Mean Girls

There are lots of things that freak me out about having a baby girl who will eventually turn into a young woman. The emotion, the boyfriends, fear of her getting pregnant, fear of her getting abducted, eating disorders, buying expensive clothes, etc. You name it and I have thought about it. I suppose that's why my buddy Jae, when finding out he was having a boy, said 'I kind of felt relieved.'

We're still years away from this, but one issue I've been thinking about is girls being mean to one another for no good reason. As a guy I escaped all that drama in middle and high schools but worry that Norby will have to fend for herself in the world of the Mean Girls.

I read a recent article that said Mean Girls are starting as young as age five now and come up with games in school where they single out and make fun of other girls for minor infractions like looking different, not wearing the right clothes, not knowing the hip new singer or any other reason. The article quoted a five-year old girl as saying 'I hate my life.' !?!? And I thought the people I worked with in TV news were immature...

I hope that we are successful in raising our child to respect everyone and be respected by everyone. But as I half-jokingly told Helen, 'If we have to choose between Norby being popular or smart, I hope she's popular.' She may not get into Harvard but hopefully she won't be picked on, either.