Are the children of the new millennium wimps?
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Yep. Kids these days are total bunch of wimps. Worked retail all my life and even worked in a local school system. Kids expect everything handed to them. No more of that thing called a work ethic. Growing up I learned you work until it's done and then you play or rest.
I remember my junior year in high school we had this fitness test. It was time for pushups. My brother and I had anticipated this the year before and we made a pack "Let's show them how black belts do it". We trained like crazy partly because we enjoyed the pain, we enjoyed the challenge and we enjoyed the idea of besting all the top varsity athletes. On testing day the last test was pushups. We listened to the voice on the tape repeat "up, down". By the time we reached 30 we were the only two left. We kept going. The tape ended. Our coach asked if we were done. We looked up and said "Not even close, play the next side until we tell you we're done". He listened. The second side ended. We had minutes until the bell rang for class to end. Coach asked us if we were done again. "No, rewind it!" So he did. The class groaned, afraid they would miss the next bell. We got through the majority of the next side when the bell rang. The class began to walk towards the door. "We're not finished, you're all waiting until we finish" we shouted. Coach let us finish the tape. Someone asked why we were holding them up, we replied "We want you kids to know how black belts do pushups the real way." We got up when we were done and asked coach "How any did you coun?" And he said "Gee, all of them?" We let him know we had counted about 274. He admitted he was impressed to which we informed him "Thanks, but we do 500 every morning together". Nobody really picked on us after that. Twins, gotta love them!
I remember my junior year in high school we had this fitness test. It was time for pushups. My brother and I had anticipated this the year before and we made a pack "Let's show them how black belts do it". We trained like crazy partly because we enjoyed the pain, we enjoyed the challenge and we enjoyed the idea of besting all the top varsity athletes. On testing day the last test was pushups. We listened to the voice on the tape repeat "up, down". By the time we reached 30 we were the only two left. We kept going. The tape ended. Our coach asked if we were done. We looked up and said "Not even close, play the next side until we tell you we're done". He listened. The second side ended. We had minutes until the bell rang for class to end. Coach asked us if we were done again. "No, rewind it!" So he did. The class groaned, afraid they would miss the next bell. We got through the majority of the next side when the bell rang. The class began to walk towards the door. "We're not finished, you're all waiting until we finish" we shouted. Coach let us finish the tape. Someone asked why we were holding them up, we replied "We want you kids to know how black belts do pushups the real way." We got up when we were done and asked coach "How any did you coun?" And he said "Gee, all of them?" We let him know we had counted about 274. He admitted he was impressed to which we informed him "Thanks, but we do 500 every morning together". Nobody really picked on us after that. Twins, gotta love them!
#27
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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.
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.
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#28
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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.
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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.
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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.
That's not to say that he was wrong. It's just interesting that the same complaints are recycled for millennia.
#31
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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.
- 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.
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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.
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.
#33
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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.
Last edited by MikeRides; 07-19-15 at 11:22 AM.
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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.
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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.
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.
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Question...
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...
Do you live car free or car light? Do you prefer to use alternative transportation (bicycles, walking, other human-powered or public transportation) for everyday activities whenever possible? Discuss your lifestyle here.
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The connection is that increase reliance on automobiles and air conditioners is turning the world into a bunch of fat wimps.
Last edited by Walter S; 07-19-15 at 01:37 PM.
#41
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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?
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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.
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Sorry, I just can't resist a good setup line.
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WARNING, I'm from New York. Thin skinned people should maintain safe distance.
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“One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions” - Adm Grace Murray Hopper - USN
WARNING, I'm from New York. Thin skinned people should maintain safe distance.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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 ??
Last edited by wolfchild; 07-19-15 at 05:03 PM.