Graduation Madness: Celebrate as a competitive sport

I spoke to three mothers this week, each of whom has graduated from their children, two have graduated from college and one has graduated from high school. Each explained themselves Cracks From the demand to properly celebrate graduates. From different parts of the country, each mom was down the same rabbit hole and was caught up in the enthusiasm of being a good parent, giving her graduates the celebration she deserves.

The moms I spoke to each described the gifts they received from friends and friends’ family. Give me a few names, including customized Uggs, monogram tequila bottles, matching outfits, flashy jewellery boxes, spa visits, skincare and make-up, gold bracelets, and huge care packages filled with weekend trips. Needless to say, these gifts were not cheap. So the gifts came not only from good friends, but also from children whose daughters weren’t nearby, and from families these mothers had never met.

Similarly, it is interesting to note that many of the presents their daughters received remain in the very place of the house they were open. In some cases, Instagram– The valuable package was completely unharmed because the present was not open. None of their daughters seemed to care much. what They just received it, they just received it, and they may actually be the most insidious part of this madness, but more on that later.

Celebrating graduation is now a competitive sport. Giving other children has become a way to prove how much our children love and cherish their friends. At the same time, it shows that our kids and families are cool. The more wonderful the gift, the more wonderful the children and families who gave it. Gifting is ultimately a way to protect and perhaps raise the social status of children.

It is also interesting to note that whether she works full time or for something else, it is usually the mom responsible for the company that gives this gift, who is responsible for the company that gives this gift. Moms are tasked with finding the right products to properly and fully express how important our children are to us, and their friends are important to them. I’m graduating right It means finding and purchasing products and experiences that properly capture the meaning of this moment and the meaning of this milestone. It’s a new litmus test for being a It’s enough Mama, and it all became an impossible feat.

These mothers I spoke to were suffering from what I was calling, graduation anxiety and fatigue syndrome. While I know I’m caught up in this steroid infusion brand Catch up with Jonesand knowing the tsunami they were spinning, they at the same time realised that it was a madness that their daughters were growing up, a toxic river where their children wanted to swim and needed to succeed.

Even though I say that this It’s exactly where our moms get stuck. The mom I spoke to felt the same way, as if she had no luxury of opting out of Crazy Town. Imposing value on a child is not fair and will hurt the child. They knew it was crazy, but they even knew it was bad for their daughters in the long run, but they still felt forced to play the game. Because it was necessary for their daughters to survive in the social jungle, socially desirable. They also knew that it was something that demanded that their daughters feel now protected and truly praised. Mom does anything for her daughter, even if it means catching up to a culture that suffers from malignant and misguidedness Consumerismand swim in what feels like a toxic river.

Over the next few weeks, I’m seeing different aspects of this change in what it means celebrate graduation. Not only are we giving gifts, but we also plan to plan for many activities, meals, parties, and outings that prove that we are properly celebrating our children, celebrating the parents we are proud of, and planning for many activities, meals, parties, and outings that prove that we recognize and respect their efforts.

We will also look at the impact of this social media-driven graduation on children, their parents, and our society as a whole. How does it contribute to anxiety? depression Our kids are experiencing epidemic rates, which is bulging in all generations. Similarly, it helps to reduce how young people’s ability to appreciate, enjoy, or derive meaning from their lives. Identity That and experience can be provided. What’s more, how do we take away from family and community efforts? education Focus on all children when needed. This could be creating young people who have a distorted, bloated sense of their importance and achievement.

Pulling back the lens, this consumption excess will look at how we make this purchase and tsunami that we are drowning in the name of celebration.

But this type of blessing only fails. Thanks– From things. As we tend to do, we are looking for meaning in all the wrong places. And sadly, in this case, we are teaching our children that these are the right places and that if they get the right things enough, they are important and their lives matter.

For many people, these celebrations demand more and more money, time, and visible demonstrations of our love, and don’t feel like a celebration, they feel like a social media-made symptom of a society suffering. We send children into a system of values ​​that many of us don’t share, and what we know doesn’t serve them in the long run. I think the graduation smile seen in the thousands of essential iPhone photos taken to mark these moments is not actually a photoshopped version of the Edvald Munch character. scream.

When I move forward, I also offer an alternative path for parents who take off this treadmill and leave the sport of celebrating competition. So, in the midst of this insanity, how can we teach our children? Ours It may seem like the values ​​and the celebration and gratitude in other incarnations. And what exactly does it offer them a life that we really cherish, and ultimately, what does it offer them? experience It’s not just a try.