Give the Botox to Barbie!

On Good Morning America there was story about a mom who injected her 8-year old daughter with Botox for an upcoming beauty pagent in which the girl was a participant. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/botox-girl-mother-13611500

I am alternately saddened and enraged by this story. This poor little girl is being taught that looks are everything in life--that it doesn't matter what pain or discomfort is involved, she must do all she can to enhance her looks. What about just being a little girl, playing with dolls and friends? Why is that not enough? We need to let kids be kids and stop marginalizing their innocence. Why must they become mini-adults while interrupting imaginative play that is so beneficial to them for the rest of their lives? Instead they are learning that pain, suffering, and rejection are worthwhile prices to pay for a few short minutes of potential glory that they will barely remember.

These moms push and prod and make their little girls grow up too fast. Why? Is it a desire to give some meaning to their own sad lives? It certainly is NOT for the child. It is all about the mom and some twisted need to prove their little girl is better than the others around her. I think it is pathetic and it angers me. I have even heard stories about little girls having their baby teeth removed and fitted with dentures until their adult teeth come in!

And this mom ordered this poisonous substance off the internet and injected it herself. How did she know for sure what she was actually getting when ordering off the internet? She could have put anything into her precious little girl. According to ABC, the mom also waxed the poor baby's legs and bikini line. "I know one day she will be a model, actress or singer, and having these treatments now will ensure she stays looking younger and baby-faced for longer," says the mom. My question is: at what price to this girl's emotional and physical well being?

The whole thing is completely disgusting and irresponsible parenting. The girl was removed from the home and the mom is being investigated. For one, I hope she never goes back into this woman's custody.

Kids need time to grow and play and learn without being pushed into a cruel adult world. If you must teach your kids about Botox, why not pretend to inject it into Barbie while teaching her that Barbie is not the real world. Tell her that real women don't look like a Barbie doll with her perfection and taking injections of poison to enhance your looks is not necessary. Teach her that she is perfect as she is.

Parents are supposed to teach their children that the inner person is what matters; that they are special and perfect just the way God made them. Parents need to help feed their little self esteems and encourage them to become responsible, caring, productive adults--not little entitled walking Barbie dolls.

Dancin' At the Salty Dog

Well, it is getting to be the start of vacation season so I thought I would mention one of our favorite destinations to you.

The little man (one of my grandsons) may not be "dancing the night away" but he sure is involved in his moves. And he is not the only one. Any time Dave Kemmerly is playing at the Salty Dog Cafe on Hilton Head Island, S.C., you can find kids dancing around him--loving the tunes he is putting out. Since the kids are there it is a certainty that you will find parents and grandparents enjoying the entertainment (both the kids and Dave), laughing, taking photos and videos.

We have been going to the Deck to hear Dave for many years now and he was even on Parents Rule radio show last year. It is a laid back place where we can lean back and relax. Forgetting our stresses for a while, we listen to the variety of old songs, new songs, and novelty songs that Dave plays mostly by request. On the radio last year he said that he probably knows 3-4,000 songs. And I believe it because he is rarely stumped when asked for specific songs by sunburned vacationers. He plays guitar and occasionally piano on the Deck, but can also find his way around the drums, upright bass, and sax. He states that coming from a musical family (dad was a drummer who once played with Johnny Cash and mom was a classically trained pianist), he and his brothers just picked up the "family" business without too much difficulty.

It all makes for a great time full of music, burgers, shrimp, ice cream stained faces, dancing and lots of laughter and smiles under the stars. There are trivia contests every night and not too many bugs early in the season.

These days we are all under much stress with economic uncertainty and conflicts world-wide. That is why it is so important to find a place to de-stress. If you make it to Hilton Head, I recommend Dave Kemmerly and the Salty Dog Deck. But if you can't get there, find your own place where your world is at peace--even if it only for a few hours. Find your own "Dave" whereever or whatever that is to you.

And if you get to listen to Dave, do yourself a favor and request that he play some songs he has written. He doesn't play them very often, but they are terrific!