Almost daily you hear someone speak about how different today's kids are from when they were kids. Every time I hear such a statement, I can't help but wonder is it really the kids, or is it us?
Some people love to lament the technology available to today's children and how kids were oh so much more polite when they were young. I would say that if these things are a problem we should look at ourselves instead of wondering what is wrong with today's kids.
Who gave those tech toys to the kids and lets them play for hours on end? Who taught them their manners? Who lets them watch those violent programs? Who lets them spend hours on violent video games? Who schedules ALL of their time until they have no idea how to amuse themselves when left alone for a little while?
The kids? Nope! It would be more accurate to talk about how parents were different when we were kids. Sometimes in good ways, and sometimes in not so good ways. This is most likely true of every generation.
I would not lament about this either, since we are the ones with the power to DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
Case in point:
On my little street, most of the children do not have access to that much television. Not because we are anti-TV folk, but because cable is simply too expensive and it has been the first thing people discarded around here in this economy.
When I arrived home for lunch today, I was greeted by Super Quinn on his Q mobile, Ecto-Erick, and Super Fire Man. It is amazing how much fun kids can have with an old shirt, old quilt, some paper, and markers! I wish I could show you photos of the other superheros, but I don't have their mother's permission yet to post those, so Super Quinn will have to do for the moment.
Apparently the Superhero shenanigans had been going on all morning. This just shows that when left to their own devices, kids will simply be kids...in the same ways we were when we were younger.
With the exception of my son, the kids call me by my first name. Not because they are rude, but because I let them. If I had asked them to call me Mrs. Wheatley, they would have. They say "please" and "thank you" regularly, not because they are old fashioned, but because their parents taught them to do that and they adopted the habit.
If my son starts acting out or saying things I do not approve of, I think it is all too easy and convenient to fall into the trap of blaming this on some other child that he must be picking it up from...or perhaps these times we are living in.
I'm the parent, right? My son may not be perfect, but he is mine and I choose to empower myself to be the parent I want to be instead of lamenting "modern times."
Kids are still a hoot to watch. They are still loads of fun to listen to and they can still pluck our last nerve when they want to.
Kids will be kids...if we let them.
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