Perhaps I am not the one to judge......

[RedRose]

Okay so I have been noticing a trend in the teenage population and/or children in high school. How can it be that kids act so smart and make adult decisions yet act like…five year olds?!
Is it just me?
Am I being silly?

For instance, teenagers seem like they are acting more…childish to fit into society and fit into everything. For example, I saw these sixteen year olds going to a animated kids movie and they were saying short sentences and using text-language to talk. Shouldn’t they start growing up a little and acting more mature to prepare for what is coming to them in a mere like two years?

They get in trouble to be friends. [not true friends….ah….hello?]
They down grade their intelligence to fit in so they won’t be teased. [tell them to stuff it!]
They act silly to make others laugh with them [apparently they think they are laughing only WITH them and not at them]
They think they are cool be backstabbing one another. [since when is fighting able to make friends?]
They spread rumors to upgrade their popularity. [uhhhhh….no comment?]
The new ‘two word sentences’ are enough said. [don’t think so]

I am kind of sad to see teenagers acting like this because they are intelligent but they do not use their brains at all anymore. Why? Is it perhaps that their childhood is being stripped away? Most likely in this day and age. Or maybe it is just me but I see the illiteracy. More drop outs and statistics have proven that 90% of welfare has gone to high school drop outs.
Drugs are the new get togethers.
Dances have become…well…not ball room dancing lets say and chaperones are at these high school parties and allow this type of ‘dancing’!!!
Self respect is limited.



Now I am not saying this goes for all teenagers, do not get me wrong!!!!!!!!!!!

But….I have seen this so often (at least where I am!!)

Does anyone else see this too or is it just me?

[Conoga]

i agree Red.... i may be wrong but it feels like my generation is the last of the decent kids... maybe it was just the schools i went to... (ok i went to one bad school.. and it was REALLY bad) but the teachers did make sure the kids stayed in line. they still had punishments too.... none of that "send him to the bad kid school" crap....

all i can say is... NOT MY BOYS!!
they wont get a damn thing handed to them unless they earn it and can prove they will take care of it. if they want video games etc. they had better get out and earn some money because i wont be buying them.
and no child living in my house will have privacy or locks on their bedroom doors. hell no. you want a lock on your door? better pay me some rent. and even then no promises because i own the property.

[Beware_of_Italics]

Oh, dear. I could write sooo much on this topic but I won't.

One thing I will say is that in the house my siblings and myself grew up in, it wasn't a democracy but a dictatorship. It worked for us, and I think a lot of kids would benefit from it these days as well.

[Conoga]

as a kid my mom ran a democracy and she got her butt stomped every time..... no way will i allow my kids to do that. we were lucky, my brother and i, that we WERE good kids. neither one of us did drugs, drank, got pregnant/get someone pregnant, or drop out... we did have bad attendance... ate what ever we wanted and back talked like little demons. and my brother treated me worse than dirt until he moved out for good.... but we never put a toe out of line at my dad's and stepmoms house. no freakin way! they believed in spanking! my mom would just try to reason with us and/or bribe us to do what she wanted. that is so not cool.
i should have my butt tore up so many times for the way i acted and i am ashamed of myself to this day of the way i treated my mom. She was a VERY good mother, but she was tired and worked a lot and her job wasnt the best..... she really did her best.

But kids arent dumb. they are survivors, most of them, and if they can take the path of least resistance they will, just like they will test boundaries. its a double edged sword. i like that my kids are bossy, dominant, and willing to speak their minds, but they WILL accept the authority of mother and father. outside of our house they can be bossy, dominant, and vocal all they want. those are survivor skills for the world. i dont want them to be someones whipping boy or doormat.

lol all i can say is watch out..... when my boys grow up they are going to own this world... because from what i have seen... not many will put up much of a struggle..... i have Hercules and the Mad Scientist here.... between the two of them there will be much trouble..

[JamiSings]

Not being a parent I'm often told to shut up, but frankly - I think parents are getting too permissive. I also think many "parents" are setting bad examples by being selfish. Such as women with huge strollers - I mean big enough to have the Ocotmom's kids all in it at once - for one child, then taking over the handicapped bathroom stall. I'm sorry, but that stall is for people who have mobility issues like my mom. Not women with oversized strollers. If you and your kid can walk, park the stroller and go together into a regular stall like my parents always did with me.

