My Super Sweet 16

I use to like to watch the show My Super Sweet 16 because around the time it aired and was popular, I was approaching “sweet 16” myself. The idea of having parents with endless money who would spend it on a huge party for me seemed cool. I use to like watching what their party themes would be about and the cars they would get. I would be amazed when these celebrities would spend around $100,000 or more on a car for their daughters. What I did not like was how spoiled they all were and how annoying they were because they couldn’t have one thing out of the thousands of dollars they were already having spent on them.

The book does well in analyzing these narratives and breaking down the whole notion of, “Daddy’s little girl.” One thing is for sure, the love that is seen here is definitely skewed. Ninety-nine point nine percent of the girls on the show are brats and probably don’t know what it means to work for something. This is my opinion.

At 16, I was told to get a job. And prior to 16, when I wanted something I knew to approach my parents with what I can do to work for it. Simple chores had to be done regardless but for something special, I definitely had to work for it. Not to say I didn’t receive gifts without having to work for it but when I worked for something, it made me feel good about earning it. 

I specifically remember being 15 bugging my parents about taking driver’s education. The course was around $300 and well…my parents weren’t rich. My dad told me to work for that driver’s ed course and as a result, I mowed lawns. My dad jokingly would say, it would help me with my steering and although part of me was tired of mowing lawns, it became fun because I knew what the end result would be.

I know my mother and father loves me to the end of the world and back but giving me what I wanted all the time was just not in their parenting style even when we did have the money. I wouldn’t consider myself as a daddy’s little girl and if being a daddy’s little girl is defined by what is shown on My Super Sweet 16, I’m glad I wasn’t.

I specifically think my generation feels entitled to have things and shows like My Super Sweet 16 doesn’t help that mindset. Just like Lind said in the book, even after the parents have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for their daughters, there is still the “I want more” attitude.

When is it ever enough?

 Also, Moms on the show are portrayed kind of in the shadow of their diva daughters. Yes they are on the show but majority of times, when they say “no” or something is too much, the girls often respond that they are going to tell daddy because they said they can get whatever they want. The end result…they end up still getting exactly what they want. So regardless of what the mother says, it’s like the father’s wallet overrules that sometimes and that’s not reality.

Personally the show is completely overrated and being daddy’s little girl is an idea that is limiting the mental growth of these girls who have always received what they wanted. The mental part comes in where you see the kids on the show throw tantrums like they're five when someone says they have to stay within a $250,000 spending budget for example. I agree completely with Lind when it is said that physically, these girls are 16 but mentally...not so much. 

Nothing is wrong with throwing a nice party for your 16^th birthday but all of the parties on that show are just over the top for a 16-year-old even if they're rich. While it is sometimes entertaining to watch, being brats and "daddy's little girls" by their standards is actually a huge turnoff.