The now-famous photo published yesterday, showing Olympic swimming star Michael Phelps inhaling from a marijuana pipe, raises a thorny question about parenting in a celebrity-obsessed age: What do you do when your kids’ beloved idols become fallen heroes?
Mr. Phelps’ transgression, and his acknowledgment of poor judgment, is certain to rock the worlds of the legions of youthful swimmers who dream of emulating him. Mr. Phelps has had to apologize publicly before, after pleading guilty in 2004 to a drunken driving charge. But that screwup was less widely noticed, because he hadn’t yet broken Mark Spitz’s record for winning the most gold medals at an Olympics.
In my kids, I’ve seen our societal tendency to idolize high achievers, then to denigrate them just as energetically when they screw up, plant the seeds of cynicism. My son, enthralled as a child by the breathtaking play of NFL star Michael Vick, was deeply disappointed after learning of his many character flaws. The dog-fighting scandal left my son shaking his head that such a brilliant talent could be so thoroughly squandered. And my daughter, once an admirer of Britney Spears’ singing and dancing talent, tossed her overboard because of her bizarre, much-publicized personal antics.
That so many idols are shown to have clay feet may be one reason some surveys show most kids’ biggest heroes are their parents. When asked to name someone they admire, Americans between 18 and 25 years of age are twice as likely as older people to name someone close and familiar, such as a family member, teacher or mentor, says a 2006 study of 1,501 adults by the Pew Research Center, Washington, D.C.
Readers, have your kids’ heroes let them down？ How have you handled it？ And what have been the effects？
奧運(yùn)會(huì)游泳冠軍菲爾普斯(Michael Phelps)吸食大麻的照片給那些孩子還處在追星年紀(jì)的家長(zhǎng)們提出了一個(gè)棘手的問題：如果你們孩子崇拜的偶像自毀形像，你們?cè)撛趺崔k？
菲爾普斯的不當(dāng)行為和他承認(rèn)自己判斷力差肯定會(huì)震撼到大批夢(mèng)想仿效他的年輕游泳選手們。此前，菲爾普斯也曾經(jīng)被迫道歉，當(dāng)時(shí)他在2004年承認(rèn)了酒后駕車指控。但那個(gè)小插曲引起的公眾關(guān)注較少，因?yàn)楫?dāng)時(shí)他還沒有打破斯皮茨(Mark Spitz)的最多奧運(yùn)金牌紀(jì)錄。
從我的孩子身上，我看到了我們社會(huì)的一種不良傾向：我們總是熱衷于將取得重大成就的人捧為偶像，然后在他們出現(xiàn)問題后又不遺余力地口誅筆伐，散布冷嘲熱諷的種子。我的兒子曾經(jīng)對(duì)美式足球明星維克(Michael Vick)的神勇表現(xiàn)崇拜得如醉如癡，但在得知維克的很多性格缺陷后顯得非常失望。維克的斗狗丑聞令我的兒子搖頭嘆息：他竟然如此浪費(fèi)自己的才華。我的女兒也曾經(jīng)是小甜甜布蘭妮(Britney Spears)的粉絲，但在這位歌舞明星出格個(gè)人舉動(dòng)遭大肆宣揚(yáng)后，也對(duì)曾經(jīng)的偶像不屑一顧。
如此眾多的偶像被曝出弱點(diǎn)，或許這是許多調(diào)查顯示大多數(shù)孩子最崇拜自己父母的一個(gè)原因。華盛頓特區(qū)研究機(jī)構(gòu)皮由研究中心(Pew Research Center)2006年對(duì)1,501名成年美國(guó)人進(jìn)行的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查顯示，在被問及自己崇拜對(duì)象時(shí)，18-25歲之間的美國(guó)年輕人很多都選擇了自己親近和熟悉的人，例如家庭成員、老師或?qū)?；這一比例是年紀(jì)較大美國(guó)人的兩倍。
讀者們，你們孩子崇拜的偶像有自甘墮落的嗎？你們是怎么處理的，又帶來了什么影響呢？
Mr. Phelps’ transgression, and his acknowledgment of poor judgment, is certain to rock the worlds of the legions of youthful swimmers who dream of emulating him. Mr. Phelps has had to apologize publicly before, after pleading guilty in 2004 to a drunken driving charge. But that screwup was less widely noticed, because he hadn’t yet broken Mark Spitz’s record for winning the most gold medals at an Olympics.
