The Southwest Voice

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Hey, Dad — I have to say I disagree a bit with your advice to “put up with the sagging pants” because it will go away when he enters the work force or college. I think it is more realistic to explain to him how this fad got started and let him know that most people know that. If he wants to appear as a sympathizer of gangs and/or inmates, he’s doing the right thing. If he wants to appear as a young person with ambition, individuality and high ethics, he will not conform to what “everyone else is doing,” but will be his own man and certainly not one who mimics those of questionable lifestyles. It really is his decision, and he really needs to think about what he is saying by his dress, his behavior and his friends. I told my children when they gave me the “everyone else is doing it” excuse that everyone else would not be in their life 20 years from now but, God willing, I would be. It worked with them, and it is so true. I still am, and they still remember it, and they are in their 40s. 
— Caroline Reid

Well said there, Caroline. Thank you so much for joining in the discussion. Children, and even young adults, typically only see life one day at a time. They don’t understand or think about how their actions today can impact them tomorrow. But that is what young people have been doing since Day One. As parents and grandparents, we need to take an active role in their lives and try to help them understand the big picture. Fortunately, time is on their side, and most kids grow up to be great adults.

Thanks again,
Dad

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