I also have met parents who think telling their child "no" will keep them from "growing into a well balanced adult" and just let their kids do whatever they want. It's called discipline. Kids need it.

I've wanted to take parents to task when they let their 14 year old daughters (or younger) dress like hookers. They claim this teaches her to love her body and be more confident. I claim it's saying, "Please, pedophiles, rape my daughter!" And if I had a son there is no way I'd let him wear those baggy pants. He wears pants that fit or he's not allowed to leave the house, ever.

[bluedragonfly81]

I must say I am quite worried about what kind of adults these kids are going to grow up to be...it's just sad

[Conoga]

Not being a parent I'm often told to shut up, but frankly - I think parents are getting too permissive. I also think many "parents" are setting bad examples by being selfish. Such as women with huge strollers - I mean big enough to have the Ocotmom's kids all in it at once - for one child, then taking over the handicapped bathroom stall. I'm sorry, but that stall is for people who have mobility issues like my mom. Not women with oversized strollers. If you and your kid can walk, park the stroller and go together into a regular stall like my parents always did with me.

I also have met parents who think telling their child "no" will keep them from "growing into a well balanced adult" and just let their kids do whatever they want. It's called discipline. Kids need it.

I've wanted to take parents to task when they let their 14 year old daughters (or younger) dress like hookers. They claim this teaches her to love her body and be more confident. I claim it's saying, "Please, pedophiles, rape my daughter!" And if I had a son there is no way I'd let him wear those baggy pants. He wears pants that fit or he's not allowed to leave the house, ever.

i admit i have taken over the big bathroom stalls a time or two(but then i've had two kids in the stroller and to be honest.. people will steal your stuff if you leave it sitting there! this i know but a lot of times i did that because those big stalls had the changing tables in there, so maybe i'm allowed
either way, my kids are walking and dont wear diapers anymore so we're cool!

ya see what pisses me off about "No's"..... my kids NEVER get what they want just because they have a public hissy fit. they never get what they want period unless i think its something they need. hissy fits at home get them sent to their rooms until they can get a grip. but ITS.ALL.THE.TIME!! i swear to pete these boys act like they have never heard the word "No" before and Shane just walks up and grabs what ever the heck he wants regardless of consequences. they know full well what they can and cannot have. but they would rather take their chances getting fingers smacked by their uncle or put in a corner by grandma. they really do test the limits though. and it pisses me off that i am the only one who seems to be able to control them!! as a result we dont visit inlaws very often(i'm actually happy about that ) because my kids just do what ever they like and dont listen for two seconds to the other adults there. they're like "What? i cant have this? you mean this? this thing right here? are you sure you mean this? let me make sure you're sure"

lol as for clothing...... as with video games... if they want something different they had better find an honest way to pay for it themselves because i'm not throwing money in the trash for jeans that have holes already torn into them and are so faded they look like they were left in the sun all summer long.
i admit as a kid i had my own style, wore what i wanted.... no not the hoochie mama stuff lol i was more punk/grunge/mountain climber..... but the clothes didnt cost extra for distressing lol i took pride in making them look like crap all by myself the family hated it but what did i care? and they obviously didnt care enough to do anything about it.

[Seira]

Ah. The horrors of being different. I know where you're coming from Rose Red. My mom never let up when she said no. 'No means no.' I learned that very quickly, but I was never exactly a social creature so I never really minded being different. What I did mind was being told by girls that they were going to taking me shopping for 'proper' clothes. I don't want to look like a hooker, thank you.

I wouldn't be able to name a cause for it, though. I suspect it's the result of several things, including the kids being lazier because parents do tend to hand them everything and allow everything.

I don't know how often I watched my own age group in amazement going 'Your parents allow you to do that? Geez!'

.....That might have something to do with the fact that I hung around adults or kids younger then me then my own age group...I never have been able to find anything in commen with anyone in my own age group.

