todays youth
 

Ok I just had to share. I have a girl that works for me shes around 17. The other day she came to work as was talking about a movie she saw. I said I never heard of it. She was like oh Im sorry i forgot you don't have tv. I don't know how you survive, she was serious. A little later we were talking about our days off. i said that I spent 6 hours working in the yard. her reply oh hunny you need a life. i just kinda laughed and then I thought is this really how the youth of today thinks? If so were in trouble!

To be honest, it's every generation of youth....my grandmother used to talk about my mom and her friends, my mom did it to us, and now I find myself doing it to my kids...it is cyclical and never ends....

Yeah, and the ancient Greeks and Romans were sure their kids were slackers too.

Well, to be quite honest, when I was 17 I would have thought anyone without a TV is nuts too... and I wasn't that big of a TV watcher. DH and I ditched the TV 1.5 years ago so I sometimes think how shocked I would have been at 17 if I had known this would happen!

As for spending 6 hours on yard work... when I was 17 I don't think I'd have thought of that kind of activity as something I'd want to do on my day off either. ;) I was more into hanging out with friends or spending hours at the library looking for my next reading conquest. Yard work was... well... work. I didn't find it fun; it was a chore I was expected to do before I could split the house and have fun ;)

Age 16, moved out, full time job working 6 days a week, finished high school, graduated early, and earned a scholarship for college. No, I wasn't typical, but had a sister just like me. TV? There was so much TO DO, we hardly ever watched it. You don't excel in school, work full time, date, and pursue your interests...while watching tv.

Yes, I was odd. My DD (22) hardly ever watches tv and rejects most technology. My DS doesn't own a computer, and believes technology is ruining real communication that should be in person (DS is 20). DD would love to spend half the day working with me doing anything I am into, always been that way. Also raised them to be independent. One is in TX the other in CT. They are taking advantage of their young ages to pursue their dreams. His is for adventures while he decides what to do with his life. Hers is all about her chosen career.

Me, now 46, and don't watch tv at all. If we watch a movie, that is very rare.

I grew up without a TV and really don't find it necessary. I've had one in the past, but haven't had one hooked up in over 2 years. I figure if I want news, I can find it online. Most of the programing is just junk.

When I was 17 nobody had a TV. That didn't mean I didn't want one.

The biggest thing wrong with the younger generation, is WE ARE NOT PART OF IT

When I was that age, we had horses and chickens. I swore that I would never have chickens. I hated those darn things. My mom had a good laugh when my first 10 birds showed up last year.

I grew up without a TV but we were in an area without reception so nobody had one. I owned my first TV after I was married, had children and lived in Las Vegas, NV and even then didn't watch it much. When I was single, didn't own one. DH watches a lot, I don't even now.

OTOH ... take my books away from me and you would not LIKE what would happen!

As far as outside work, I've always enjoyed it. Grew up working cattle horseback, helping in the hayfield, gardening, helping fence ... when I lived and worked in town, I lived for the weekends when I could get out and do things outside.

I just had a 17 yr old girl come and stay at my home and take care of our animals for 5 days so I could go to my daughter's wedding. She did a great job. I left her the code to the satellite TV as well as my computer password so she could access the Internet. She did neither, as she didn't have time due to her homework! We are lucky to know her and have her help us. Not all teens are rasied with their heads in the sand!

I think you've forgotten what it was like to be 17. Somehow 6 hrs. of yard work wasn't in my plans at 17. While I might enjoy the accomplishment after 6 hrs. of yard work now there are still many other things I would rather do beside it now and I'm far from 17.

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I'm kind of optimistic about today's youth. I find the average teenager to be much less self-centred than the average baby boomer.

One of my favorite quotes of all time is from Socrates (c. 469 BC–399 BC)
:D

hahaha, erin, that's funnY! great quote.

i too woulda been shaking my head at my 17yo self. i thought ppl who didn't party big-time on new years' were just weird! and i wasn't raised that way either, so it ain't mom and pop's fault! i was a wild child in sooo many ways.

now, a 'few' (hehe)years later, i rarely want to leave *at all*. my kids were sooo relieved when we got dish back, and i am wondering how i can get rid of it again. its horrible. but its so much the norm, at that age, most want nothing to do with anything outside 'the norm.

Just my thoughts.....

Maybe they think this way because they have been raised this way.

For example:
Disney Channel. Cartoons portray children as the rulers of their homes.
Their "tween" programming is more of the same, and encourages them to 'explore their $exuality'.
Their teen programming shows kids how their parents should give them everything they want and when they don't, rebel.
Movies geared towards kids drives them away from loving affection of their parents (like saying I love you, or hugging them in public) and drives them to the affection of their peers. And if their peers have "it" then so should they.
Parents cave and give it.

Kids today have more than every luxury, and it's called a necessity. Cell phone, Ipod, game systems, cars, spending money, designer clothes......
They don't have to function as part of the family, they are paid an outrageous 'wage' called allowance for duties they half job, or don't do.

They are given WAY TOO MUCH freedom, and put in positions where they must make adult decisions when they do not have the experience or knowledge to do so correctly. Parents are too afraid to parent because of THEIR peer pressure. No one wants to say no.....

They are catered too in schools, They are catered too in youth group, They are catered too in every club, group or outing.
Who ever heard of kids doing a 'mission trip' only to be rewarded with a trip to an amusement park. I thought the point was to teach self LESS giving??? NOT.

Mom's not home, she's at work. Dad's not home he's at work, or missing. Hours and hours of time in front of the tube or with peers.

Nothing is expected of them. No one expects anything but rebellion and disobedience.
And that is exactly what we get.

