When I was a practicing pediatrician in La Jolla, California, I had many patients from affluent and even very rich families. Some of the parents did an excellent job of parenting, but the majority did not. Many of the children were raised by nannies and some of the kids just had to learn to take care of themselves. I remember one teenager who made an appointment to see me and said she had a sore throat. I could not see a problem with her throat and had her come back to my office, so we could talk. When I asked her what was going on, she said "It is my birthday today." I asked if she had had a special breakfast and was there going to be a party? "No", she said, "My mother gave me a 100 dollar bill and she will be gone the rest of the day. The girl said "I don't need anything and don't know what to spend it on." I wanted to say, "You do need something and that is love and parenting." After 15 years of hurting for so many of the patients, I finally decided to sell my practice and move to Northern California where I was offered a job running a program for children with disabilities, because of my neuromuscular training. I knew otherwise I was going to have to adopt some of the kids or open an orphanage!
Recently, there have been several drug related deaths of young people from very affluent families. I am aware of one family were thousands of dollars were given to the young people, but parenting was almost totally absent. No wonder the kids took drugs hoping that would replace what they were missing from their parents. If you want to be a parent, this is a life-long commitment. Nannies can play an important part when parents need help, but they can not and should not replace rules, discipline, love, hugs, and time spent with parents.
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