Every generation has lamented it: kids these days, they’re growing up way too fast. It is a perpetual argument.
Today’s complaints can be credited to sources, such as Disney Channel, Kid’s Bop, and the late genius of Steve Jobs. But really, the fault of such rapid aging in children has always lain with the parents and guardians.
The reason is simple enough: parents are the chief administrators of those precious years called childhood. No matter how difficult or independent a kid may seem, the parent always has the option to pull in the reins and fix the problem. Whether they do or not is the deciding factor.
For every womanly little girl or manly little boy, there is a set of parents or guardians who either don’t care or who claim a firm belief in freedom of expression. But is it really freedom of expression? I have heard third graders throw expletives out there faster than I can comprehend what they’re trying to say. I have seen second graders wearing fake nails and toddlers using smart phone. And all the blame comes back around to Mommy Dearest and Daddy Darling.
Guardians are the ones who provide the technological devices, who pay for the manicures and who inadvertently (I hope) teach the curse words. So, while the older generations complain about “kids these days,” it is the previous generations who are the cause of the problem. It’s a frustrating cycle that can only be broken by the parents.
Now our generation of teenagers can be heard grumbling about how different things are now from how they were a decade ago. But I can promise you that we are not the first ones to feel the pain of spoiled kids pretending that they’re 25. Parents in the fifties complained about movies and about Elvis Presley corrupting young minds. Today, parents complain about Lady Gaga and reality television shows brainwashing those impressionable young beings. However true that may be, it is nothing we can fix because if there were a solution, parents would have figured it out decades ago. Right now it may seem horrifying that Kid’s Bop introduces children to Top 40 artists at such young ages, but in 60 years, who knows what new problems parents will have to deal with. It’s all relative.
In the last five years, I have babysat for many families and many children, all of whom had large, distinct personalities. I have watched the changing trends and how the kids were affected by such trends. Two years ago, Justin Bieber was all the rage, but now fifth graders consider it an embarrassment to applaud for anyone except One Direction. Disney Channel and Nickelodeon have been constants, but that’s about all that has been. Just last week, a third grader wearing an off-the-shoulder top told me that her “favorite show ever” was the VMAs; she had already watched the recording three times.
Listening to kids talk about their interests makes me feel much older than my 17 years. I find myself saying, “When I was your age…” more than I’d like to admit. But I can also remember my babysitters saying the same thing to a younger version of me.
There’s a saying that forgotten history will repeat itself. All you have to do is look around to see the truth in that proverb. If we want kids to enjoy their youth, then we need to be encouragers of childhood. We need to show them the glory of dolls, hide-and-seek, and catching fireflies. We need to be an example that growing up is not the end of goofiness and bedtime stories. We need to embrace imperfections and innocence if we want to stop the cycle at its root.
Shannah • Oct 30, 2012 at 9:55 pm
I absolutely agree with your opinion! It may be the parents fault, but then again, wether or not the parents want them to be exposed to it or not, they will be. Coming from the kids at school, or family members who do or don’t allow it. Either way, it will be in their life someway or somehow. We can’t exactly control what happens in children’s life, but we can control it to a certain point.
Courtney • Oct 30, 2012 at 4:50 pm
I totally agree with this article.It has a valid point. When I was younger, all I loved to do was play outdoors. Now I see people who are way younger than me playing on devices that werent even imagined when I was younger. I feel like parents could do a little more, but I wouldnt blame it all on them. Everyone has their own mind and they make choices for themselves.
Like i said earlier I agree on this . Parents should take charge and stop the habits of kids growing to old so quick!
Mike Davis • Oct 29, 2012 at 2:51 pm
Awesome article!
Mike Davis • Oct 29, 2012 at 2:50 pm
Great article!
Dana • Oct 28, 2012 at 9:00 pm
I agree very much with this article. I remember when I was little and my mom always sent me outside to go play with my friends and ride my bike and draw pictures with chock. Everybody now theses days just sit in the house on the computer and watching tv. It is crazy what the world has come too.
