What Will Their Future Hold?

I'm sure I'm not the only mom that wonders what her children will grow up to be.

A doctor? A lawyer? An exotic dancer? An Entertainer?

Or how about President? Though I think I want my children to be President of their own company rather than of the country.

T.'s preschool class put on a small show for the parents back in May. During one bit, the children carried signs that stated which profession they wanted to pursue, when they were grown. Some wanted to be Nurses, others wanted to be Policemen or Firemen, and most wanted to take care of animals and be a Veterinarian.

Five year old children are very noble.

When W.'s yearbook came home from school, I immediately turned to the 4th grade class. Next to each child's picture was their answer to the question, "What do you want to be?" Gone were the healers and protectors.

Ten year olds want to be rich and famous, baby!

The majority of the boys longed to become a Professional Jock. Top Professional Jocks too, they were all going to be in the Major Leagues! No sport was overlooked; Baseball, Basketball, Football, Synchronized Swimming.

The majority of the girls wanted to rocket to stardom as a Singer, Model, or Actress. Even the ugly ones. The overachievers wanted to be all three.

See how only five years can change a person's whole way of thinking?

I've asked my children many times what they think they might want to do in their adult lives. I'm not surprised by their answers, as the responses are pretty typical for their ages. Like any mom, I know my kids can be ANYTHING they want. They can DO anything they want.

Today I got to thinking (is something burning?), wouldn't it be fun if I had to assign them jobs based on their personalities right now? Certainly their careers would take quite specific paths.

W.'s yearbook picture stated that he would like to be a Chef. First of all, he eats pretty much pasta and bread and bread and pasta. His palate is only accustomed to blandness. Gordon Ramsey would set himself on fire. He does, however, love sweets. So, quite possibly a career as a Pastry Chef could be in his future.

I think he should be a Stuntman. He can throw a punch, flip around, and fall on the hardwood floors with a tremendous thud. It scares the bejezus out of me and makes me run from the next room because I am sure there's blood. He's usually lying on the floor laughing. He has NO fear and apparently very strong bones.

R. wants to be a Vet. The only reasonable part of that thought is that she isn't afraid of animals. My little munchkin, all 30 lbs. of her, will run up to a dog three times her size and wrap her arms around it's neck. The problem? She doesn't exactly have the best bedside manner. Ask poor Ruby who has been picked up by her tail on more than one occasion.

I think R. should be a News Anchor or a Talk Show Host. Why? BECAUSE.SHE.NEVER.SHUTS.UP! The pint-sized terror would also be excellent as a female Wrestler, Boxer, Bounty Hunter, or Hit Woman. Ahhh...my dainty girl has such a bright future ahead of her.

And finally T., my guy who will always be plagued by the middle child syndrome. Some days he wants to be a Chef and some days he wants to be a Vet. It depends on which sibling he is idolizing that particular day.

I think T. should be a Lawyer. He is the most persistent, argumentative child I have ever come across. He wants answers NOW! He'd be so great at cross-examination. He'd badger the information out of any witness that took the stand. Move over F. Lee Bailey.

So, what do your kids want to be? Or better yet, based on their personalities, what do you foresee?

Yes? Or No?

I have a question for all of you. What do you think is an appropriate age for a child to have a cell phone?

My son has been pleading on a daily basis for his own cell phone. He'll be 10 in a few weeks. I told him he could get one when I felt there was a need for one. He doesn't even use the house phone very often, but he NEEDS a cell?

He doesn't travel far from the home without adult supervision. He usually plays with the kids who live right across the street. So why the obsession with a cell?

Most of the kids in his grade already have them. That's why. Good old, "Not fair, so and so has one and so does so and so!" Which, if they are involved in a lot of extra-curricular activities, I can see the necessity. But the thing that annoys me is that he shouldn't KNOW that so many kids have them. The school shouldn't allow them from being taken out of their backpacks. They are in school, if there is an emergency, I think the school phone would suffice.

I see kids walking around cub scouts chatting away, texting, and playing games on them. It's obnoxious and rude, in my opinion.

Don't get me wrong, I am the lover of all gadgets, but isn't this just a little too much? I see my nieces at family gatherings with their phones on the table in front of them. You can't even hold a conversation with them because they are constantly responding to text messages.

I know my son, he'll use a cell as though it were another toy. Like another Gameboy. He'll be downloading games, ringtones, and Lord knows what. I can only imagine how much that first bill would be!

I know one thing, he'll be texting, that's for sure.

We went out to dinner the other night and he was getting fidgety. And my boy can get quite fidgety. I let him use my cell to text his father across the table. I know, I know, I wasn't really helping my camp in my son's "I Want A Cell Phone" campaign.

W. then asked if he could text his classmate, S., who he had been playing with that afternoon. S. is a girl who lives around the corner from us. I said he could text one hello and that was it. She texted back a greeting as well.

Later on I was looking to make sure that was all he did and I saw a draft that he had started but hadn't sent. It said, "S., will you be my girlfriend?" He apparently doesn't want to wait until 5th grade.

I guess texting is like blogging, in a way. He never would have had the guts to ask something like that to her face. I know with blogging it's also so much easier to "put something out there".

Technology, is it helping our kids grow up too fast? I wonder.