RQOTD: This one is a bit more serious

K

KristinCB

Sweet Shoppe Designer
What is the #1 thing that the youth of today are missing out on compared to when you were a kid?
 
Honestly, when I compare childhoods (theirs and mine), I don't appreciate any of the stuff I had that they don't. I was basically a child slave who despised being outdoors. I think I'd much rather grow up as they are growing up with the interests and technology available today.
 
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krystalhartley said:
Honestly, when I compare childhoods (theirs and mind), I don't appreciate any of the stuff I had that they don't. I was basically a child slave who despised being outdoors. I think I'd much rather grow up as they are growing up with the interests and technology available today.
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That is a really good point! I wonder if kids are able to appreciate the technology available today though since they don't know any different?
 
Having to try to talk to friends and crushes while having to sit in the kitchen or living room because my parents made us use the stinking phone with a cord.
 
i'm kidding. LOL
i wish my kids could just play outside and run the neighborhood without having to worry about "strangers." we live in a small town/neighborhood, but i still feel they need to be in my sights (or with a trusted friend). when we were kids, we roamed the neighborhood from sun up until sundown.
 
Disconnection. I remember going on family camping trips and we'd be out there for days, just us and all of our friends that went together. We'd play tapes or CD's on the boombox or car stereos, but there was no radio service. No one would dream of bringing along a computer. We'd sit around the campfire and play games. We'd truly GET AWAY and spend time as a family focused together.
 
More freedom I think. Things aren't as safe as they were when we were kids, we are more protective now.
 
emmasmommy said:
i'm kidding. LOL
i wish my kids could just play outside and run the neighborhood without having to worry about "strangers." we live in a small town/neighborhood, but i still feel they need to be in my sights (or with a trusted friend). when we were kids, we roamed the neighborhood from sun up until sundown.
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Yes
 
emmasmommy said:
i'm kidding. LOL
i wish my kids could just play outside and run the neighborhood without having to worry about "strangers."
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mostly this.....especially after seeing those 3 girls found this week and they were not very far from where they were all abducted :(
Luckily we have a neighborhood where there is ALWAYS at least 2-3 adults outside keeping an eye on all the kids...my neighbor even texted me over the weekend and asked if Abby could come inside and play and she would walk her home since it was dark :)

and the drive in :) that is where we hung out at all the time...there are still some drive ins around, but not like they were when I was a kid/teenager....
 
emmasmommy said:
i'm kidding. LOL
i wish my kids could just play outside and run the neighborhood without having to worry about "strangers." we live in a small town/neighborhood, but i still feel they need to be in my sights (or with a trusted friend). when we were kids, we roamed the neighborhood from sun up until sundown.
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yup. I grew up in one of the worst areas of Memphis and my parents still let us play outside unsupervised. I get nervous just letting Zach run to the driveway to get something out of the van on his own.
 
I think we're more protective because our news is a 24/7 fear mongering multi-billion dollar industry now. I dont think crime is happening more often than it was when we were kids, we just hear about it more now and have been conditioned to be afraid of the boogeyman.

I let my kids run all over the neighborhood, but I was a scaredy cat as a kid because my mom watched the news a lot and I was afraid of all of those things. I actually slept with a steak knife under my pillow because I was afraid the LA night stalker was going to get me. I refuse to raise my kids the same way, afraid of all the bad guys, I want them to have the freedom of childhood, so they do.
 
Outside! Seriously my parents had to make me come inside now I have to beg them to go outside!
 
Yes, to wishing we didn't have to worry so much about keeping our eyes on them at all times. I remember playing outside with the neighbors all the time.

Yes, to Trixie Belden books too! I adored them as a girl!!
 
Competition

I hope I don't step on anyone's toes here, but I think the whole "everyone is a winner" thing is doing our kids a huge disservice. I agree that, if you tried your best, you're not a loser, but we're not teaching our kids how to lose gracefully and have good sportsmanship when every single person on a team wins a trophy just for showing up or schools can't give away prizes for, for example, the neatest handwriting or getting the highest score on the Math test, for fear of someone's feelings getting hurt. I believe competition is healthy...it teaches us to work hard toward something we want.
 
Robin you bring up a very valid point...the media...it is everywhere, the tv, your phone, the internet, radio, EVERYWHERE and it is always BAD.....luckily for myself and my kids, I didn't watch much tv as a kid (actually remember sometimes not even having a tv) and my kids don't watch anything but cartoons or good feeling fun shows......I actually don't think I have watched TV news in almost 2 years :)
 
Robin Carlton said:
I think we're more protective because our news is a 24/7 fear mongering multi-billion dollar industry now. I dont think crime is happening more often than it was when we were kids, we just hear about it more now and have been conditioned to be afraid of the boogeyman.
.
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I actually had started posting this exact same thing. The internet has blown things up too much. There has always been the news and newspapers but now you hear about things before it even makes it that far!

