When stupid parents do stupid things

Many of you will recall the MySpace Suicide Hoax last year, where a 13-year-old girl, Megan, committed suicide after being taunted by a boy she liked on MySpace. It turns out that this "boy" was a fictional profile created by her friend (and her friend's parents) to find out what Megan might be saying about this friend behind her back.

This story has made the secondary headlines again because the sherriff of the town (which isn't too far from where I grew up) kept the case open to see if he could charge the friend's parents with anything. The case recently close because it was decided these parents hadn't broken any laws...besides just being stupid and callous.

Now, of course, I'm sure that these parents never imagined that their actions would cause the suicide of a girl. But at what point do parents bow down to the level of their 13-year-old child?

I'm not a parent, and probably won't be for a while, and I know how much parents hate it when non-parents parent. But I think it's one of those scary things you consider when you think about raising a kid in today's world. You want to be a "friend" to your child, but you have to draw a line at indulging your child's every wish. How would things have been different if those parents stood up to their child and said "No," no matter how much they wanted to protect their child.

I think that's the problem today. We want to over-protect, we want to indulge - but at what cost? And what's the line that separates having a relationship that goes beyond parent-child and becoming a 13-year-old yourself? I think it must take a lot of self-confidence to be a parent - to not worry about what your child thinks of you, especially when you have to make those tough and unpopular choices.

Maybe these parents werent' self-confident enough. They got caught up with living in their child's world and not think about the consequences that grown-ups - and parents - should think about. Kind of makes the thought of raising a kid a little scary.