Britney • Oct 28, 2012 at 9:00 pm
My chilhood revolved around playing outside, making mudpies, and having picnics in my aunts treehose while she read stories to me and my cousin. Now kids these days worry about the latest technology,and trends. Parents should incourage the fact these necessities that kids think they need isn’t going to kill them if they do not have them. Parents should take the time to play with there kids outside, play board games, and just have fun without all of these things that people think they need.
Kayla • Oct 27, 2012 at 4:27 pm
I completely agree with this. Children today believe that they are way older than they really are. They also believe that they can talk to their parents any type of way and get away with it, and they do. They scream anything to their parents and their parents say nothing. Parents need to teach their children where they stand as children and they need to not give in as easily. I also think that parents need to have their kids outside more. I will go over to a friends house who has a younger sibling and the whole family is sitting in the living room watching TV and they do not speak to each other either they are on their smart phone or the computer and its sad. Personally I feel like parents should take the initiative to tell their children to get off that $100 cell phone and go outside and play with some friends, and if they do not listen then take it and send them outside. Also they need to teach their children their age and show them that they will not be talked to any kind of way. but that they will be talked to with respect which is another thing that Kids today lack.
Aaron B. • Oct 24, 2012 at 9:25 pm
I feel like everyone trys so hard to fit in and be popular that we forget that we’re still kids. Many children have the newest most advanced devices availiable for example my friends brother John has the Iphone 5. I look at that and say “You’re 7 I’m 15 how can you have a phone, I just got one!” It upsets me to know that our world is comming to a 7 year old having the newest, best phone. They feel like everyone else has it so they must get it, but in reality no kids have it. Maby one does then someone sees it go homes beggs and gets it, then another and sooner or later, after hours of pleading and crying everyone has the new Iphone. Today kids grow up so fast the market can’t produce enough new “toys” for them to play with. (toys being laptops, Iphones, Ipads, Ipods, etc.) It’s like kids live in our lives now only they are 8 years younger.
mikayla d. • Oct 23, 2012 at 8:10 am
I totally agree. My parents didn’t let me get a cell phone until this summer. There is to many young kids that have technlogy that is really expeincieve and there not even out of elementary school. I didnt have any technology until this year 9th grade. my parents make me pay for the certain things that I want and I have to earn it. I have wanted an I phone But i cant get one until I pay for one myself. There are to many young kids that have alot of technology that is really expencive and there not even out of elemetary school.
Jemal • Oct 22, 2012 at 11:22 pm
Yes i do very much agree with this article, is crazy! For example; i hava a friend who has a 6 year old brother with an iphone4s.. almost the nwest iphone yet! i know adults who don’t even have iphone’s let alone smart phones’! We are in the worst stage in child correction and its very leanient on the parents side. It is a huge problem. This child is also allowed to watch shows such as; “South Park” and “Family Guy” some of the most vulgar shows in television displaying innaproiate launguage, displays of affection, and “slang” it is somewhat embarrasing for parents. Its a shame. These generation of childern are no doubt at its worst and parents need to crack down on discipline and make thier kids show them some respect.
Alena • Oct 22, 2012 at 10:35 pm
The technological world is growing literally every second. New iPhones are coming out every couple of months. There is nothing we can change about that. Everyone always wants to make things faster, simpler, and less time consuming, and that is just how the human mind works. In order to keep further generations from becoming completely stupefied with all of these iPhones, laptops and reality shows, we must remind our kids of nature. Of books. Of having real, meaningful conversations. Remind them of our true morals, and beliefs. As a parent, you need to decide. . . will my child live a life of drama-filled reality shows, or a life of true happiness, peace, and love?
Todd • Oct 22, 2012 at 10:09 pm
I agree, I think that if we grow up slowly it would be beneficial to our image when we are older. We would grow up with more of a unique personality then to when our parents restrict certain things from us.our next generations are getting less and less use to our outside social skills. If they have a question they search it not confonte a teacher, which will make it worse for them when they have to go to a job interview.