In my kids, I’ve seen our societal tendency to idolize high achievers, then to denigrate them just as energetically when they screw up, plant the seeds of cynicism. My son, enthralled as a child by the breathtaking play of NFL star Michael Vick, was deeply disappointed after learning of his many character flaws. The dog-fighting scandal left my son shaking his head that such a brilliant talent could be so thoroughly squandered. And my daughter, once an admirer of Britney Spears’ singing and dancing talent, tossed her overboard because of her bizarre, much-publicized personal antics.
That so many idols are shown to have clay feet may be one reason some surveys show most kids’ biggest heroes are their parents. When asked to name someone they admire, Americans between 18 and 25 years of age are twice as likely as older people to name someone close and familiar, such as a family member, teacher or mentor, says a 2006 study of 1,501 adults by the Pew Research Center, Washington, D.C.
Readers, have your kids’ heroes let them down？ How have you handled it？ And what have been the effects？
奧運(yùn)會(huì)游泳冠軍菲爾普斯(Michael Phelps)吸食大麻的照片給那些孩子還處在追星年紀(jì)的家長(zhǎng)們提出了一個(gè)棘手的問題：如果你們孩子崇拜的偶像自毀形像，你們?cè)撛趺崔k？
菲爾普斯的不當(dāng)行為和他承認(rèn)自己判斷力差肯定會(huì)震撼到大批夢(mèng)想仿效他的年輕游泳選手們。此前，菲爾普斯也曾經(jīng)被迫道歉，當(dāng)時(shí)他在2004年承認(rèn)了酒后駕車指控。但那個(gè)小插曲引起的公眾關(guān)注較少，因?yàn)楫?dāng)時(shí)他還沒有打破斯皮茨(Mark Spitz)的最多奧運(yùn)金牌紀(jì)錄。
從我的孩子身上，我看到了我們社會(huì)的一種不良傾向：我們總是熱衷于將取得重大成就的人捧為偶像，然后在他們出現(xiàn)問題后又不遺余力地口誅筆伐，散布冷嘲熱諷的種子。我的兒子曾經(jīng)對(duì)美式足球明星維克(Michael Vick)的神勇表現(xiàn)崇拜得如醉如癡，但在得知維克的很多性格缺陷后顯得非常失望。維克的斗狗丑聞令我的兒子搖頭嘆息：他竟然如此浪費(fèi)自己的才華。我的女兒也曾經(jīng)是小甜甜布蘭妮(Britney Spears)的粉絲，但在這位歌舞明星出格個(gè)人舉動(dòng)遭大肆宣揚(yáng)后，也對(duì)曾經(jīng)的偶像不屑一顧。
如此眾多的偶像被曝出弱點(diǎn)，或許這是許多調(diào)查顯示大多數(shù)孩子最崇拜自己父母的一個(gè)原因。華盛頓特區(qū)研究機(jī)構(gòu)皮由研究中心(Pew Research Center)2006年對(duì)1,501名成年美國(guó)人進(jìn)行的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查顯示，在被問及自己崇拜對(duì)象時(shí)，18-25歲之間的美國(guó)年輕人很多都選擇了自己親近和熟悉的人，例如家庭成員、老師或?qū)?；這一比例是年紀(jì)較大美國(guó)人的兩倍。
讀者們，你們孩子崇拜的偶像有自甘墮落的嗎？你們是怎么處理的，又帶來了什么影響呢？