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Saw Jonas Brothers, (thanks Mom)

TRALEE PEARCE

From Tuesday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 2:42 PM EST 08/07/08

Is waiting days in line to help your kids live their tween dreams parental devotion or dangerous indulgence? ...Read the full article

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  1. Pamphleteer . from Canada writes: who the hell are the jonas brothers are why is everyone gaga over them?
  2. David K from Guelph, Canada writes: This way madness lies. What ever will these little darlings do when they have to do something themselves that involves patience and a little self sacrifice? BTW Pamphleteer, I don't know who these lads are either but it is probably safe to say they are a synthetic concoction of some devious marketing coven that will flame out in a year or two (or less).
  3. Joyce Greggains from toronto, Canada writes: When the Rolling Stones first came on tour to Toronto I refused to allow my fifteen-year-old daughter Sarah to go and see them because I was concerned about her safety in the crowds. It didn't occur to me to go with her and in any case I had other children at home. She cried the whole evening that she would never ever be able to see the Stones again in all her life.

    Perhaps, like the Stones, the Jonas Brothers may come back again in thirty years.
  4. Pamphleteer . from Canada writes: There are sooo many great indie bands out there now that are made up of true muscians who produce awesome music. Why would anyone waste their time with this manufactured crap?
  5. grel grel from Toronto, Canada writes: This neo-con, virginity-until-marriage notion is one objectionable thing I would want to alert my daughter to. Is this really what we want for our children, to fear their sexuality and mix it up with pseudo-christian, family-values judgementalism? Is that what we would want for ourselves and, if not, why impose it on our kids?

    But, the article is right, that we need to watch out for all sorts of troubling messages that get delivered by celebrity culture, especially the insidious ones.
  6. John Cassidy from Canada writes: Front page of the G&M...must be a slow news day...if you have to ask this question you are too far gone already...the clowns are running the circus...
  7. Are We Having This Conversation Again from Toronto, Canada writes: Taking a few days off to wait in line for your kids' concert? Wish you were my mom.....my mom didn't let me go see New Kids when they came to town some 15 years ago because I was too young to go! She said no, I cried, she still said no and I freaked out and she still said no! Moral of the story.....I got over it....I sucked it up and saw the light that their music was garbage. Thank God I saved my money for other great bands like The Hip, Radiohead, U2, Midnight Oil, etc. Kids have it too easy today....say no, children do get over it and if they don't....it's probably because they have been already too spoiled and it's too late to try and 're-teach' them. As for a posting above about the virginity until marriage and being against Christianity.....take your 'Mr./Mrs.Nice Pill' and join us in the real world for a second okay pal! The Jonas' claim of 'virginity until marriage' mantra is nothing but a gimmick! It's called clever marketing because Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears and every other pop princess claimed that. Until you see their music videos and they dance around in barely any clothing with people of the opposite sex pretty much groping them.....yeah....no sex until marriage eh? Nice try!
  8. Gizella Oehm from Toronto, Canada writes: Hmm, and some years ago, mothers were taking their 8-9 year old daughters to see the Spice Girls gyrate in skimpy clothes on stage. Whatever. What does sometimes seem sad about all this is that parents are so eager to encourage their children to become part of the teen/pre-teen groupmind, where the youngsters unquestioningly adhere to the culture, attitude and mores of their fellow adolescents. The mass hysteria that attends rock (or other) concerts binds the groupmind ever more tightly together. If I were a parent, I would hope for something better for my kids.
  9. garlick toast from Canada writes: Get them started early with the 'entitlement'attitude,but be prepared for an ever escallating set of expectations.And then, don't be surprised when they end up like those Muskoka kids,buried at age twenty-two.After a life of being made 'special',what else is there?
  10. Rafael Sanchez from Ottawa, Canada writes: stupid!
  11. bethany middleton from Canada writes: I don't understand this at all. I'd travel to the ends of the earth on an archeological dig with my kids, but there's no way I'd fork out $200/ticket plus travel and accomodation for a rock concert for my teen or tweenager. My kids are too small right now, but if they developed that interest, it would have to be in the town we were in (no way would I travel for a weekend, etc) and they'd have to pay their own way while I paid the companion ticket. They'd soon discover that it wasn't worth their money, and if they didn't, they wouldn't be wasting my money on that stuff.

    Celebrity worship may be a common aspect of teenagerdom but it's by no means universal. Many teenagers never get involved with that stuff - why encourage it?
  12. Sami Lama from Toronto, Canada writes: Agree - pure stupidity to line up for any period of time for these manufactured pseudo-entertainment acts. Kids can handle being told no.
  13. Beach Bum from Canada writes: If the kid is too young to go on their own then they shouldn't go. I am still quite young and I remember my 'teen' phase with Bush. I BEGGED my mother to travel to T.O to see them ...I think I was in garde 6 or 7? Anyway, she's a rock mom and loves music but she said no time and time again and wouldn't go with me. As soon as I was old enough to bus to Toronto by myself and had my own money to spend I went to all the concerts I wanted. It wasn't very many mind you but it was still a lot more fun than going with your mother!

