[OT] Ben Stein and Evercrack

[Balgus]

Clearly, most celebrities have no time for their children. When they get out of hand, the parents HIRE someone else to deal with it, and make it seem like they have done all they can, but still can't make it right. And being the star loving culture we are, we would rather blams something else than out beloved stars!!

I am an uncle. Big deal, you say? My sister is a single mom who works 12 hours a day to support her son, and also our parents. I am sorry to say that she has no time to raise her child. When she gets home, she is bone tired. I come home on th eweekends (from school) and take him off her hands for the entire weekend.

I am not just an uncle to him- but i take on the father role. I take him out and feed him as any caretaker would. but I also discipline him. If he is being nad, I take him into the corner and sit with him. if he pouts, I ignore him. My parents (his grandys) always try to intervene, saying he is just a kid, and to let him go. but I shoo them away too, saying he has to learn now.

For friday, saturday and sunday, i am the ultimate authority for my Nephew, and he knows it. He loves me for it. When he is good, I reward him with snacks and rides to the toy store. When he is naughty, I punish him. I don't think he loves any of his other uncles as much as me.

And that is what being a parent really is (even tho i am just an uncle). To be able to love you child enough to tell him what is right and what is wrong., To be able to gain his love and trust, while at the same time being able to tell him NO.

It is one thing to give your child everything he wants, but it is another to give him what he needs.

 

[Eridanis]

Just being a wag

Obviously, he's missed the opportunity to play EQ himself, and start a new game show: "Win Ben Stein's Plat."

 

[pogre]

Parenting is tough. I got a couple of great kids, but knowing the right answer all the time, well... We all make mistakes.

The guy took a course of action that seemed to work. Good for him (and his child). Maybe parents can learn to intervene sooner, or maybe not - we all have different styles of child rearing and almost all of them are legitimate.

What worries me is the reporter's slant as many have pointed out. It's clear they are going after EverQuest through one celebrity's experience. That is certainly inappropriate.

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

Playing Everquest requires a credit card.

Thus, I don't see any way that a kid could play it if his parents didn't want him to.

 

[Eridanis]

Playing Everquest requires a credit card.

No; game cards are readily available at stores, so a kid could go pay cash for a card for six months of Everquest.

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

No; game cards are readily available at stores, so a kid could go pay cash for a card for six months of Everquest.

Oh, I didn't know that. Well, still...don't give him any cash. He's obviously too busy playing EQ to get a job.

 

[buzzard]

On data point y'all may appreciate is that the kid may have been sent to the school for several years because he wanted to stay after the first year.

I went to a boarding school for high school. I simply didn't have a choice since my parents were overseas in a place without viable schools. Thus I got shipped off. Initially I couldn't stand it, but after the first year I did look forward to returning. My friends were all there, and the place was like home. Boarding schools aren't some evil entity of juvenile punishment.

To be quite honest I think having been in a boarding school gave me a leg up on folks when I went to college. I had to development my own self discipline WRT study habits, and I didn't have the homesickness to deal with as I had already gotten past that in high school. Better to pbe upset about being away from home when dealing with the minimal academic demands of secondary school rather that when you are getting hammered at a university.

I certainly don't hold boardning school against my parents in any way. I would rather suspect Stein's kid would feel the same way. Heck, my friend who went to a military boarding school doesn't regret that experience.

buzzard

 

[BluWolf]

Something that was a bit surprising for me is that the addiction was seriously supported by clinical depression, something I didn't know I was suffering from. When I began to address the depression I began to break the addiction. The final near-release* from the addiction came as I finally brought the depression under control.

That made me wonder if, at least for some, those two might be working hand in hand. (Part of the counseling with my daughter and EQ involved examining her for potential depression.)

[/B]

This is a VERY true statement. Recent (and not so recent) research points to a VERY strong connection between addictive behavior and clinical depression.

In fact, many substance abuse sufferers often relapse because of either a lack of diagnosis of the associated depression or lack of treatment.

 

[Roland Delacroix]

Hum, thats why my pop invested in a 2" wide brown leather belt

Now i'm a hard-working, productive american. Never done drugs, don't even drink. He put all that money he saved on boarding school into a nice IRA for me, too.

 

[Mark Chance]

Gasp!

I don't know just how bad his condition was and I doubt anyone here does either because we don't know Ben's son. Maybe Ben was just overreacting or maybe he wasn't. I think the point I'm trying to make is that we shouldn't jump to conclusions or point fingers at anyone without knowing more about the situation.

We can't stop overreacting and being judgmental. Why, that would interfere with our great modern pastime: Being Morally Outraged. I mean, Mr. Stein, who once worked for (shriek!) Mr. Nixon, is committing the one remaining deadly sin: Imposing His Beliefs on Another. How dare anyone act in such a way that doesn't meet with our enlightened approval?

So, was that sarcastic enough?