I've been grounded like once or twice, and that was for not finishing something major on time. I don't really get into trouble.
I've heard of some of the groundings my friends get, and at times it just seems like abuse of parental power.
"You're home 3 minutes late, Susan"
"I'm sorry, we had to stop for gas on the way home because we were really low..."
"Don't talk back to me. You're grounded for a week. No cell phone, friends, computer, or anything."
That's 168 hours of no recreational activity. Had it been summer vacation, that would be 168 hours where a child is forced to stay in their room/house for 7 days with no contact with the outside world or anything of the sort. I find that to be unhealthy, but that's not what really bugs me. What bugs me is that parents WILL ground their kids for like a week if they do something trivial like come home 3 minutes late or something happens on accident.
Just because I overslept and missed the bus this morning so I couldn't get to school. My mom is away on a business trip, and my siblings don't want to drive me.
This is the kind of crap that pisses me off. If your sibling had any kindness or worth in their heart at all, they would offer to drive their little brother/sister to school. Just because "they don't want to" THEY have the authority to ground you?
I get woken up early in the morning to do favors my parents ASK me to, they don't force me to, and I do it gladly regardless of how tired or lazy I am. What kind of brothers/sisters do you have, honestly?
Of course, because he's my guardian, logic and reason don't necessarily matter in a debate, unless he believes it. So he continued his vendetta against the internet, claiming it would shatter my grades, ruin my friendships, and probably contribute greatly to global warming. I'm not allowed to use the internet as much as I would like- on the weekends. I'm not allowed any access to the internet during the school week, unless it's strictly for educational purposes. Luckily I managed to dredge up a second modem, to replace the one he takes with him when he leaves the house.
See, some parents are just plain unreasonable and I hate that. You can't teach an old dog new tricks.
For example, I can't go out in the rain because my mom believes I will catch pneumonia or a cold. Regardless of the fact that you don't get a cold from being wet, you get a cold from a virus, it's impossible to explain/convince this to my parents, so I just have to deal with it :/
My mom also believes that if I keep drinking protein smoothies that my stomach will reject real food later.
And my dad thinks that video games rot the mind.
I don't let my parents ground me, I argue with them until they shut the fuck up and i sit back down on the computer. Rarely have I been sent to my room, and that was for little things, like antagonizing my older sister by saying aviators looked dumb, and then singing Dumb to the tune of Carol of the Bells. She cried and I bounced, got a ride to Maine. I avoid punishment, because it's dumb.
Punishment for the right reasons is not dumb at all. It teaches someone to not do something or consequences will arise.
Punishment for saying Aviators looked dumb, however, is an example of parental stupidity.
