Pamela Harding

[cokiemason]

Or how it would even be comfortable! Or how her mom lets her 7 year old kid leave the house looking like a disaster. I think it would be time for the "I work hard to buy you those shoes so you're not going to trash them on the first day of school" speel

[msstock87]

I think Pamela was a snob but had her moments when she was nice. I remember being in awe with the goody bags she gave out at her birthday party. When I was a kid they sounded so cool.

[wenonah4th]

Honestly, with the goody bags Pamela probably had some input but it's the sort of thing that an over-the-top type mother (or big sister; she did have a much-older sister) would put together. Pamela's turning only 8 (presumably she's not even younger than Karen and only turning 7).

[candykane]

^I totally agree with that. I've seen lots of stuff like that where it's obvious that the mom is trying to outdo everyone. I used to work as a preschool teacher's aide and it was funny to see some of the snacks the moms would bring in - cupcakes meticulously decorated to look like a cartoon character, homemade chocolate-dipped pretzels sprinkled with candy, that sort of thing. Then there were the other moms who just brought a couple packages of Oreos and called it good. I think I'd be that kind of mom...LOL. But hey, I got to partake in all the snacks, too, so I was cool with whatever there was.

I still don't like Pamela even though she may have had her nicer moments. I think it's because she just reminds me too much of girls I went to school with who acted the same way, and I was always the kind of kid who felt like a dork in comparison.

[sparklymouse]

^If I ever have kids I think I'd be an over-the-top mom. Not to outdo anyone, just because kid stuff is so darn fun. I'd live vicariously through my poor kid who would probably want me to buy that package of Oreos and go away.

Seven and eight is too young to be clique-y. At my school we didn't become snotty and have "best enemies" until at least 11.

[booboobrewer]

I would love the idea of being over the top, but I would so be the Oreo mom in the end ;D

[wenonah4th]

Another thing not in my future thanks to homeschooling! I expect there are still some mothers who have it all together more but I hope it's less about trying to outdo each other than in this sort of thing.

[candykane]

[quote author=sparklymouse board=others thread=1856 post=69102 time=1225932960
Seven and eight is too young to be clique-y. At my school we didn't become snotty and have "best enemies" until at least 11.[/quote]

Unfortunately, my school's cliques were firmly in place by the time we were all in third grade. You knew who was popular and who wasn't.

I wonder if it's a small-town thing, because we were a small school in a small town, like Stoneybrook is supposed to be. Somehow I can't see kids cliquing up so young at larger schools in larger cities.

[tiff85]

Yeah, I also could not understand what was so great about Pamela's sister letting her wear her perfume, and some of the outfits she wore did not sound to appealing to me. I did like reading about Pamela's party in Karen's in Love. Sounded like fun!

[wenonah4th]

I thought the perfume was pretty neat, at least as something of a treat from an older sister.

[Lila]

I think Pamela didn't really mean to be much of a brat as she seemed to b e.
Remember,. this is all through Karen Brewer's eyes and Karen Brewer seems to take things the wrong way and over exaggerate things, or misunderstand the big picture.
If this was Pamela telling the story Pamela might make Karen out to be the most immature baby in the world.



Sometimes I agree with Pamela's idea that Karen is babyish, there were times in the books that she can be pretty immature and childish despite how world wise she's interpreted things before.
Karen's attitude: she can act very pesty and annoying at times.
She doesn't control herself and ofter blurts things out or acts unbridled.

Comparing her to her classmates around her she seems to be very over-the -top

However, Pamela is probably 8 years old?
that extra age of maturity that she has can be the case here.
I've noticed with kids that skip grades that classwork-wise they are smart but maturity wise they are not.
I skipped a grade in elementary school too because I could read and write but i wasn't ready maturity-wise



I know it isn't Karen's fault, its really hard to see behavior faults ina young age.


Oh and about those "Cool" shoes?
Weren't those the style back then?

[tiff85]

That's because it seemed to be the coolest unheard of thing ever to a bunch of seven/eight year olds. Pamela could have been misunderstood. She did have her ways. I thought Pamela was wrong for saying that she wished she could have one sleepover with her best friends when Karen was nice enough to invite Pamela to her sleepover!

[starrynight]

I wonder if Pamela is related to Rock Harding from "Kristy and the Mystery Train?"

[booboobrewer]

lol, that would be awesome.

[wanderingfrog]

Dec 22, 2008 11:02:52 GMT -5 tiff85 said:

Yeah, I also could not understand what was so great about Pamela's sister letting her wear her perfume, and some of the outfits she wore did not sound to appealing to me.

I would kind of hope that at least some of the time, the kinds of outfits that would appeal to an eight-year-old in the '80s and '90s might differ from the kinds of outfits that might appeal to all of us today!