Loose Chain

Nope. But I was a kid and the difference in the kids of the sixties and these of the teens, wow . I have plenty of nieces and nephews I can borrow whenever I need a dose.

I also taught school, of the several masters degrees I have, one is in secondary education and I worked with autistic children for a while. But then I needed to go back to making money. I was/am autistic, fortunately I cope and occasionally act normal, high level, mild.

Do not take a general statement as a specific. General statements fall apart when applied to individuals, nonetheless, I have observed exactly what the OP described. Mommy and daddy, waiting in an SUV one hundred yards from their house for a school bus when the school is within easy riding distance and the weather is fine. Apparently they cannot walk 100 yards without supervision, much less a mile or so to school.

So, yeah, I will stay with what I said as a general categorization of the children of Millennials. Everyone gets a trophy even if they came in last. And I will add another, losing taught me how to win and when I did not win, to lose graciously. Another lesson lost upon sugar britches and snowflake.

I see children get on and off the buses, I know there are some, I see none walking, playing, exploring the way we did, on their own, with no supervision.

texaspandj

Bulldog starting to sound like doge. But I get it, I have some talented kids myself.

On topic, the same characteristics exhibited by today's youth can be found anywhere. Whether you work in an office,

kingston 

Man, don't get me started on young professionals. Let the spoon-feeding and coddling continue.

texaspandj

Bulldog starting to sound like doge. But I get it, I have some talented kids myself.

On topic, the same characteristics exhibited by today's youth can be found anywhere. Whether you work in an office, retail, warehouse,etc.
You're gonna find some hard workers, good offs, some that do just their job, and some who do just enough to complain about others. Kinda like what we're doing here.
To OP, as 50 plusers, we can remember that one or two overweight kid in the whole school. Now there are more in one class than not. Elementary school age kids who have 40 year old bodies of our parents. Who let this happen and how?
We all did.

texaspandj

If you're a parent, sure its on you. But what about the ad agencies that tell us more is better and the company that pushes more is better and the school systems that have recess twice a week. The grandparents that say you have to eat everything on your plate and the fast food industry who's small drink is yesteryear's large and on and on ....
Yeah I think its the parents and everyone else too.

texaspandj

You are not above peer pressure. You have made decisions based on societal conformity just like everyone else. Don't kid yourself, you're a product of this environment, just like your neighbor.
As a parent we have responsibilities sure. And a good parent will attempt to make good decisions for their child, Great! However once that child leaves your presence you can only hope and pray they continue the right path. But how many kids d you see who you feel had a good parent with good resources yet still became a menace to society. Stuff happens, and we all contribute in one way or another.

MinnMan

Enough guys.

The relative roles of society and family in various social ills is an old debate that fills many volumes in the sociology literature, popular books and journalism, and, probably uncountable threads on internet forums.

You guys have made your positions clear enough.

Basta.

texaspandj

Why did you choose the last pair of pants,shoes,shirt, golf clubs, etc? Why did you choose the last restaurant you ate at? Well that same type of influence can influence anyone about anything. Whether a kid should go outside and play or play the latest video game. Who says that latest video game is the best? Who says we should be able to turn off the lights, make a call, order pizza, find your phone with out getting up and just by saying it? Who decided the easy non physical way is better? We all did.
Let me make it perfectly clear I'm not necessarily a proponent of it takes a village to raise a child but I know how much the village can influence a child and an adult.
There are a thousand books/ways on how to raise a child. But one thing is certain no matter how good of a parent you are, ultimately that child will have to make their own decisions based on influences.

FBinNY 

Yes, but peer pressure and the effects of outside influences are a cop out. Of course there's peer pressure, and we're all influenced by what's out there to entice us. But we ultimately are able to make choices.

Peer pressure has been out there for decades, if not centuries or millennia, but my mom had something better. he had the "Brooklyn Bridge". Anytime the "everybody's doing it.." argument was raised, she'd ask whether, if my friends jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge......? That usually ended it, but she had other fall back defenses, so in the end I had to learn to make my own choices regardless of what others did.

I realize that not everyone lives close to the Brooklyn Bridge, but every parent has tools to raise heir kids according to a family culture, despite the pressure of outside influences. I don't claim it's easy, but it's not impossible.

bulldog1935

When I meet someone who badmouths their kids, it always rubs me the wrong way.
I'm sure I've made that too clear with some people on camping trips or NASCAR tailgating weekend - whatever boys were doing.

