>>Do you mean the parents for having strange religious beliefs or the school for having their no piercing policy?
>>
>>The parents can have any belief they want. But I draw the line at having my daughter (or son) go into school with a nose ring.
>>
>>There are a thousand little things that adults can do, to prepare a child for being an adult. And one of them is not wearing a nose ring for school or a job interview. I'll go on record as saying these parents and the ACLU are a bunch of horse-asses in this case - they're sacrificing this kid's education.
>
>I know we don't see eye to eye on parenting, I'm sure at least in part because we are at different stages of it. IMO part of being a good parent is not stopping your kid from doing anything that isn't to your personal taste. If the girl wants a nose ring or green hair, so what? I think it's incredibly stupid of the school district to suspend a kid for that. Are they there to educate kids or to enforce their personal preferences?

In my view, the best rule of thumb for parents is "nothing permanent." So the kid can grown hair down to his butt or color it bright purple or wear absurd clothes. But tattoos are off limits.

Ted once told me he had a rule "one stupid thing at a time." So long hair or funny hair color, but not both.

Tamar