Anonymous wrote:i would pass this to chatgpt and ask for a rewrite

Anonymous wrote:You need something to fill the dead air between craziness about college and then bragging about the Grandkids.

I mean, it doesn't exactly liven up a party to brag about how little Johnny is now the Associate General Manager of the Dow Chemical plant in Des Moines.

Anonymous wrote:Most people need to just shut up when they have nothing to say.

Anonymous wrote:C’est la vie. I remember going back to reunions and talking to a young man who just graduated and was “so f’ing stoked” to be going into private client services or something. In my head I was just like, yeah check back with me in ten years, we’ll see how stoked you are.

Anonymous wrote:These parents are, generally, being inappropriate. Talking about their adult children, to this extent, is not appropriate. Sure, an answer to, "how is Mary?", (very occasionally), with a significant update re: new job/location/marriage/children. Even an unusual hobby, as mentioned.

But regular posting/discussing of another adult? No. Parents aren't respecting boundaries.

Anonymous wrote:You need something to fill the dead air between craziness about college and then bragging about the Grandkids.

I mean, it doesn't exactly liven up a party to brag about how little Johnny is now the Associate General Manager of the Dow Chemical plant in Des Moines.

Anonymous wrote:My oldest kid is 28 and his/my school/parent circle was hyper competitive about school, sports, college (especially x10), jobs out of college. These are not my close friends, but a couple are and I'm friendly with most. We get together a few times a year and the text chains started long ago survive.

I've noticed something lately that makes me kind of sad. Besides the normal boasting about even new things, there's been a shift that your kid who you raised to be an engineer is now .. an engineer. Or a chemist. Or in finance. And while things are going very very well, there's something missing. So there's talk lately about "guess who's starting taking improv classes!!" or "oh boy, someone is thinking about film school" or whose TikTok went viral. Or who is dating someone is either possibly future famous or a relative of someone famous.

It's as if the race to nowhere has run its course and now they kinda wish their kids were more creative and quirky, with a stand up comedy career or an instagramable flower farm. Or maybe they just want fame.

I wonder what was at the root of the desire for STEM kids in the first place. Because if it was UMC success, that was achieved and people are still not happy, except the immigrant parents. They're 100% happy.

There's also a weird investment in kids careers, but that's a DMV thing.

Anonymous wrote:This is 100% a parent issue. They were helicopter parents while their kids were in school and now it’s taking on a different form (is there a new name for this?). My kids are young adults and are working and paying all their bills. I have friends who know way too much about their kid’s job and talk about it to a friend group. For example, their likes and dislikes about work and bosses name. Even if you know this information, keep it to yourself.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My oldest kid is 28 and his/my school/parent circle was hyper competitive about school, sports, college (especially x10), jobs out of college. These are not my close friends, but a couple are and I'm friendly with most. We get together a few times a year and the text chains started long ago survive.

I've noticed something lately that makes me kind of sad. Besides the normal boasting about even new things, there's been a shift that your kid who you raised to be an engineer is now .. an engineer. Or a chemist. Or in finance. And while things are going very very well, there's something missing. So there's talk lately about "guess who's starting taking improv classes!!" or "oh boy, someone is thinking about film school" or whose TikTok went viral. Or who is dating someone is either possibly future famous or a relative of someone famous.

It's as if the race to nowhere has run its course and now they kinda wish their kids were more creative and quirky, with a stand up comedy career or an instagramable flower farm. Or maybe they just want fame.

I wonder what was at the root of the desire for STEM kids in the first place. Because if it was UMC success, that was achieved and people are still not happy, except the immigrant parents. They're 100% happy.

There's also a weird investment in kids careers, but that's a DMV thing.

Never heard of a “competition” like you are describing. That sounds like a weird internal dialogue thing for you. People don’t actually compete in the way you describe.

Anonymous wrote:This is 100% a parent issue. They were helicopter parents while their kids were in school and now it’s taking on a different form (is there a new name for this?). My kids are young adults and are working and paying all their bills. I have friends who know way too much about their kid’s job and talk about it to a friend group. For example, their likes and dislikes about work and bosses name. Even if you know this information, keep it to yourself.