Thoughts on Child Rearing / American Youth
So I've discussed before how American children are staying children longer and longer. Many are staying attached to their parents until well into their 20s, and many are taking longer and longer to graduate.
American Teenagers born of successful parents are inundated with technology and advancement. AP Classes, jobs, cell phones, video games, 24 hour internet access on their home computers and their cell phones, laptops in the schools, a global marketplace that is literally, out smarting them ... the pressure to perform and exceed is enormous.
The Washington Post wrote an article earlier this month ago entitled, Too Busy Teens Feel Health Toll. And a book was published two years ago, The Price of Privlege that was written by a doctor who details her experience treating teenagers who come from mid-level to affluent families who are depressed, disconnected, and have other unsundry problems.
I can only imagine the pressures on young kids today. On one hand, it looks to me as if they have to mature at a much faster pace. But on the other, they are given less responsibility over themselves as parents become dictators of safety concerns and advancement. Case in point: the playground equipment that was too hot in the sun.
A lot of it, I'm sure, depends on the kid. I was an independent person. I entertained myself largely. I had no problem adopting to college, being on my own, or paying my own way. Not to say I didn't complain or whine to my mom (I did) but I also didn't self-destruct, turn to drugs, get into trouble, or bounce a lot of checks.
And in an era when children do the above things, and are instantly bailed out by their parents, you have to wonder what lessons we are learning. Also, it's natural for a parent to want to provide more for their child than they had themselves, but is that creating an unrealistic expectation in the child?
Credit card millionaires are those that make average salaries, but spend like they make a lot more. They have 3000+ square foot homes, a live in girlfriend/boyfriend or spouse, and 2 cars that they are making payments on. Their debt to income ratio is somewhere near 50%, and growing all the time. Is this phenomenon perpetuated by the desire to recreate what they had as children? By this unrealistic expectation that those things can happen without years and hard work before them?
I just find it all interesting. The more I age the more I realize my parents were rock stars. The more I realize my husband's parents were rock stars. And the more I worry that the success they provided me will be hard to impress on my own children. I want to provide for my kids, but more than that I want to teach them what my parents and grandparents taught me; hard work is often it's own reward, money will not buy you happiness, there is such a thing as too much "stuff", save now because who knows about tomorrow, eat leftovers, always do your best, and always always always live within your means. Whatever means they are.
American Teenagers born of successful parents are inundated with technology and advancement. AP Classes, jobs, cell phones, video games, 24 hour internet access on their home computers and their cell phones, laptops in the schools, a global marketplace that is literally, out smarting them ... the pressure to perform and exceed is enormous.
The Washington Post wrote an article earlier this month ago entitled, Too Busy Teens Feel Health Toll. And a book was published two years ago, The Price of Privlege that was written by a doctor who details her experience treating teenagers who come from mid-level to affluent families who are depressed, disconnected, and have other unsundry problems.
I can only imagine the pressures on young kids today. On one hand, it looks to me as if they have to mature at a much faster pace. But on the other, they are given less responsibility over themselves as parents become dictators of safety concerns and advancement. Case in point: the playground equipment that was too hot in the sun.
A lot of it, I'm sure, depends on the kid. I was an independent person. I entertained myself largely. I had no problem adopting to college, being on my own, or paying my own way. Not to say I didn't complain or whine to my mom (I did) but I also didn't self-destruct, turn to drugs, get into trouble, or bounce a lot of checks.
And in an era when children do the above things, and are instantly bailed out by their parents, you have to wonder what lessons we are learning. Also, it's natural for a parent to want to provide more for their child than they had themselves, but is that creating an unrealistic expectation in the child?
Credit card millionaires are those that make average salaries, but spend like they make a lot more. They have 3000+ square foot homes, a live in girlfriend/boyfriend or spouse, and 2 cars that they are making payments on. Their debt to income ratio is somewhere near 50%, and growing all the time. Is this phenomenon perpetuated by the desire to recreate what they had as children? By this unrealistic expectation that those things can happen without years and hard work before them?
I just find it all interesting. The more I age the more I realize my parents were rock stars. The more I realize my husband's parents were rock stars. And the more I worry that the success they provided me will be hard to impress on my own children. I want to provide for my kids, but more than that I want to teach them what my parents and grandparents taught me; hard work is often it's own reward, money will not buy you happiness, there is such a thing as too much "stuff", save now because who knows about tomorrow, eat leftovers, always do your best, and always always always live within your means. Whatever means they are.
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