Shiori • Oct 22, 2012 at 10:00 pm
I know some children in 5th grade using Facebook underage. I’m not Facebook user, so I don’t know much about how Facebook works. But one thing I can say is it’s not good for them. Not only they will get harmful information, but also they will send stuff without knowing whether it is bad or not. Those media don’t give them what is right and what is not. Since so many people are using those media, we feel forced to use the technologies. I sometimes feel alone by that. I think the children using technologies are feeling same, so they think having technologies is necessary even they are going to break some rules. They don’t want to be alone, so they needs things same as everybody. Parents have power to give them and always want to their children be the best. It’s not the parents’ fault; it’s the society we are in.
Taylor • Oct 22, 2012 at 9:41 pm
I completely agree with this! Technology has definitely become an impact in society today. Little kids everywhere are getting new phones/apple products. This shouldn’t be happening. Instead, kids should be outside enjoying the fresh air with their friends instead of inside on their devices. I also believe that parents can control this. If they were to just take the kids device away for at least an hour a day, then hopefully the kid would realize that being on your device all day isn’t important.
Gabbie • Oct 22, 2012 at 8:42 pm
I agree that young children are growing up too fast. Parents are partly at fault for their children growing up to fast because they provide them with the technology. When I was babysiting my neighbor a while ago I asked him what he wanted for his birthday. He said, “I want an iPad or an iPod…or both!” I was surprised by his anwser because I remember when my brother was his age he told me that he wanted action figures or a new bike, not the latest techonlogy. When I was younger I didn’t really apreciate having the childhood I had, but now as I reminisce to the good ol’ days I have a better appreciation of it. I wish that every kid had or will have a childhood filled with playing house with their friends, splashing in the pool or just going for a good, long bike ride, instead of having their face lit up by the dark light of technology.
Crystal • Oct 22, 2012 at 8:40 pm
I completely agree with this article. Kids are being spoiled with no consequences in return. Discipline eased up, leading children to want what they see and don’t expect to work for their self valued items. When I was just a third grader I never even wanted to hear inappropriate language, I didn’t even know what the words meant. Also, when I was just a second grader I wasn’t even allowed to wear fake salon manicured nails, I used to apply play-doh onto my nail. These generations are slowly changing with kids wanting to be older then there actual age. If these children grew up with the lifestyle of their parents then they would understand how much freedom and privileges they have.
Demi Tega • Oct 22, 2012 at 8:24 pm
While I agree that some of the blame belongs to the parents i think its a bit unfair to heap all of it on them. The society we live in now is a very fast-paced technology centered world that cases children to grow up faster, kids these days are exposed to far more of technology and the media than we were, just as we were exposed to more of it than our parents were. It’s easy to see a 4th grader wearing “questionable” clothing or a third grader cursing and immediately blame the parents, but a lot of these things can’t be helped. In the world today kids are bombarded with all types of ideas from the media about how they should dress and how they should act, and while it is the parents’ duty to instill good values in their children, it isn’t necessarily all their fault because that is just the way our society is.
Lauren Siegel • Oct 22, 2012 at 7:47 pm
Who cares what pictures are out there? Who cares who sees my personal information? Well I care, but most everything posted or sent is not thought about beforehand. This is unfortunate and parents aren’t doing anything to stop it. Getting your child a phone when they are in elementary school? In some cases it may be okay, but if there are no rules or control over how it is used it can get out of hand. I didn’t get a phone until I was twelve and then it seemed like “Why do I have to wait?”, but now I understand why my parents made that decision. It is one more thing to keep track of and one more thing that can get you into trouble. When you are young you haven’t seen all the dangers of making the wrong decision. You can get caught up in the moment and do things you wouldn’t normally do, but technology makes making a wrong decision much easier to make. By just the push of a button, you can send something that cannot be erased to the rest of the world.
