In a soft cry of a voice, Morissette unwinds a tale of a childhood that never quite measured up to unreasonable parental expectations. It's about everything that goes wrong when parents use their children as status symbols or live vicariously through them in hopes of redeeming their own past failures. This is a song that every parent of every new-born should listen to on the way home from the hospital. Alanis Morissette has connected with a young audience that has seen and felt what she so passionately sings. First, understand that her music can teach young adolescents, especially middle school girls, to take a cynical and pessimistic view of love and relationships.
Young adolescents are in the midst of deciding what love is and setting standards for relationships.
These kids need parents who will talk about and model healthy love characterized by Christ-like commitment. Teenagers who get this message from mom and dad on a consistent basis will recognize that even though Alanis Morissette sings from her experience, that's not the way it has to be. And second, many teens are drawn to Morissette because of her ability to express so clearly what they are feeling inside. This should serve as a constant reminder of our need to get involved and stay involved with our children, loving and helping through the heartache of broken relationships with the consistency of parental love. Alanis Morissette has opened her heart on Jagged Little Pill and it's spilling out of her mouth and into the ears of a generation embracing her music.