However, this begs me to ask the question: What is growing up? Is it letting go of all your likes as a kid? Meh.

Excuse me, I've probably said more then my peace, so I'll get back to trying to define 'normal'...that might just be easier.

[Conoga]

Ah. The horrors of being different. I know where you're coming from Rose Red. My mom never let up when she said no. 'No means no.' I learned that very quickly, but I was never exactly a social creature so I never really minded being different. What I did mind was being told by girls that they were going to taking me shopping for 'proper' clothes. I don't want to look like a hooker, thank you.

I wouldn't be able to name a cause for it, though. I suspect it's the result of several things, including the kids being lazier because parents do tend to hand them everything and allow everything.

I don't know how often I watched my own age group in amazement going 'Your parents allow you to do that? Geez!'

.....That might have something to do with the fact that I hung around adults or kids younger then me then my own age group...I never have been able to find anything in commen with anyone in my own age group.

However, this begs me to ask the question: What is growing up? Is it letting go of all your likes as a kid? Meh.

Excuse me, I've probably said more then my peace, so I'll get back to trying to define 'normal'...that might just be easier.

1. all of that people have threatened me with makeovers my whole life. i allowed it twice and really just..... ugh.... i cant physically do makeup. i touch my face too often to risk it! and my clothes are practical. i dont own anything i'm afraid of getting dirty, and it MUST be machine washable because i'm not hanging my underwear up for the world to see because it cant handle the washer and dryer!!

2. i think it has a lot to do with two working parents trying to afford more than they can handle. i know its easy to get frustrated with a screaming needy kid and just hand him what ever the heck he wants so he'll shut up for five minutes. but.... is that five minutes of quiet worth a lifetime of irresponsible spoiled adults?
i dont think so!!


3. i was the youngest, and was the same. i was with adults more often the kids my own age - my brother and cousins were older by five years so i couldnt keep up.- i think that was probably why my mom treated me like a little adult. i was a quiet kid though. biddable for the most part, just ask her, but when i got a wild hair to be stubborn she couldnt budge me.

4. to me growing up is being able to handle responsibilities and be acountable for your actions. no blaming your childhood, parents, school teachers for "screwing you up".. a nice lady in FB who's ex is playing that game "my childhood sucked so i'm going to be a jerkface to everyone!".... i told her my reply to people like that is "Your childhood sucked. but its over. move on! your adulthood does NOT have to suck!" i really hate it when people play that card.... it only lasts so long in my sympathy department. my childhood sucked too lol but i have a wonderful adulthood!
but, hey...to each their own i guess.

[Ainethedragon]

I have an unusual perspective on different generations and particularly teens today. I do competitive Irish Dancing, so I spend alot of time (classes and events) with teenagers (the next oldest girl in my classes is 18) as a peer, a part of the group.

I don't know if kids in general are any worse then previous generations. I personally have the privilege of knowing quite a few remarkable young people who behave with more maturity then a good number of the adults I know. Some of them may also do immature childish things at times, but more often they are suprisingly grown up and capable of handling responsibility.


When it comes to acting silly, and doing things like seeing childrens movies and stuff like that, I do not think that is a sign of immaturity. A whole group of teens in my dance school got together to go see the Princess and the Frog. They act goofy in class sometimes, and do silly things. But, I know them to be very mature, level-headed, capable and smart kids when it comes to what really matters. I've seen young teens handle immense pressure, stress, and great disappointment with poise and maturity that astounds me (because at 27 I feel doubtful that I would do as well, and sometimes haven't). These are the same ones that I've also seen jumping up and down to the Macarena en masse and being extremely silly while waiting for their awards. I dont see embracing your inner child as a sign that you are not mature enough to handle adulthood. I know many adults who read childrens books, or watch kids movies, or do other fun things that are "childish" who are perfectly capable of being adults, and who show it when it matters.

I think it may not be that kids or teens are any different in this generation then others, except that they have different ways of acting out, different situations and venues for their flaws to appear. I think the social drama is not at all limited to teens. I know plenty of adults who spread rumors, and are backstabbing, conniving, mean, rude, etc.