William • Oct 22, 2012 at 7:40 pm
I agree and disagree on this matter too. I agree that parents are the main reason to this problem. Not all parents teach there kids the right thing to do. For example, parents listen to there kids and get what the child wants. Like the Iphone, every kid wants this phone and parents agree to getting this phone for them. All the technology on this phone is too much for children. Sometimes, the phone may come in handy though.
Pearce Kramer29 • Oct 22, 2012 at 7:19 pm
I do believe that parents have control over their kids on how their childhood is. I also think that kids should be happy with their parents desicions. As technology continues to get more advanced, I believe that kids can have more privileges to access the technology. Kids should not be limited to playing hide and seek and catching fireflies. The world is changing so people cant expect future generations not to change. A good childhood is essential to become successful in life.
Emily • Oct 22, 2012 at 7:13 pm
I completely agree the rate in which technology is evolving, who knows what kind of problems the next generation of children will have. Slowly over the past 60 years the childhood phase in a persons life has shrunk smaller and smaller due to kids growing up to fast. Parents need to start teaching children to cherish their years as a child because i personally think they are the best years of a persons life. Children get so caught up in what they want to be when they are older they waste their childhood and i agree parents are to blame. Parents and older siblings create an image of what the child desires to be like, to be able to drive, to have a credit card.
Christal Remy • Oct 22, 2012 at 6:58 pm
This article is completely true, our younger brothers and sisters are growing up in a different kind of world then we did. Parents are letting their children dress and act like they are way older than they are. I heard a mother of a five year old girl say that she was five going on twenty five. She lets the little girl dress in ways that my parents won’t even let me dress now! A show like Toddlers and Tiaras is a great example of parents letting their children grow up to fast. They make the little girls wear way too much makeup and clothes that are definitely not for their age group. The girls don’t really get to experience childhood by playing with dolls or just having fun, their parents make them worry about how their acrylic nails look or whether or not this outfit make me look sexy when they are five years old. I mean I understand that our parents probably are saying the exact same thing that our generation is way different from theirs, but I really think that kids need to take it a bit slower and try to learn and enjoy their childhood.
Devin • Oct 22, 2012 at 6:36 pm
I certainly agree with Jessica, kids are growing up way too fast. I believe the biggest problem is the media, kids are so easily influenced by television, social media and magazines. They always want the best and only the best of everything. When I was younger i didn’t even have an iPod (I still don’t) and now kids are getting them at as low as the age of six. Parents need to give them a wholesome childhood and keep them away from the media hype at least until they are old enough to understand that is not what the real world is like and if we don’t who knows what the world will be like in ten years.
Cristina • Oct 22, 2012 at 6:04 pm
I think this article holds a very good point. i firmly believe that parents ARE the blame for their children’s decisions. Now a days, I see five year old showing their parents how to use a certain application on the parent’s smart phone. This generation to me is the “Tech Savvy” Generation. Everywhere you turn you see iPhones and iPads being used. Textbooks are online now. You can tell your phone to do a certain task for you. It’s ridiculous! The only way to stop this is to step up. Adults need to let their children live a memorable childhood.
Hannah • Oct 22, 2012 at 5:49 pm
This article makes a very good point. When I was little, I didn’t have any video games or anything of that nature. My parents would send me outside to play in the yard until they called me in for dinner. However, kids these days sit inside all day glued to their phones, iPods, computers, and tablets. Children should learn to go outdoors and play with their friends, because there certainly isn’t time when you get older.
Emily • Oct 22, 2012 at 4:58 pm
I fully agree with this article. I think that the problem with kids today are the parents giving in and buying them whatever they want. I know a lot of little kids ask their parents for a cell phone, and i pad, of an ipod touch. Its not a problem that they want these things. The problem is that they are 10 and do not go outside and enjoy their childhood. They just want the new electronics that come out.
