What About The Youth Of Today...


StrawberryFields
 Share

Recommended Posts

In another post there has been some discussion about the difficulties our youth have vs. the benefits of living in today¡Çs world.

My view is that our children have more pressures and negative things to deal with then I did as a child growing up in the 60's and 70's.

I wonder is anyone else has seen Satan¡Çs hand working even stronger then it was during your youth. Sure you will have more of the same in some area's but to me the times have dictated a stronger prevalence of evil and much of this I feel is aimed right at the youth of today. What are your feelings in this matter?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't equate this argument to God or Satan, however I do feel that the increase of materialism in the world has placed more pressure on children to conform to the style of their peers...ie. wearing designer clothes, upgrading their mobile phones etc. This in turn puts pressure on their parents who feel that their child might be bullied if he/she doesn't 'fit in'. A very, very sad situation.

I have 2 children, a daughter of 15 and a son of 12. My daughter dresses in a way that she likes and feels comfortable with...she is not into 'designer' clothes, bling bling etc, she sees this as alien to her. She has some friends, who she only mixes with occasionally, who are into those things, but she doesn't mix with their wider group of friends as they take drugs (soft not hard drugs), and steal and fight, so she sort of associates that style with those types of behaviour and doesn't want to get involved.

My son, however, is well into the designer clothes and bling bling!!! and into rap music, 50 cent, eminem, and r&b, Usher etc. (I don't mind his musical tastes, btw). Fortunately at 12 he is more interested in playing football or PS2 games than using drugs or anything...he doesn't smoke and says he never will...and I talk to both of my children about the dangers of drug abuse.

Hopefully, with a little guidance, and support if bullying occurs, we can still produce well balanced, caring, sensible children in spite of all the pressures around them...unfortunately some children do rebel and experiment with drugs, alcohol, breaking the law in spite of this, but as I said in the other post, this is just a fact of life...all we can do if that happens is show that we still love them, forgive them, and find them the help they need to become the person they used to be...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do not believe that there are things going on now that were not going on 50 or 100 years ago. I do believe that elements disruptive to families and family life are more accepted in society and that such things are more available and considered less wrong.

When I turned 16 and went on my first date with the family car, I took my date with some friends to see a movie (Land mark theater in Orem Ut.) We left the movie half way through because we felt it was not supportive or our values. This same movie was shown (uncut) on TV the other day and I watched it again and could not identify anything that was offencive. Not only has my personal belief been effected through intertainment - it has happened without me realizing.

The Traveler

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think media has caused a lot of numbing of our senses, but in general there really is nothing new under the sun when it comes to dangers.

At pre-school age my sister and I were nearly kidnapped by a sexual pervert who was working on the water mains on our street. He had a water works truck full of porn and used our chidlish curiosity to familarize himself with all the children in the area.

At age 7 a friend and I found a new fangled photo from an instant camera (black and white) laying on the sidewalk to be found by us, which was a picture take of a guy's genitles. Of course we didn't know what it was so we showed it to my older brother and he told us it was a nasty. LOL

At the age of 11 I was flashed by a weird teen under some bleechers on my walk to Sugar House.

When I was 13 I caught a guy watching me through my bedroom window. He had a ladder up to my bedroom window. Thanks to the full moon I saw the shape of his head.

When I was 16 my friends and I were chased by a crazy man in a car ~ through an ally. We just escaped with our lives by hiding in the viney hedges hanging over the fences. He road back and forth through that ally, even stopping so close to us we could hear him breathing and cussing under his breath.

I really don't think anything but the media has changed. It has always been a scary world to me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by Amillia@Jan 19 2005, 04:11 PM

I think media has caused a lot of numbing of our senses, but in general there really is nothing new under the sun when it comes to dangers.

At pre-school age my sister and I were nearly kidnapped by a sexual pervert who was working on the water mains on our street. He had a water works truck full of porn and used our chidlish curiosity to familarize himself with all the children in the area.

At age 7 a friend and I found a new fangled photo from an instant camera (black and white) laying on the sidewalk to be found by us, which was a picture take of a guy's genitles. Of course we didn't know what it was so we showed it to my older brother and he told us it was a nasty. LOL

At the age of 11 I was flashed by a weird teen under some bleechers on my walk to Sugar House.

When I was 13 I caught a guy watching me through my bedroom window. He had a ladder up to my bedroom window. Thanks to the full moon I saw the shape of his head.

When I was 16 my friends and I were chased by a crazy man in a car ~ through an ally. We just escaped with our lives by hiding in the viney hedges hanging over the fences. He road back and forth through that ally, even stopping so close to us we could hear him breathing and cussing under his breath.

I really don't think anything but the media has changed. It has always been a scary world to me.

What a great memory you have! Have you ever considered writing a book?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Today's kid's do have more challenges than some of us did when we were younger. However they also have many things that we didn't have growing up. Today's kids are smarter and better developed than we were. They have better teaching methods to make them smarter, and even naturally they seems smarter than 30 yrs ago.