    Teaching a kid that they can get what they want and the freedom that they want when they earn it is a lot better than sacrificing all this time/money for a band that in a year they won't even remember. Besides as a parent you should be smart enough to know that all these 'Disney Stars' target these young kids because their parents will do anything for them. They are playing you and you are falling for it! HA.
  14. Susan Lloyd Swail from Canada writes: I recall generations before that flocked to groups with little musical substance anyone recall the Bay City Rollers. It is really nothing new to indulge children in these fascinations, just more people can do so today. Fortunately for me my sons prefer indie music and I actively discourage dreams of becoming a rock star while encouraging a musical education.

    As a parent of this generation I find the best measure for me on whether I'm indulging my children is how appreciative they are of my efforts. Would they do the same for me one day when I need a ride to a see a celebrated physician at a specialized clinic 500 miles away or did I spoil them so much that they can only think of themselves. Time will tell.
  15. No Name Necessary from Canada writes: My daughter likes the Jonas brothers. I think they got their start with the Miley Cyrus show. I don't find their music that good...typical teeny bopper stuff (it all sounds the same) and agree that there are way more talented people out there. I've bought her some Teen Beat magazines and some cd's but I will never stand in line for hours to catch a glimpse of them or drive 5 hours so that she could see them or spend a couple of hundred dollars to see their show (or anybody else's for that matter...) The difference these days is the money. It's not just 30 or 40 dollars to see a show it's more like 200 or 300 dollars. I don't know what is driving up the prices of these shows...maybe its scalpers or ticket wholesalers now who seem to have taken over or maybe it is just plain greed and opportunism. But there are a lot of suckers out there who will spend this kind of money. It's ridiculous.
  16. i. ignatius from Mount Pleasant, Canada writes: hey ... i and a bunch of hockey dads on our team begged our teenage sons to go see Rush in T'ronna tomorrow night, but they all said NO!

    go figure ... so it's just the hockey dads and no kids to indoctrinate to the best music ever! :-)

    oddly enough, they all love Rock Band on their respective video consoles. hmmm.
  17. SusieQ 321 from NoWhereVille, Canada writes: If they have the money and the time who cares... no different from my friends when I was a kid we went to Michael Jackson, Duran Duran and god knows what else.. I remember heading to Ontario Place for a ton of concerts solo with my friends when we were 14 or so..
    Let em listen to whatever they want cause I still look back on NIN, the Cure, Depeche Mode, Erasure and many other bands with fondness and cant understand why we bothered with others...
  18. Tax me! I'm Canadian! I'll roll over : from Canada writes: :

    How are we going to get smarter as a society when we keep feeding our kids into this meat grinder known as the culture of idiocy?

    Sure, people can have fun with non-cerebral type diversions. Trouble is, diversions from what? You mean all the other time they spend thinking about the stuff that makes them more than simple house pets?

    And they vote....they vote! They vote for which government gets to oppress me next based on their vast reach of knowledge, their deep rooted principles of liberty, sound money, limited government, and the richness of critical thinking provided by our public education system, right?

    Ooopss. Where did the time go? Gotta run. The new iPhone is coming out! The new iPhone is coming out! Gotta stand in line for that! Back to my catatonic state....
  19. Carly MacKay from United States writes: OH GOD I CAN'T BELIEVE I CAN'T EVEN READ MY FAVORITE PAPER WITHOUT HAVING TO SEE SOMETHING PERTAINING TO THIS GROUP OF BOYS!!!! AAAAAGGGGG! My 14 year old loves them. She is going to their concert in August. I did not pay for her ticket. One of her 'BFF's' is taking about ten girls for her birthday. Ten tickets (plus two for her parents) plus the cost to rent a mini - bus to bring them all = $$$$$. I remember my crush on Duran Duran in the early to mid eighties. I should call my mom to apologize for all my hysteria. I finally know what she went through.
  20. Michael Mitchell from Canada writes: All these comments . . . dead-on. Just wanted to acknowledge this. Idle celebrity worship is quite alarming these days. Look at all the gossip shows. Pathetic. Do people actually care about the Jolie twins or Keith Urban becoming a father or Winehouse self-destructing before our eyes?
  21. Anger Equals Danger from Canada writes: Do people actually care about the Jolie twins or Keith Urban becoming a father or Winehouse self-destructing before our eyes?
    * * * * *
    Well, Keith Urban we do because we wish him all the best. But you're correct, we should wish from afar, not as an up-close obsession.
  22. Tax me! I'm Canadian! I'll roll over : from Canada writes: :
    Oh and by the way, I went through this stuff too back in the mid-eighties.

    Looking back, I realize that our teenage years probably when our minds were most receptive to learning, was intercepted and thwarted by government indoctrination camps we call 'public education' and media/corporate youth oriented product positioning. It's even worse now.

