One word. Parents.

Alright, I know that, as a thirteen-year-old girl, I may not be able to say much about parents. After all, I'm not a parent myself and I don't even have younger siblings or cousins to look after. However, my mother does teach preschool, and I've seen what I consider horrible parents.

First of all, what do I consider to be horrible parents? I'm not talking about parents with strong senses of disciplinary skills. After all, children do need to learn, and it is okay to punish them if they deserve it.. and I know that people are now silently groaning at what I have to say, especially if they are younger audiences. What I consider to be horrible parents is someone who doesn't care for their kid, someone who messes up really big and their mistakes affect their kid, instead of the kid being a hassle for them.

For example. I'm not going to give a name for this parent or the child, because I don't want them being made fun of or for them to realize who I am talking about, in case they stumble on this. I went to a sleepover the other night and really late a girl there was telling us a story. Apparently her mom had spiked a 2-liter of soda and then put it back in the refrigeration. The girl actually went and drank the whole thing, because she didn't realize there was alcohol in it and she was completely drunk. She told us that she even stepped on a bug and then cried uncontrollably, and buried it in the backyard, which is probably the most insane thing I have heard in quite some time. I've never even tasted alcohol, not even when I was really little or anything.

The job of a parent, in my teenage opinion, is to guide the kid, to help set an example, and to not be like some of the parents who go out and do illegal things. I keep hearing the most terrible things about what some parents do to people and it drives me crazy. Like people who kill their newborn babies just because they don't want them.. if they were in their right mind, could they not give the baby up for adoption or something more humane? And then people who go out and drink at parties when their baby is wailing at home.. they should be there for their child. I'm lucky to have grown up with good parents, I suppose.

Life is what it is, and where you end up, it all depends.