By Selwyn Duke
It seems that the more parents treat their children like friends, the more unfriendly the world becomes.
While at a recreational facility the other day, I overheard a mother call her six-year-old son “bud.” No, I don’t think that was his name and he wasn’t a beer. Rather, the woman was exhibiting what, at least in my area (NY), has become a meme: addressing your child as “buddy.” “Buddy” used to just be a relationship descriptive and a generic, if sometimes snarky, way of addressing strangers (again, at least in NY). Now it’s a stranger way of addressing loved ones. It has also become maddeningly common. Right now I’m thinking of two families to which I’m close, and, in each case, one or both of the parents thus address their child.Now, I realize that criticizing people’s parenting is a hazardous endeavor and that some reading this have gotten caught up in our “buddy system.” So I’ll be gentle and not start this with a New Yawk “Listen, buddy....” In turn, I ask that you hear me out.
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