Today’s question is:  Why do other’s think it’s ok to make decisions for you?

Background:  I think I may have asked this very question before.  This story is about my friend.  Her son has a handheld playstation.  He likes it.  He has two friends that have the same playstation.  My guess is they really like it too.  His two friends have this “really cool” game that they both play and that they love so very much.  They love it soooo much they want their buddy to have one.  However, this game is rated T for teen.  It’s much too mature, inappropriate and grown up for my girlfriend to allow her boy to have.  She has said no.

Fast forward a month or two and my friends doorbell rings.  Her boy’s friend is standing there with his mom.  They come in and begin to explain how much they love their playstation game and how much fun it is to play.  Sooooo much fun that they have bought it for my girlfriends son, so he can now play it too.

What is wrong with people?  Seriously, do people really think it’s just fine to make decisions about what video games are ok for other peoples children, even when the parents say no?

Just so you know my friend turned it down, of course it all happened in front of her boy which just adds a whole separate element to the whole mix.  It was just wrong of that parent to show up with a game that had been vetoed.

I had a similar thing happen with a movie.  My girl had gone to a birthday sleepover and at 9pm I received a phone call asking if it was ok to watch a PG13 movie that I had not previously allowed my kids to watch.  I despise when people put you on the spot like that.  At that point if I was the only parent that said no I would have been the one ruining the birthday party (I’m sure it was already int he player when they called me).  What’s wrong with advanced notice?  My husband fielded that call because I was yucking it up on the dance floor at my friends wedding, he said yes but he felt like there was no other answer.  The next day the mom said she was so worried I’d be mad (I was mad, but when you frame it that way it’s like backing someone into a corner).  I said it was just pretty late notice and caused all sorts of problems at home because the other kids have not seen it.  She told me all the other kids at the party had seen it so she figured I wouldn’t be mad.

Why is it that people think if other people do it it’s ok for you?