gymboree (no annual fee).  Hmmm, not sure that adds up to douchebag, but I better watch it!  Seriously, I don’t think my son is a brat, but not many parents would own up to it anyway.  Good thing too, because I know we can’t afford the $1,200/day parent-coach to fix his behavior.  This extremely dad-friendly article is one worth reflecting upon, even if it’s with a smug grin on your face.

Just wondering … I am familiar with Citi-babes (as the NYC Dads Group has been there for an awesome event), but have you guys really observed these LV diaper bags on the streets?

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Filed Under: NYC, parenting styles Tagged With: behavior, magazines, money

About Lance Somerfeld

Lance Somerfeld, co-founder of City Dads Group, lives with his wife and two children in New York City. He frequently contributes to the conversation about modern fatherhood, work-life balance, shifting gender roles, and brand’s marketing to dads. He has appeared on local and national television, including CNN, Today and Katie. He has been quoted by The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, GQ, Parenting and The Atlantic.

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