I wouldn’t belittle the medical reasons to maintain a balance in your lifes choice. Even May West was voluptuous and curvy, not visibly skinny so, certainly there is lattitude in an a healthy body.

I think the argument could be made (right or wrong) that a “Privilege” list could be made for almost every group from the viewpoint of someone outside that group. I would love to see the feedback from your friends’ children, in their own words.

I absolutely don’t want a lot of these privileges for my son; my life would be considerably harder, and so would his (more dangerous too I’d bet) if he had them.

if you want an authentic list ask a 3, 6, 9, and 16 year-old what they think should be included rather than giving the kind of list you think they should make

I did in fact consult my son while the list was being written, and referred back to my own writings as a 13-15 year old teenager.

Interestingly, you seem to be making this point as an attempt to disparage/discredit the meaning behind the list, but I think it’s a great point. I have a lot of parent friends, and it would be a good idea to interview their children to find out what privileges they perceive the adults in their lives have over them.

You made a point of saying that the list was purposely worded from the viewpoint of the oppressed class. Why not take it a step further and give a list actually made by the oppressed class. Male privilege lists are made by women, white privilege lists are made by non-white people, heterosexual privilege lists are made by gay, lesbian or transgender people, etc. This is the only list I know of that is created by the oppressing class for the oppressed, and it shows. if you want an authentic list ask a 3, 6, 9, and 16 year-old what they think should be included rather than giving the kind of list you think they should make.. This sounds like more of what you want for your child than what children want for themselves.

While some of it may be what children are feeling, I also think some of it is adults projecting what they are feeling or what they think children should be feeling.

As the parent of 13 and 9 year-olds, my husband and I have the advantage of their ability to tell us what they are thinking. Not only have we allowed them the freedom to express themselves, they take that freedom quite seriously, so we are not at a loss as to their thoughts or feelings. However, we do not allow ourselves to be held hostage when making decisions about them or the family.

If the list helps you empathize with your children, that’s great, but it’s a little heavy-handed for me. As a matter of fact, some of the items make it difficult for me to take the list seriously.

No. I am saying that while I DO allow my children basic freedoms and rights, they are not all the freedoms and rights that they want. It would not only be difficult for parents to give all the rights their children wanted, in some cases it would be irresponsible.

As far as telling my children they should maybe go to bed, um, no. It is bedtime. I cannot (and do not try) to force them to sleep, but they can no longer talk on the phone, watch television, or play on the computer. I ask them to read before bed, but this is as far as my “punishment” goes.

The assumption that the opposite of complete freedom is abuse does not take into account the range of parenting choices in between. One of my biggest problems with this list is results. With issues like sexism or racism a privilege list would include those things that needed to change, but that is not necessarily the case here. Let’s take a look at #2: If I need a caregiver, he or she will not be my peer. So here is my question: Who thinks this is a bad thing and that it should change? Another issue I have about the list is that some of these items are simply based on logic: again, see #2.

Look, I get it. I was once 14 and now have a 13-year-old. My understanding then was different than my understanding now (not better, just different). What has definitely changed is that I can no longer only think of myself (which is all I really had to think about at 14), and that changes things quite significantly.

I do try to understand and empathize with my children, but I realize that my choices will not always popular with them, and I am okay with that.

I also feel it us necessary to mention that children, via challenging authority repeatedly and insistently, can be diagnosed with a mental disorder, ood