When I was a kid we played hide-n-seek instead of computer games; eating out meant sitting at the picnic table in the back yard; people were upset if we didn’t say the Pledge of Allegiance; parents taught their children to respect teachers and policemen; we knew a bar of soap was for more than taking a bath.
We (because I fall into that 35 and up age group of people
sharing these posts) seem to be pretty darn proud and thankful for the simple,
happy, and relaxed childhood we enjoyed. We even appear to be proud and
thankful for the fact that we were made to mind, taught to be respectful, that
we had chores to do, and for the fact that our parents allowed us to pay the
consequences for our actions. But are we really?
If we really believe the good ole’ days were better, then
why are we raising a generation of kids to do just the opposite? Why are we raising a generation of kids can’t even stand in a check-out line or take a little road trip without shoving some type of screen in their face to keep them occupied instead of teaching and expecting them to wait patiently and (gasp!) do things that require thinking and imagination to pass the time?
Why are we raising a generation of kids to believe they
should be awarded for their participation instead of teaching them that
sometimes you win and sometimes you lose…and that BOTH are just fine?
Why are we raising a generation of kids who see absolutely
nothing wrong with ignoring, antagonizing, and disrespecting people in
authority because they (the kids) don’t want to obey and feel like they have a
right to do whatever they want to?
Why do we feel we have to change games like Candyland so
that a child only has to miss just one turn if they land on an X instead of
(another gasp!) having to miss several
if they land on a dot and have to stay there until they get the right color?
I said ‘we’ because I’m trying to be polite. But hey, since
I’ve raised my kids, I’m just gonna put it out there and say to parents who are
still in the process…you need to stop and think about the fact that no one is
wishing they could trade the childhood they had for the kind of childhood today’s
kids are experiencing.
Why is that? I know,
do you? Even more importantly, what are you going to do about it?
Love,
Momma D
Momma D
Copyright 2018 Darla Noble. No part of this can be used or copied without permission from the author.
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