Comments on: A Generation of Rudeness?

By: Stephen

Stephen — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 19:53:20 +0000

I know what you mean. All parents want the best for their kids. It’s just that some parents don’t get there as well as others.

By: Fluxx

Fluxx — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 18:13:43 +0000

Sorry, just to not have my comment misunderstood; I don’t blame parents specifically so much as a breakdown of values and the direction parents give. So…parenting, not the parents themselves. It may be a gray line, but in my mind it is a bit different.

By: Stephen

Stephen — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 17:57:18 +0000

I was going to blame parents at first, but I thought I’d let someone else be the bunny

The times I see parents just “offload” their kids while out is pretty common. “Oh, Johnny, here’s some money. Why don’t you go play some video games while mummy shops…” In that time frame, no one is showing them how to interact with the world. Technology isn’t totally to blame. It’s just an excuse for parents to butt out. You can have kids with the coolest gadgets, but if you aren’t there to use the technology with them, then they CAN learn bad habits on their own.

So yeah, I agree the lack of responsibility and ownership. Chances are, the same parents with the rotten kids are the ones who won’t dare take any responsibility for the behaviour of their kids. They’ll likely be the ones that give teachers a hard time because they cared enough to call little Johnny or little Susie on their bullshit. They’d rather give shit to the teacher to prevent the inconvenience of having to discipline their own children at home.

Technology can be a diversionary tactic to remove themselves from responsibility, or a tool for teaching their children. It’s up to the parents how they want to use it and these days, with all the readily available diversions, many parents are just taking the easy way out.

By: Fluxx

Fluxx — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 17:35:43 +0000

Just a thought…the same people who write these articles blaming IM and IPods for kids rudeness tend to be the ones who raised their kids with TV and without discipline and without a nuclear family to speak of. The biggest problem with society today isn’t technology, it’s complete and utter lack of ownership and responsibility. Technology isn’t the cause of this, nor even a symptom; it all comes down to immediate relational interactions and parenting. When you and I were kids, we had strict defined rules and if we went outside those rules there were consequences. Alot of our generation’s idea of parenting is to plop the kid in front of the TV and “let them learn their own way”. Having said that, I of course have no kids. I will say that I know two separate sets of parents of kids about the same age quite well (well I know lots of parents, but these two are the polar opposites). One of them has two kids who are very polite, well behaved and generally fun to be around, while the others are annoying whiny little ill behaved cretins. The difference? There’s no spankings or harsh discipline in either set, but the set with the nice kids teaches them how to interact in a positive way, and offers a lot of direct parenting and love. The other just smiles and nods when the kids act up. Both sets of kids have iPod’s, btw…

Just my .02