    It is difficult to break the matrix, but I am unlearning...Cheers!
  23. Jim Ray from the GTA, Canada writes: Wow, who new such hatred could arrise about the Jonus Brothers? They're just a band that kids seem to like. No big deal. I think the full-time posters need to go for a walk and relax.
  24. Are We Having This Conversation Again from Canada writes: SusieQ 321 from NoWhereVille, Canada writes about it not being any different when you were a kid and such....very true, except if I am correct, you went by yourself and your mommy and daddy didn't give you the money and drive you hours on end to see the shows.
    I am sure that is what has everyone on this link upset! The fact that parents give in to their whingy kids' demands.
    Like I posted above, I too wanted to go to concerts but until I got a job and paid for my own way to and from the show, there was no way my folks were going to fork over the money for me.
    I got my job at 15 and then I was dumb and travelled all over Canada for Another Road Side Attraction following the Hip, Blues Travellers, Daniel Lanois, etc....it was my money, my plane tickets and hotel costs and every other expense I took on....MY MONEY....my parents gave me a kiss on the cheek and told me to have fun!
    By the way, we had one bloody awesome time!!
  25. Jan Sev from Ottawa, Canada writes: I think parents are over indulging their kids way too much these days. A few years back I would gush with my friend about the Backstreet Boys concerts that she went to (every time they came to our city) and all the merchandise she got and everything...but the thought of asking my parents to pay for a $100 concert ticket and to line up for hours to get it for me has never crossed my mind even once. I recognized that my crush on them was just that, a crush, a fantasy, that didn't have to be 'satisfied'. When I finally grew up and got my own job and made my own money, I paid for concerts I really wanted to go to (and bought my parents tickets to concerts they wanted to go to) and that was worth every penny. There's nothing wrong with spending money on your kids, but there has to be a limit and boundaries on how much you spend and on what things you spend. Those guidelines should be established and clearly communicated. Just because you have the money and can afford to, doesn't mean you always need to indulge your kids. Who's to blame when they grow up to be materialistic selfish brats?
  26. Michael Mitchell from Canada writes: Uh, thanks, 'Brad'. I get it.
  27. Kay A from Canada writes: If you drive them 6hrs to line up for days to get into a show at 14 what are they going to expect next?
    The Jonas Bros. are no different (except the vocals are lacking) than any of the boy bands my little sister loved (NKOTB anyone?).
    For these kids it's all about status & bragging rights: I got to see the Jonas Bros!
    I don't want my child bragging like that or thinking $200 is nothing to spend on a concert ticket.
  28. Leslie Clark from Montreal, Canada writes: There is a good solid side to all this. Yeah, I went with my 14 year old daughter to see the Jonas Brothers, we waited (not long) outside The Four Seasons and were lucky enough for a great photo op, my daughter and Joe Jonas side by side all smiles. She was the only one there who wasn't screaming. Back in March, she asked to go to the concert, I said yes, we had to travel a bit, so what, I was happy to do it. My daughter works hard in school, doesn't ask for much and isn't one bit spoiled. Her musical tastes will improve over time, I know that, but right now, they aren't half bad. She idolizes 3 Christian boys in a band that writes and plays their own music. With what is out there to entice her, it could be a lot worse. She's treasures the photo, not obsessively, but just as a nice memory. When I think I helped make that happen, I'm okay with that.
  29. Alistair McLaughlin from Canada writes: Grel Grel is off his/her meds again. Off-topic posting is one sure-fire symptom. As for parents spending days in line with their kids for the privilage of paying $200 to see some teeny-boppers that the kids will be embarrassed to admit they liked 3 years from now is just daft. Some parents seem determined to bring up self-indulgent, self-absorbed, narcissistic egoists.
  30. garlick toast from Canada writes: What does their religion have to do with it?
  31. Amy Mullins from United States Outlying writes: Finally someone put this out there! I wont lie. I was OBSESSED with the Jonas Brothers! It conflicted with my grades, friends, and emotionals feelings. It's not healthy. I still love the Jonas Brothers and would be soo excited to attend one of their concerts, but, going to the lengths of some of these fans and/or parents is just going to far! Driving 6 hours for a show and spending sometimes up to $400 for a single ticket is just cRaZy!!! If the ticket was over 80, and it would be more than an hour and a half of driving time, I wouldn't even bother asking my parent for permission or to help me out. Unless I was willing to pay for it all myself. Depending on how bad I wanted to go.

    Plus, the camp out sessions outside the theatre! DANG! For these tweens, when will it ever be enough?!

    But I also agree with Jim Ray from the GTA. The hatred on these guys just needs to chill out for a while. They've done nothing wrong. They are just a popular band that has the girls going gaga. Every generation has one.
  32. Stephen Dedalus from Canada writes: Susan Lloyd Swail from Canada writes: "I recall generations before that flocked to groups with little musical substance anyone recall the Bay City Rollers."

    My dad used to tell us that the New Kids on the Block were just like the Bay City Rollers, and would flame out in a year or two. I'd never heard of the BCR, and I was all, "No way, pops! Go back to the nineteenth century. You know nothing about rock and youth and whatnot."

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