Posted on 01/08/2018 7:36:17 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
In the latest overly empathetic attempt at shielding young people from the harsh realities of life, a shrink wonders if schools should ban children from having — wait for it — best friends.
Writing in US News, child and family psychologist Dr. Barbara Greenberg says “there is something dreadfully exclusionary” about the concept of a “best friend,” and notes some American and European schools already forbid kids from having them.
Greenberg realizes that many will scoff at the notion based on “real life” expectations (“perhaps there is some truth to that,” she says), but she is focused on the “bigger picture”– that is, the distress of rejection associated with having a close confidante.
“I am a huge fan of social inclusion,” Greenberg writes. “The phrase best friend is inherently exclusionary. Among children and even teens, best friends shift rapidly. These shifts lead to emotional distress and would be significantly less likely if our kids spoke of close or even good friends rather than best friends.
“And, if kids have best friends, does that also imply that they have ‘worst friends?'”
From the article:
A focus on having best friends certainly indicates there’s an unspoken ranking system; and where there is a ranking system, there are problems. I see kids who are never labeled best friends, and sadly, they sit alone at lunch tables and often in their homes while others are with their best friends.
My hope is that if we encourage our kids to broaden their social circles, they will be more inclusive and less judgmental. The word “best” encourages judgment and promotes exclusion.
I am not, however, an advocate of encouraging kids to have huge groups of friends. What I would like to see instead is children having a smaller group of close friends. In fact, there is research suggesting that adolescents who have a small group of close friends fare better emotionally than those who are part of a larger social circle. Perhaps those who are part of a large group lack closeness and are socializing primarily with acquaintances.
Greenberg says parents should not forbid their kid from “having contact” with a best friend, nor “march into [their] child’s school” to make sure there’s no prohibition on having best friends.
“Instead,” she says, “consider making a bit of a shift to your vocabulary and talk to your children about the importance of having close friends. Put less emphasis on popularity and having best friends.”
She concludes: “Think of all the wonderful opportunities you may have missed if you socialized exclusively with only one friend.”
This person’s head is so far up their own, they shall have to put a window in where their navel is, just to get a glimpse of the outside world again.
There are good sound psychological reasons to have a a close confidant and friend, a “best friend”. Being overly inclusive in your life leads to a relatively low self-esteem, at best, and sets a person up for ultimate failure in life. No encouragement, and no refuge during periods of despair.
“Liberal” is another word hi-jacked by Progressives to fool the public. It used to mean something, as in a classical liberal who believed in the rule of law and limited government.
Progressives inverted that to mean themselves, who believe in unlimited government and that the rule of law does not apply to them.
What about kids who are loners and exclude everyone? What would this mastermind propose to do about that?
What I find interesting is that anyone gave this jackass credibility and publicity to spread this crap. Watching the Golden Globbs last night showed that everybody in that hall was everybody’s best friend.
Good luck in finding one who isn’t as crazy as she is.
Underlying all of this is the concept of “being inclusive” as a civil right. It is the end-result of egalitarian ideology, where nobody is allowed to be considered “better” or “preferable” to anyone else. Where “discrimination” is a hate crime.
Well, guess what? In the real world, people discriminate. They prefer X to Y. They think A is better than B.
These psycho-chiatrists all need their heads examined - 99% of their patients have it more together than they do.
A little known fact is within the Psy community, other than dangerous people, the ones needing the most Psy treatment are Psychologists.
Often they get into the field to better understand their feelings and somehow never get around to dealing with them.
Perhaps, Bandy X. Lee can render an opinion on the mental condition of Dr. Greenberg.
After all, Dr. Lee has the skill to opine on matters from a long-distance.
This clowns entire career is based on a diploma hanging on her wall from an exclusionary school. you can bet.
At least that BFF gif is more-or-less PG rated.
“We’re all friends here” is about as useless as “everybody wins”. Look for it to be featured heavily in schools in the not too distant futre.
What is this world coming to.
Before long, you will be forbidden from discriminating on the basis of race, color, sex, weight or any other physical characteristics when choosing a spouse.
All straight out of Ayn Rand’s novel Anthem. Next, we will be assigned a number instead of a name. Personal pronouns are already under attack.
Fill them up with Ritilan.
graduate them from there to prozac, lithuim and thorazine.
Wouldn’t this be a wonderful world if everyone treated all others as if they were best friends?
Dr. Barbara Greenburg is just a progressive nut job.
Greenberg
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.