Walter S

That's inspiring to read for me. Pushups have always been hard for me. I used to go for a certain number. But I followed no rule for myself on how long a rep lasts. I quickly saw that as not an "honest" workout though and more a waste of time because it's so easy to manipulate your weight in ways that relieve your arms of the full stress. Now I try to go for around three seconds for an up/down cycle and at that, I can only manage about 8-12 reps in a set. But that's really about all I do pushups wise - three-four sets like that and I'm moving on to other things. Deep knee bends on the other hand I do a couple hundred and then go bicycle riding or hiking. I have a more natural ability/inclination/discipline to work my legs than my arms.

FBinNY 

When I was a kid, the car had 4/50 air conditioning.

Open 4 windows, drive 50mph. But I agree that children today are overly sheltered from any and everything. I wonder if that's led to the adult tantrums we see anytime there's some kind of stress.

mulveyr 

<brag on>
Yup. I have a 14-year-old son and a 12-year-old daughter. Just got back from an 85 miles ride with my son, who gets A's and B's in school. My daughter competes in Irish dance competitions that would have most people gasping for breath inside of three minutes, and has a 98% average in middle school while taking several high-school level courses.
<brag off>

And yet I hear people complaining when they spend a couple of hours inside playing on the computer; "They should get summer jobs!"

Yep, right. They could deliver papers. Oh, wait, nobody hires kids for that anymore. Heck, newspapers barely exist, for that matter.
They could mow lawns and weed gardens! Except for the fact that everyone has lawn care services or does it themselves--and those who don't fall into that category won't hire kids because they're "afraid they might hurt themselves."
They could work on one of the local farms: Nope, same problem as above.
"I worked as a stockboy at the grocery store when I was 14!" So did I. Nobody hires kids at stores until they're at *least* 16 now.
etc, etc, etc.

Their friends are in the same position; doing great in school ( and studying subjects in middle school that we didn't get to until we were at least Juniors in high school ), participating in any number of activities that aren't immediately visible to anyone who doesn't know them, and they'd love to get jobs, but nobody will hire them because the adults are afraid.

So really, people can rant about "kids these days" all they want--it just goes to show that they very likely don't know what kids are actually doing, or assume that because they don't see them playing baseball at the corner lot that the kids must be slugs who spend all day stuffing their faces with Cheetos, when the reality is that a lot of "kids these days" are easily surpassing what the complainers did--both physically and intellectually--at the same age.

FBinNY 

Yes, there are great kids, there are OK kids, not so OK kids, and kids at the lower end of the spectrum. I agree that your kids, for example, aren't the issue, and are getting what they need. But all to many kids today are not getting challenged physically, mentally or emotionally as they grow up. Look around you at the huge number of obese and near obese children, who get nearly zero exercise on a daily basis, and are also handicapped by an inability to cope with stresses and challenges.

wphamilton

Socrates had the same complaint, around 400 BC. The children in his time had no manners, loved luxury and preferred idle chatter to exercise.

That's not to say that he was wrong. It's just interesting that the same complaints are recycled for millennia.

MikeRides

OP, my only advice is to not judge a whole generation by the actions of one child. I've raised a millennial (born in 2005) for the past 8 years, I have to ask, would a wimp do the following:
- Ride her bike up to 65 miles in a day without needing a break
- Hike 10 miles in the woods without resting
- Play baseball and soccer
- Has the desire to learn how to repair bikes & cars (how many 10 year olds can change a flat in under 5 min or perform an oil change on their own?)
- Works on a farm on weekends and over summer vacation; picking fruit, stacking hay, cleaning stables, feeding livestock, mowing lawns, stacking firewood

As a ten year old, she does more than many adults have done their entire lives! One of her long term aspirations is to fly jets for the U.S. Air Force after high school, which I admire considering at her age I didn't know what I wanted to do from one weekend to the next, not to mention have a life long goal.

Van Goghs Ear

Well on a purely Darwinian level, every generation since we managed to pluck ourselves from the food chain is getting wimpier and wimpier.

Every previous generation always has the same criticism of the next generation, and to some extent they're probably right, but since the industrial revolution, I think that process is only going to become more severe as you can actually see a paradigm shift in your lifetime now.

MikeRides

Labor laws have made it nearly impossible for kids under 16 to work these days. However, there's nothing stopping the kid from working on a farm or mowing lawns, it may take some parental guidance however. My goddaughter's only 10, and she works at a local fruit farm / horse stables on weekends during the school year and over summer vacation. She was looking for something to do, I knew the owner and accepted all responsibility in case she got hurt or didn't show up when she said she would, she started working for practically nothing until she proved she was a valuable asset (same as in the real world IMO).

Walter S

+1. I'm not a parent anymore. But it's not like I don't get first hand exposure in public and thru my grand children and their friends. Differences in activity levels, and a resulting impact on physical fitness are real. Naturally some children and their parents are an exception.

Walter S

Yeah, my grand parents went thru the depression and World War II. Back when our government asked for and got personal sacrifice instead of impacting only those registered in the military.

no1mad 

Does someone care to enlighten me as to why this topic is being discussed here in LCF? From the forum descriptor, I'm not sure it does...

plumberroy

For me I don't usually notice what forum it is in I click Whats new and read topics that catch my eye

Roody

Absolutely I agree. There is no connection that I can see. Aren't you a moderator?

Walter S

The connection is that increase reliance on automobiles and air conditioners is turning the world into a bunch of fat wimps.

wphamilton

The societal difficulties of getting kids on bikes in a car-free situation?

Roody

The OP post made it seem like kids who are wimpy are subsequently more likely to ride in cars. Now you're saying it's the other way around? Kids who ride in cars are subsequently turning into wimps. Which came first...the wimp or the car?

FBinNY 

It's chicken and egg, it happens n both directions. Unfit kids find walking or riding more difficult, so they don't and thereby get more unfit, and dependent on motor transportation even for short distances.

OTOH - if we can get these kids at least partly car free, walk/ride to school, the park, and local destinations, maybe we can break the cycle and open up the working range.

Walter S

Can you say? Chicken and egg. The two phenomenon encourage each other.

FBinNY 

I did 8 minutes ago.


Sorry, I just can't resist a good setup line.

Walter S

Driving (presumably in client controlled comfort) also decreases one's tolerance to heat. Riding daily in the heat I can see my own increased tolerance and by the time the summer sets in I'm cold at the temperature that my family and friends find ideal.

Walter S

But you leave us all wondering which one you had? Sunny side up? Barbecue?

Jim from Boston

My surprise about this thread was that within about 24 hours it had 45 replies, exclusive of mine; some fairly long, and I read most of them entirely. What if it had been on Fifty-Plus?

Roody

I thought this was 50+.

rockmom

Honestly, the only thing whiner than preteens and teens are the people who whine about them. Seriously, ever since the invention of writing, adults have been nattering on in writing about 'these kids are doomed.' I assume it predates writing, but it went undocumented.

wolfchild

Sure it may not be exactly related to LCF but at least everybody has been playing nice and behaving themselves, no insults and no name calling, unlike some other OT threads. I enjoyed reading all the replys...This thread is not as bad as some other threads where people fantasize about things such as hyperloops and try to promote skateboards, hangliders , segways, golf- carts, hoover-crafts and flying saucers as a practical form of transportation...How about some of the eco warriors on this forum who post all kinds of OT crap which is totally unrelated to LCF ??