Ahh! The old Lemonade stand...D Day!

So mom wakes the kid up early (it’s Sunday) and begins to get ready for the big day. Mom and the kid test their product out by doing several tasting; made signs; cleaned off the table, etc.. Mom and kid also discussed pricing. Finally it was agreed that all 12 ounce cups would sell for a dollar.

Mom knew that there was a problem….having a house in the middle of the block wasn’t going to attract many customers even with the signs. So…I mom knocked on the neighbors door (she lives on the corner with a four-way-stop-sign) and ask if we could set-up out front of their house. Our neighbor was cool with mom and the kid setting up the lemonade stand and the neighbor even suggested we set-up in her yard. She only asked mom and kid if her daughter could sell her cookies with the drinks.

Well, things went surprisingly well. Our hours of operation were from 12:30 until about 3:15 p.m. There is a lot of foot traffic on Sundays due to the framers market down the street. Most people were supportive. The children seem to guilt several motorist who had no choice but stop at the stop sign and look to there left or right to see them selling there lemonade.

At the end of the day the kids made a total of $120 dollars.

Ahh! The old Lemonade stand..a Couple of Days Before Our Scheduled Opening

So, it’s about a week before we sell are lemonade. We decided to add sweet tea to our menu. Mom and the kid discuss the marketing (putting-up a couple of signs) and the list of things needed:
1. Lemons
2. Water
3. Tea Bags
4. Sugar
5. Cups
6. Ice
7. Poster Board
8. Crayons
9. Cooler (already own)

But, low and behold the kid wants to continue to solicit family members and circumvent the “the money lesson”. Ohhh this enraged mom! So mom had another talk with the lad. This time mom broke down things further (which looking back might have been counterproductive). Conversation this time…. paying mom back for start-up cost.

The kid’s reaction? Why and what is start-up cost? So mom explains that the amount of money that mom uses to buy the items to get the lemonade stand going (i.e cups, water, lemons) will have to be paid back. The kid oh course feels that this is unfair. Mom..no baby this is business.

Ahh! The old Lemonade stand!...The Back Story

Whenever your child starts to ask you about paydays, checks and credit cards then you know it’s time to teach them about money. Alright, here’s the back story. My kid wanted a video game. I…mom am tired of buying these video games. I…mom felt that the kid had a great summer which included camps…yes with an s and a seven day vacation. I…mom am also tired of the kid pretty much pimping family members to buy stuff for him. So, I mom had a chat with the kid. The subject of our conversation was “in life you have to work for want you want”. Nothing is given! My kids reaction… pretty much a blank stare. I…mom suggest to the kid that he set-up a lemonade stand to earn some bucks to buy his game. Oh yeah and before anyone suggests the whole “do chores” thing, we did talk about, but for the current situation this was the fastest way to get a cash infusion.

Soft Kiddie Birthday Video....Thanks Mom!

"Oh those Parents are much too much! Those Parents are much too much!" Big hat tip to Necole and Gina on this one and trust me in the next couple of days the video will be making the e-mail rounds if it ain’t taken down yet. Guess these parents haven’t seen the PSA above or if they did then they just took the whole “Parental Involvement” to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL.

Disgusted is all I can say. No! APPALLED. I’m sure there are going to be thousands of comments on various sites regarding “this is why the black family is where it’s at” but, it just goes sooooo much deeper. In essence these parents have reinforced age old sexual stereotypes on a bunch of four, five, six and seven year little girls and boys.

Like Ceilia said from the Color Purple “beat them” the parents I mean. Then sit there little @ss down and have them read Freaks, Gold Diggers, Divas, and Dykes: The Sociohistorical Development of Adolescent African American Women’ Sexual Scripts By Dionne P. Stephens & Layli D. Phillips (It’s on the internet) Below are excepts from their study:

“The development of a sexual self is based in an understanding of the messages
and meanings an individual is given about sexual roles and behaviors. To
understand how meanings become scripts unique to adolescent African American
women’s experiences, it is important to look at how their images have been
framed within a racialized and sexualized sociohistorical context.”

Ms. Phillips needs to add Parental to the list.

“This paper explores the sociohistorical development of current sexual scripts
for African American female adolescents through an interpretation of Hip Hop
culture documents, and the available empirical research. The relevance of these
current sexual scripts to sexual identity development, sexual risk-taking
behaviors, and interpersonal relationship dynamics are also addressed.”

So basically in that little snapshot she address all the ills that these parents/guardians, family members what ever have reinforced in this video. Here’s the list on what these girls can expect out of life folks:

High HIV/AIDS Rate
Children born out-of-wedlock
High Abortion Rates
Sexually Transmitted Disease
Rape
Low Self Esteem
Career working your local stripper pole.

For the little boys…well they are learning that black little girls are no more then objects to be utilized as sexual desires. Not the Queens that they should be honored as.

Now, I don’t want to hear any adults complain about sexual harassment charges being placed on there son in third grade or he didn’t know bullsh%t


And you know what really was the worst part of this crap video was that not one parent took their kid off the dance floor…not one! Thanks Mom, Dad, Auntie Nici, Uncle John and Cousin Tay!

"Oh those boys are much too much! Those boys are much too much!"

Now I not going to say too much about the Dad’s “body language” in this commercial (cause we all know there are many “like him” who are dad’s too). Anyway, the commercial is too cute "Oh those boys are much too much! Those boys are much too much!"

According to the Ad council “More than 79% of Americans feel "the most significant family or social problem facing America is the physical absence of the father from the home." Research shows that the lack of a father in the home correlates closely with crime, educational and emotional problems, teenage pregnancy, and drug and alcohol abuse.

In an effort to show dads the critical role they play in their children's lives, the Ad Council has partnered with the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse and volunteer ad agency Campbell-Ewald to create a new PSA campaign that communicates to fathers that their presence is essential to their children's well-being. The campaign provides fathers with the information they need to become better dads.

While Dad’s body language is questionable the underlined point is that being a parent is really about being in the moment with your children. Being in the moment simply means eliminating the distractions, yes distractions such as talking on phone, perusing the internet, and yes watchin YOUR show. The great thing is that these moments become great teachable moments which turn into lasting moments that your children can carry on into adulthood.

I remember walking home with my dad from school and when it was COLDDDDDD! He would pop the collar of his coat and say “Baby we gotta hurry up and get home cause the hulk is out” Every time he said this I swear I starting looking for the incredible hulk to jump out somewhere. It wasn’t until sometime later that I realized “the hulk” was the cold wind. But I remember our walks home as fun and full of sixties lingo.