John Hamlin • Oct 21, 2012 at 7:37 pm
Who remembers watching Caillou? Kipper? Dragon Tales? No one who was born in the last 8 years, that’s for sure. Everything is new and replaceable these days that things that you had to learn 10 years ago because “they were the future,” are now outdated. TV shows you watched as a kid are gone because the kids who watched them grew up. Kids of my generation ask “What’s a record(Yes, I know what a record is, but some of my friends don’t)?” Kids of my brother’s generation ask, “What’s a VCR? What’s a cassette tape?” I see my brother growing up so fast, and it’s sort of scary. Is that what being a parent is like? Having to watch your children grow up faster than your ready for them to? Do any of you know the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes? Sometimes I look at those comics and think, “That’s what childhood should be like, not iPhone 5s and MacBooks for toddlers.” Those comics make me nostalgically miss my childhood. I guess I can consider myself lucky. I am blessed to have had parents and grandparents who showed me the things in life that blow any old technology out of the water. My family has taught me values that are thrown to the curb in today’s world. When I talk with my family, we don’t talk about Lindsay Lohan’s newest mess up or which celebrity got caught cheating on their spouse. We talk politics, we talk philosophy, we debate any topic under the sun that is relevant to the real world. My family owns a cottage up in the lakes of Canada, and that land is the most beautiful land on all of Earth. We don’t have Wi-Fi, only a small TV to watch the baseball games after supper. We spend our days kayaking, jumping off the raft, reading a book, or just doing anything other than technology. And you know what? I would choose that cottage over the house I live in today in a second. If that makes me outdated, if that makes me old-fashioned, so be it. It sometimes seems that I’m the only one who remembers the past. Can any of you honestly remember Sully, the pilot who saved any entire plane full of people on January 10th 2010? (And that is from memory, I didn’t look that up.) Or what about the military plane that crashed into the apartment complex in Virginia during spring break? Am I the only one who listens to The Beatles, Frankie Valli, jazz, and classical music? It seems everyone wants the newest music, the newest shows, the newest phones, the newest gossip, and anything else that is under a day old and will be a year old in a week. Well life is short people, and the people who rush it will be sorry when it is gone. “History does not treat kindly those who rush her.” Nelson Mandela said that if I’m not mistaken. The world needs to take a deep breath, and stop. Not stop moving forward, I mean stop moving backwards.
Natalie Jackson • Oct 21, 2012 at 2:39 pm
I totally agree with this article. As a kid, I had to work hard to earn things. When I wanted a phone in 6th grade, i had to get good grades at school to get one. Now kids get what they want when they want it. I have seen six year old with iphones and ipads! its completely ridiculous. children these days are just spoiled, a few weeks ago i heard some girl complaining that her daddy bought her the $200 dress instead of the $400 dress! When these spoiled kids leave the house, they will be totally shocked with how things really are, and they wont be prepared for it.
Morgan • Oct 19, 2012 at 11:23 am
I completely agree with this article. It seems as if the parents in today’s society never know when to say no. Today children have not adjusted to not receiving any item they desire. I have seen several children in various stores have “temper tantrums” simply because they did not receive what they wanted. Children only want instant gratification without doing any work to earn it. They will never be able to thrive in society later on in life. I loved my childhood and wish the children in today’s society could have experienced the same childhood as mine.
Jackson • Oct 19, 2012 at 11:15 am
All of the commercials for things like the new iPhone 5, and the new iPad are only part of of the problem with kids. My little 5-year-old brother tells my parents and me that for his birthday he wants an iPad 3. The good thing is that my parents are not in the majority and will not get him an iPad exept for maybe as a graduation present from high school. The bad thing is that many parents, if the child asked enough, would just get the child whatever they want.
Natasha • Oct 19, 2012 at 11:14 am
These days, parents always want to give their kids the best. Most of the time, ‘the best’ isn’t the best for them. I find it to be shocking when I see elementary age kids walking around with iPhones glued to their face. I got my first phone when I was 13 (and it definitely wasn’t a smart phone). This shouldn’t be like this, kids deserve to go outside and play instead of be inside playing with their newest Apple devices.