Maybe I'm lucky to have a sweet, talented, and driven daughter, who likes to fish, shoot, kayak, ride bikes, and collect knives.

If you think you really do have a reason to badmouth your kids, who has let down whom?
They're the future - they're the reason we're here.

I taught my girls to fish at 3 and 4. (this really isn't about fishing, the context fits for any Activity)
But to do that, you really don't teach them - you facilitate their desire.
Take them places where they will have fun whether they fish or not. Take their friends along.
Give them pointers, not lessons.
If they want to do the other thing - pick flowers, go find the dinosaur tracks, bring a crayfish home and start an aquarium - that's just as much fun for everybody, and they're going to want to go "fishing" again.
If you're worried about sedentary kids, find their interest, plug into it, and get them up and out.
I've got a buddy who raised his girls on horses, because that's what worked for them (we all fish together, too).
One of his daughters is a doctor and the other is a lawyer.

mr_bill

Again, the oldest of the 1965-1974 cohort are now here in 50-plus. The youngest will be here in 8 years.



-mr. bill

BKE

No attitude. I've been around for quite awhile and know how people are. I've been very active for most of my life and know it's not for everyone. It's just an observation and I don't mean to judge unless feeling sorry is a form of judgement.

MinnMan

It is. Try telling somebody you feel sorry for them because they look out of shape and then ask them if they think you are being judgmental. Of course, when we keep our judgements to ourselves, they are less harmful.

mpath

I think in every generation there's a inherent smugness of sorts that theirs is better/smarter/tougher (insert adjective ad naseaum ad finitum) than the previous and the subsequent generations. It's part of the human condition, and that's ok.

boozergut

I think Bulldog wins this thread. He does remind me of my father. We were taught how to fish early on. In the dead of winter he would haul us out to a hiking trail that had the trees labeled by species. We were basically given a bb gun, a fishing pole, and a faux Schwinn Stingray and told to "figure it out". We lived .90 miles from school and we were required to walk. If you lived in town there was no bus service. He took a two week summer vacation with us each summer that involved camping and fishing far from home.


I am quite discouraged with parents who haul their kid to this event, then haul their kid to that event, back and forth, back and forth.. The parents are always stressed to the max.


Now to be fair I also see similar issues with my own life. Early in my career I worked outside surveying. Now I am chained to this computer. Additionally, amazing things like Netflix and Amazon Prime just further my slothfulness.

trackhub

These are always interesting threads.

Like many here, I grew up during the 60s. We were now what are referred to as "Free Range Children". This is to say we simply did our own thing. We rode our bikes, played un-organized sports, and explored. No one got kidnapped or assaulted by the local sex offender, which seem to be everywhere today. We rode bikes to school, or just walked. No one was driven to school, or picked up, unless there was a reason for it, such as medical, or being picked up for a family trip. Oh yeah,, there was the occasional cut, bruise, or bang. No one sued because of it.

Today, I do not see any kids walking to school, and all I hear about are music lessons, dancing lessons, organized sports (Soccer is most popular, reason unknown) and every activity supervised. I don't think the kids are having fun, at all. Just saying..

Summertime: Gotta have the right summer camp. Everyone I know who has kids frets every spring about getting their kids into the "right" summer camp. Help me out here, I don't know what the "right" summer camp is. I would guess it does not involve making stuff out of Gimp, archery, or swimming.

I have no idea where this is all going to lead.

Pretty much my 2¢.

bulldog1935

and in 1905, all kids worked at the factory 12 hours/day.

These threads have gone this way since Socrates.

“The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise.”

Rowan

Work it out... it is a (comparatively) non-contact sport. Also, it is the world game despite what Americans think of their version of football and baseball.

bulldog1935

Soccer is democratic - the size of the player doesn't matter.

DeadGrandpa

This thread has been illuminating. I am so glad I chose to have no children. And soccer must be an acquired taste, because I can never make myself watch more than a few seconds of it.

bulldog1935

yeah, but we can always watch our kids - I am the world's biggest wrestling fan.

ok, not exactly true, but it has a huge entertainment value for me whenever any member of our team is on the mat.
There are some parents who sweat blood whenever their child is on the mat, and that can be entertaining, too (though you try not to show it).

Gerryattrick

It is a taste that has been acquired by virtually every country in the world. Well worth the perseverence.(a bit like beer and whisky).

kingston 

I'm a big wrestling fan too. Although admittedly I haven't watched as much since Kelly Kelly retired.

rydabent

That is up hill both ways thru waist deep snow beating off the wolves with my Roy Rogers lunch box.