LZ Granderson
LZ Granderson
Elzie Lee "LZ" Granderson is an American journalist and commentator for CNN and ESPN. He writes a weekly column for CNN.com. A senior writer and columnist for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com's Page 2, he has contributed to the channel's SportsCenter, Outside the Lines, Around the Horn, and ESPN First Take and commentates for ESPN's coverage of the U.S. Open tennis tournament. He has also hosted the web-based ESPN360 talk show Game Night...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionJournalist
Date of Birth11 March 1972
CountryUnited States of America
Children are wonderful, but they are not the center of the universe. The sooner their parents make them understand that, the better off we all will be.
If children can't handle competition when it's necessary, or take some criticism, or never strive to be better because their parents inadvertently programmed them to believe they are already the best even when they're not, then they are in for some serious shocks and bumps down the road.
As a newspaper reporter, I covered and was around a fair number of crime scenes involving juvenile delinquents, and few things bothered me more than listening to their parents. Crying, ranting, proclaiming how great their children were despite being kicked out of school or previous run-ins with the law.
There is no way to physically always be there for your children and always be at the office and always be present for your significant other and then take care of yourself. The laws of physics necessitate that somebody or some thing is going to get the short end of the stick.
We're so preoccupied with protecting children from disappointment and discomfort that we're inadvertently excusing them from growing up.
The ugly truth is it's the spineless parents who parade their undisciplined children around like royalty that make people dislike kids.
As a parent, I can empathize with how difficult raising children can be. There are challenges, especially within the framework of divorce, when parental guilt can sometimes blur what should be the best decision.
Parents are supposed to instill a sense of right and wrong in their children and then keep up the due diligence necessary to make sure they don't veer off that path.
Children may be born angels, but with all the temptations out there in the world, it takes work to try to keep them that way.
I don't claim to know everything about parenting, but I do know parents do their children a disservice by constantly sugarcoating their shortcomings to protect their feelings.
Children are wonderful but they are not the center of the universe. The sooner their parents make them understand that, the better off we all will be.
I'm all for holding each other accountable, but it feels as if we're hurling toward a society of finger-pointers, because we don't hold ourselves accountable for anything.
Believe me, I recognize the cultural and anatomical challenges and respect the sacrifices women make in order to balance family and a career, or family with no career, or career with no family.
The more time we invest imitating others, the less that's available to discover and be ourselves.