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Thursday, August 29, 2013

I always try to keep it classy around here, after all, this IS a mommy blog, and while I will try to keep this post as classy as the rest, I can’t promise.

I know that the whole Miley Cyrus debauchery at the VMA’s has been, at this point, played out, and I promise that while this post is more about how Miley’s antics spurred a discussion at my house, it was the inspiration for the post in the first place, so if you’re tired of reading about it, please feel free to move along.

 The VMA’s are usually a big deal at our house as we thoroughly enjoy music and try to have it as present in our every day lives as possible.  Since my oldest daughters love watching the performances and seeing which of their favorite songs/singers will win, but have a strict 9 pm bedtime on school nights (yes, I am that mom who makes her teenager have an early bedtime—you raise your children, I’ll raise mine), I always DVR the show so that they can watch it afterschool the next day.  This year was no different, I set the DVR to record the show, but finished early with my posts so I decided to watch the live show—I’ve never been more glad that I screened something before letting my children watch it in.my.life. 

I’ve never been a big fan of Miley Cyrus, even in her Hannah Montana days I thought  that she was famous for absolutely no reason other than her dad used to be somewhat/kinda/almost famous, and after watching the video for her song “We Can’t Stop” I was even less of a fan (that video is disturbing at best) so I didn’t really even want to watch Miley’s VMA performance, thankfully something told me I should.  I’m usually pretty good with words, but in this case, words seriously escape me.  I’m not sure whether I should feel sorry for Miley’s parents (though I thoroughly suspect that they are, in fact, part of the problem), or if I should feel sorry for Robin Thicke (though I suspect he loved every second of it—you know, considering he called the performance “dope” and all), hell maybe I should feel sorry for Miley, but I don’t feel sorry for any of those people—I feel sorry for the girls who look up to Miley Cyrus.

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Image Credit:  eonline.com

Anyway, my oldest daughter came home from school Monday and asked to watch the VMA’s and this is the conversation that followed her question…

Me:  Um, I’m not sure you should, it was kinda lame.
Drama Teen:  Mom, of course you’d think it’s lame, you’re old!
Me:  Let me rephase that rude one…I don’t think it’s really very appropriate for you to watch it.
DT:  If you’re talking about the travesty that was Miley Cyrus, I’ve already seen it.
Me:  (Shocked, though in our digital age I guess I shouldn’t have been)   Um how exactly have you seen it?
DT:  Facebook, YouTube—it’s out there.

And in that moment I knew that there was really very little I could do in that moment, or in life in general. to shelter my children from things I didn’t want them to see—not when Facebook and YouTube and Instagram are such a vital part of the everyday lives of teens in 2013.  So since I couldn’t make her un-watch what she had already seen, I decided to use it as a lesson in how I do and do not expect my children to behave while they are in my house and if they ever want to really gain my respect, in life. 

Me:  Well, what did you think?
DT:  Of Miley Cyrus?  She’s a total skank mom.
Me:  (Ok, this was promising)  Agreed!  You know that I’d kill you if you ever tried to do anything remotely resembling what that girl did in public…right?
DT:  (Rolling her eyes for the drama factor) Yes, Mom.  But do you really, honestly believe that I would ever, ever do something like that?  I mean, that girl clearly has issues and needs some kind of help.

I was extremely impressed that my daughter seemed to take the same position I had on the issue, sometimes it’s nice to be reminded that we, as parents, have done a good job.

Me:  Well, I’m glad you feel that way because I think that girl needs Jesus.
DT:  And a better pair of panties…did you see her chicken butt? 

I think the most important lesson to be learned here is that our children can and sometimes do surprise us, even when it’s the last thing we might expect them to do.  My daughters love that stupid “We Can’t Stop” song so knowing that, I automatically assumed that they would fight for the right to watch her performance in the first place and then try to justify it and I was shocked, really and truly, when they did the opposite.  Maybe us parents should really just chill the F out, I mean, our kids have this, they know what they’re doing, they know what’s right and wrong and for the most part, they seem to have no problems standing up for what they believe is right and that should make us feel awesome!  Even if it takes Miley Cyrus masturbating with what kinda/sorta resembled the Hamburger Helper hand (I’ll never be able to eat that stuff again now) to show us that for the most part, our kids are pretty freakin awesome, which just means that us moms and dads are the shit!

3 comments :

  1. Great post! I have a teenage daughter and son who like Miley Cyrus and I was shocked when I saw her performance and so were they. I, like you, believed that my children would try to justify her actions, but to my surprise, both were disgusted by them. I think that as parents we have a great responsibility to both protect our children and force them to see things with their own eyes to make the right decisions and I agree that often, they make the right decisions all on their own.

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  2. We still have the VMAs DVRd here. I haven't had the heart to watch them. I'm glad your daughter wasn't impressed with Miley's performance!

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    1. It was awful, honestly. I think goodness my daughters want to be nothing like her...oddly enough though my son has taken to twerking...seriously and he's never even seen the performance. LOL

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