Time, Love, Teaching, Correcting, Rebuking, Boundaries, Structure.
That's what they need.
That's not what they are getting.

We are reaping what we have sown, and allowed to be sown.

I think those who've suggested it's because she's 17 are probably closer to the mark. ;)

Me too.
I wasn't much of a wild child, but I sure wasn't the self-disciplined, hard-working adult I was raised to be, either. lol

It took a few years for my brains to come in. :D

Wow, a 17 year old that can't relate to an adult. Pretty shocking. ;)

Talk about a time machine!

I thought my parents were idiots, only to discover that they were indeed, the smartest people, I'll ever know. Come to find out, I was the idiot. :)

Everybody sing along to this tune from 1960 that describes most of us, when we were younger, as was every other generation of future adults, with half developed brains.

http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/byebyebirdie/kids.htm

Read along with the lyrics.

one of my favorite quotes:
--sgl

When I was 17, I was in a terrible head-space. I was angry at the world and despised most of the people I met. I was in a feed-back loop in my brain and horribly depressed. I drank everything I could get my hands on. I was so manic/depressive that my friends were afraid to come around because they didn't know which "me" they would find.

I wouldn't go back to those days if you paid me. Sure, I'd love to be able to work all day in the sun and be fine the next day. And yes, I'm sure I would have made a great worker on a farm. But if the heart isn't in it, then nothing will get done. My parents didn't understand me and I didn't understand them. I think that's how it's supposed to be, really.

At 17, I had been out of the house and on my own for almost a year.
I got married, and divorced.
I worked 2 jobs, kept house, grocery shopped, paid bills.
I didn't get speeding tickets, because I could not afford them.
I didn't sit around and watch tv, because I was working.
I didn't hang w/ my peers because they were still in school.....I was working.
I understood the value of a dollar. I earned everyone of them that I had. And each one of them had an envelope with a bill's name on it.
I ate mac and cheese and tuna, a lot.
Soda was a treat.
I minded my own business. I didn't crank my stereo when my neighbors were home. (lived in a double), When my friends came over they didn't hog all the parking or block the street. I didn't leave trash on my porch.

I was a spoiled brat when I lived at home. I had every luxury. And then some.
Came from the mindset of "we had nothing, so lets give the kids everything we didn't have". They didn't know that it would turn me into a monster......It's not their fault.
Finally at 16 they had had enough of my stupidity.
They put me out.

I came back home for about 4 months when I was 18. And that was it.
Dropping me in the grease was the best thing for me. It made me 'grow up and get over myself." It's not the best way to raise kids, IMHO, but it's better than the alternative. :-)

kritter8888,

Next time, consider you have the opportunity to give her a "teachable moment". When she's 40 she might appreciate it.

geo

there have always been complaints about the younger generation

Here's the full quote spoken of above:

I wonder why they thought crossing their legs was a bad thing?

Sorry ,having actually worked amongst 20 somethings for the past two years,they are TOTALLY obsessed with video games,TV,and cell phones...

And to those who drag up 'our grandparents thought the same way'...well look around,you think the world is getting BETTER???

can't find the exact quote, but i once heard of a naval commander that explained an aircraft carrier something like this:
imagine taking a commercial airport, double the number of flights, shrink the size down to 1/4 the space, float it on the ocean, and run the whole thing with a bunch of 19-year olds.

while we have a voluntary military and therefore perhaps are self-selecting some of the better youth, still, boot camp can work to create discipline in the raw material of young people. perhaps a ray of hope.

--sgl

Well, is it getting worse? Were our grandparents better off than we were? If you think that, how so?

Of course it is getting worse...

Everything deteriorates over time,including cultures and nations....

I disagree. I like things like: computers, modern medicine, cell phones, etc

Mainly material things...

Well if that is what makes you happy then I guess you should be delirious.:goodjob:

What's really scary is to think that when today's kids are about 60 yrs old, the year 2010 is going to be "the good old days" !!

Grandparents?!?
You do know who Socrates was, right?



My grandparents was old but they warn't that old. ;)

Watch you don't fall off your high horse,it is probably quite a drop.:bored:

When so many adults are looking down on our youths rather than helping them grow it's no wonder they have no desire to prove themselves. Remember, we usually find what we're looking for. Keep looking for the negative and you'll keep finding it. Look for something positive in the kids you know and they might let you in enough to find that too.

How is it a "high horse" to know that this complaint has been around for over 2000 years? :huh:
(You do realize, people would have talked about Christ's generation as "kids these days"... lol)

It would help if you quoted who you were talking to or at least mentioned the person.

I'm 19, and I didn't understand why teenagers annoyed everyone until I got to college. My friends weren't "like that". Now... I don't blame you guys.... we, for the most part, are lazy, technology-obsessed, budding-alcoholics. Yeesh.

Nooooo....you MUST be wrong..:p

Also lacking in basic morality...such as knowing what is intrinsically right or wrong....

Absolutely.

I find it disgusting when folks generalize about any group of people. Get over yourself, you know?

Right, that too. :baby04:

As for the OP...

I was 19 in the late 80's, going to college, and lived in a frat house.

There used to be an alum that would drop by to use the house phone. These were the days before everyone had a cell phone. Since he was an on-the-road salesman, he would call his clients he had in the area to save the long distance charges.

We all thought he was old, and even though he had a cool car and dressed really nice, we believed he was an old dork. I once said that I would never be as old and dorky as I thought he was.

Looking back, I'm sure that he was younger than 35.

I'm not sure I've ever been as cool or successful as he was, not that it matters.

What is really funny that I got the same reaction from a 20-something working at Chick-Fil-A last night. You could just see the look on her face and the look in her eye saying "I'll never be as old and as dorky as that guy."

Funny, but true.