I live in a small town and we are pretty easy going, we don't have to worry about people coming up and hurting our kids.. we do have to worry quite a bit about cougars and bears though :/ LOL!
 
There is also the stigma that is placed upon mothers in this generation too.. when we were kids moms didn't call on other moms and talk down to them about their parenting skills and what they are doing wrong/right but it seems a common everyday for moms to feel as though they should be able to judge other moms on how they are doing.. so even if you wanted to let your kids run out and play there is probably going to be talk about your parenting skills :thumbdown:
 
KristinCB said:
we do have to worry quite a bit about cougars and bears though :/ LOL!
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When I was a kid, I was also afraid of poltergeists and bigfoot. We lived in the hollywood hills and I was literally afraid bigfoot would come to my window, break it and take me away to the wilderness. I also thought a werewolf lived under my bed too.

Seriously, I was a wreck as a kid.
 
KristinCB said:
There is also the stigma that is placed upon mothers in this generation too.. when we were kids moms didn't call on other moms and talk down to them about their parenting skills and what they are doing wrong/right but it seems a common everyday for moms to feel as though they should be able to judge other moms on how they are doing.. so even if you wanted to let your kids run out and play there is probably going to be talk about your parenting skills :thumbdown:
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this is a lot of my issue. small town. everyone knows when you take a sh!t. if someone saw my kids crossing the street by herself, DCFS would be called in a heartbeat, i can guarantee it.

I know when we were kids, everyone's mom looked out for ALL the kids in the neighborhood. now, everyone is so segregated, i don't think that could ever be possible.
 
emmasmommy said:
this is a lot of my issue. small town. everyone knows when you take a sh!t. if someone saw my kids crossing the street by herself, DCFS would be called in a heartbeat, i can guarantee it.
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That's how it is on Army bases, too...especially over seas. The walls are thin (literally) and everyone is in your business!
 
Laura_A said:
Competition

I hope I don't step on anyone's toes here, but I think the whole "everyone is a winner" thing is doing our kids a huge disservice. I agree that, if you tried your best, you're not a loser, but we're not teaching our kids how to lose gracefully and have good sportsmanship when every single person on a team wins a trophy just for showing up or schools can't give away prizes for, for example, the neatest handwriting or getting the highest score on the Math test, for fear of someone's feelings getting hurt. I believe competition is healthy...it teaches us to work hard toward something we want.
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yes. totally agree with this. someone tried to do away with the awards that the gym teachers give out at the end of the school year last year because they said it wasn't fair to do a "fastest runner," "longest jump," and such. I mean heck, they even had a "tried the hardest" and the mom said it wasn't fair to all the other kids (they had like 10 they gave out in each grade).
 
Interaction with other people: having to go to the store to buy music/movies, having people always ring up your groceries or library books for you, having to call or visit people to have a relationship with them.

(I realize the irony of posting this on an online message board to people I have not met. :p)

Self-awareness: not everyone is good at everything, not everyone should get a participation ribbon/medal, having a Facebook and/or Twitter account does not suddenly make you more interesting or more special than any other person your age, etc.

Grammar: text speak is not real English, when it is appropriate to use and when it is not, how to spell words, how to use words with more than one syllable, how to write in cursive.
 
Yes, yes, I do, LW. :hugs:

Oh, and mystery! There is so little mystery left in the world. With social media, the news, and the Internet, we know every single thing that every single person is doing at every single moment. Ugh. I hate that.
 
LeeAndra said:
Grammar: text speak is not real English, when it is appropriate to use and when it is not, how to spell words, how to use words with more than one syllable, how to write in cursive.
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OMG......and I seriously don't know any of the abbreviations.......and in our school district that don't even teach handwriting (hardly) and as you get older, they teach "keyboarding" WTH.....no matter what you will ALWAYS have to write something.....hell most kids don't even know how to write a check! I write and sign my name to something EVERYDAY, why do people (school districts) think that is ever going to go away?
 
LeeAndra said:
Oh, and mystery! There is so little mystery left in the world. With social media, the news, and the Internet, we know every single thing that every single person is doing at every single moment. Ugh. I hate that.
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The internet has brought me lots of mystery :/ LOL!
 
I think just appreciating the little things. I feel like my kids do ok with that I think but I have met a lot of kids who could definitely use improvement.
 
Robin Carlton said:
I let my kids run all over the neighborhood, but I was a scaredy cat as a kid because my mom watched the news a lot and I was afraid of all of those things. I actually slept with a steak knife under my pillow because I was afraid the LA night stalker was going to get me. I refuse to raise my kids the same way, afraid of all the bad guys, I want them to have the freedom of childhood, so they do.
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I was much the same.. for some strange reason my mom let me watch unsolved mysteries as a child and there were a few episodes that seriously scared me for life.
 
My mom let me watch Unsolved Mysteries too, KCB! Is it weird that I will let my kids run all over the neighborhood alone, and will drop katie off at the mall or the movies with friends, but I wont let my kids watch scary movies or much TV at all?
 
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