Beth • Oct 19, 2012 at 11:14 am
I think children are definitely growing up too quickly. I think in this new age of technology they are a lot less cautious with their technology. For example 10 years of age and younger having facebooks, twitters, instagrams, ect… they will follow/friend anyone even people they do not know, post/send anything without giving it a second thought. Sometimes parents don’t even know half of the stuff their children are using their technology for.
Harley • Oct 19, 2012 at 9:13 am
With all the new technology and fashions in clothing, toys, and television, children’s expectations of what they deserve increases. Children are starting to confuse priviledges and rights. This problem does come back to the parents, because it’s how the children are raised. I have personal experience of this in my every day life. I find myself thinking I am having a conversation with an eighteen year old, when in reality it is my little, ten year old sister. She acts likes she already knows everything and i believe she gets it from the tv shows portraying an easy going, get-everything-you-want life. Well that is not how the real world works. In order to put this to a stop, I think parents need to step up and stop these garbage shows. They need to send their children outside, where they can be a kid.
Robert • Oct 19, 2012 at 9:12 am
I have to agree with you on the fact that this a cycle. It’s also only going to get faster and faster as we speed up the rate we create new technology. More smart phones and computers for less money, means that kids in the future will have even easier access to information, whether their parents want them to or not. Part of the problem with the current generation of young children is the fact that a lot of their parents aren’t sure how to handle this overabundance of media. Just 3 decades ago, easily withinh your parent’s lifetime, the only cell phones weighed 3 pounds and took 10 hours to charge enough for 30 minutes of talk. Now you can pick up a cell phone almost anywhere. Miniaturization and easy access are the way of the future in terms of technology.
Maalik • Oct 19, 2012 at 9:11 am
This article states a very specific and interesting point. In this time and age, we see that children are growing too fast, whether parents help in the advancement or not. There are teenagers (and pre-teens, mind you.) that complain when they are not given the lastest technology. It shows how regressive this country has become. The people of older ages can stare the problem directly in the face, but only make comments. Of course, this is a problem. Children are not defined by the cartoons they watched, but by the technology that they carry. It is obvious that children, and quite possibly adults, are losing the old-time common sense. There are very few times these days when people say, “I miss doing the old activities, when there was not as much public technology.” Unfortunately, this time is taken over by Facebook, Twitter, etc. Thank you Jessica, for the article.
James • Oct 19, 2012 at 9:09 am
I think the parents are definitely part of the problem, but I think what plays the biggest role in this is the media. For example, iPhone commercials that kids see while watching their cartoons. Things like the technology, dressing “maturely”, and adult shows and movies are publicized too much for this to be just the parents’ fault.
Kathryn • Oct 19, 2012 at 9:05 am
When I was in the third or fourth grade, my focus was never on who was the ‘person of the day”- only on whatever book I was reading. Maybe I was out of the loop, but I liked not knowing what was going on better. There are more things in life than who’s popular and what’s in style. They change faster than you can blink, but things like imagination and learning and just spending days inside your own head- they never change. Not being involved allowed me to figure out who I was. Now that I know, I’ve gotten slightly into the loop- not completely, I’m still happily in the nerd spectrum- but I feel more comfortable there because I don’t need some celebrity telling me who to be. So yes, I agree that children are growing up too fast. It’s better to stay out of the popular and find yourself than to know everything and be lost.
Carson • Oct 19, 2012 at 9:03 am
I agree full-heartedly with this article. Although I am only a ninth grader, I feel like young children think of my childhood as I think of the 1920s. Just a few years ago, all the hype was watching high school musical or going to jump to it. Even though this is still a modern lifestyle, kids of this new generation laugh at how simplistic it is. My little sister, although I love her, got an ipod touch at age eight! She even watches glee with me, despite all of the innapropriate inclinations that it contains. I can’t bear to see her lose her childhood like this. Parents need to step up to the plate and teach their children the enjoyments that a young child’s life should bring, and teach them to play outdoor games, rather than merely playing them on the Wii.