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Metallica in the Clubhouse?

Today I walked into the club house of a fairly upscale country club and playing on the public address system was Metallica ! Then I went to a gym and they had XM radio playing very heavy modern music that routinely contained aggressive and profane language but nobody seemed to care? I know at my office if they play something that has a slightly distorted guitar everyone freaks out! But this got me thinking.

We Have Grown Up

The metal heads have grown up! People of my generation, today’s parents, grew up listening to either heavy-metal , southern/classic rock, pop, or new-wave . Now we are the leaders and the ones providing the guidance to our children! And guess what? We are damn good at it!

All that loud obnoxious "devil music" we listened to didn’t really destroy our lives. We don’t live in cults, we don’t practice devil worship, we aren’t all dead from drug overdoses, we didn’t destroy all of our brain cells, and we are fine examples for our children to follow!

That’s My Girl!

My daughter told me one of her friends will pull out some obscure metal song that he thinks is the greatest thing he has ever heard! She will begin singing it word for word and the boy’s mouth will drop. How do you know this song?, he asks, "My dad listens to it", is her reply. Now that is funny!

Is Today’s Music Worse?

I have to admit that the music my 11 and 12 year old daughter’s listen to is troublesome to me. I am not really all that thrilled with songs about "sex in the club", and all of the sex that is thrust upon them daily, but I don’t really know what to do about it. My wife is quick to point out that my oldest wouldn’t even go to the movie theater alone w/ her little boyfriend because she didn’t want to be alone with him. I guess that’s a good thing.

My 24 year old used to listen to ghetto rap music and he turned out ok, so I guess the same thing applies to them as me when it comes to influences on their life. He is the one that turned me on to Kid Rock back before Kid Rock was cool, then dead, then cool again. We used to have to listen to his CD every day as I drove him 20 miles for school before our house was complete. He had to position himself perfectly in the seat with his left shoulder slightly in front of his right so he could get his shoulder thrust/rock perfect. I chuckle when I think about it!

We are the Main Influence

I think we actually have much more influence on our children than we would like to believe. I guess deep down, I know it. This is good. I know I hear my dad talking when I speak to my kids, and I know other’s tell me the same thing. So what do I do about it?

My philosophy is that I teach my children well, try to point out right from wrong at every opportunity, I praise a job well done, and correct them when need be. I give them all the tools I can to help them be successful in life, then, as in a ball game, I sit back and enjoy their development. What more can we do? After all, we turned out alright didn’t we?

What do you do to assure that your children make the proper life choices?