When I was a kid I couldn't think about talking to my mother or father about sex, girls, drugs or anything else. These days kids can do so because there is more understanding by parents. There is nothing they can't read about in school.

I do think that our kids are being coddled for not choosing to make good decisions. For every problem, there are a dozen ways to solve them.

And if TV is influencing your kids more than you are.... you are going to need to think about what kind of parent you are. If eminem can impact my son or daughter more than I can then I have made some serious mistakes and fallen short as a father.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think a teen has it much harder than I did. Just about anything they want is accessible now via the internet. They can pretend to be someone else. More likely to fall through the cracks. There is so much media that everything that appears to be "reality" is no longer so it makes things harder to decipher what is real and what isn't.

It is a hard time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by Strawberry Fields+Jan 19 2005, 07:47 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Strawberry Fields @ Jan 19 2005, 07:47 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--Amillia@Jan 19 2005, 04:11 PM

I think media has caused a lot of numbing of our senses, but in general there really is nothing new under the sun when it comes to dangers.

At pre-school age my sister and I were nearly kidnapped by a sexual pervert who was working on the water mains on our street. He had a water works truck full of porn and used our chidlish curiosity to familarize himself with all the children in the area.

At age 7 a friend and I found a new fangled photo from an instant camera (black and white) laying on the sidewalk to be found by us, which was a picture take of a guy's genitles. Of course we didn't know what it was so we showed it to my older brother and he told us it was a nasty. LOL

At the age of 11 I was flashed by a weird teen under some bleechers on my walk to Sugar House.

When I was 13 I caught a guy watching me through my bedroom window. He had a ladder up to my bedroom window. Thanks to the full moon I saw the shape of his head.

When I was 16 my friends and I were chased by a crazy man in a car ~ through an ally. We just escaped with our lives by hiding in the viney hedges hanging over the fences. He road back and forth through that ally, even stopping so close to us we could hear him breathing and cussing under his breath.

I really don't think anything but the media has changed. It has always been a scary world to me.

What a great memory you have! Have you ever considered writing a book?

A book? That take talent and I don't have much. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can only see one thing which makes it harder for kids today. The economy is such that most mothers have to work outside of the home and there is more divorce also.

Those two things makes it harder for kids. Everything really isn't any harder. Being able to access stuff on the computer is totally under the parents lazy attitudes. We have been told to keep the computers out of the kids bedrooms. That is totally a parent's responsibilty. If you have given your kids computers in their bedrooms you have made the world harder for them.

Same with TV. Parents should be monitoring and limiting the time spent on these two things. If they aren't then they are the problem this world is having.

If you are using these to babysit your kids while you work. SHame on you!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by Blessed@Jan 20 2005, 08:00 PM

I think a teen has it much harder than I did. Just about anything they want is accessible now via the internet. They can pretend to be someone else. More likely to fall through the cracks. There is so much media that everything that appears to be "reality" is no longer so it makes things harder to decipher what is real and what isn't.

It is a hard time.

I agree with you Blessed. I remember hearing my mom telling me that the pressures I had when I was a teen were more difficult then hers.

We then go to our teens being a walking billboard for designer clothes. I feel that standard uniforms would be less distracting and therefore be beneficial to learning in school. I also feel uniforms would keep all of our children at the same status level at the beginning. BTW, when I was a teen I was fortunate enough to choose the top brands if I wanted them and so are my children. One of the things that I love so much about the temple is the unity that is present when we are all dressed in our white clothing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by Amillia@Jan 21 2005, 06:12 AM

I can only see one thing which makes it harder for kids today. The economy is such that most mothers have to work outside of the home and there is more divorce also.

Those two things makes it harder for kids. Everything really isn't any harder. Being able to access stuff on the computer is totally under the parents lazy attitudes. We have been told to keep the computers out of the kids bedrooms. That is totally a parent's responsibilty. If you have given your kids computers in their bedrooms you have made the world harder for them.

Same with TV. Parents should be monitoring and limiting the time spent on these two things. If they aren't then they are the problem this world is having.

If you are using these to babysit your kids while you work. SHame on you!

Parents can't or shouldn't have to stand over the shoulder of their children every minute. Whether a parent works or not, we should teach our kids to seek out the things that bring light into their lives.

I don't know of any parent who allows computers in a Childs bedroom. Sure computers can be a great learning tool but they can also take our children to places we do not want them to go. I now have a pop up blocker on my computer but in the past there would be pop-ups on s*x and they wouldn't stop when you tried to close the window, they just kept adding more. Thanks modern technology. :ph34r: In addition, we can have some control about what goes on in our homes but when our children go to their friends homes we loose that control.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One of the things I believe that has made life hard for our children is that as a society is that in general we have given them too much and expected too little of them. I believe that this is part of the problem when we talk about hiring illegal immigrants to work the hard, low paying jobs. Today¡Çs youth, want things handed to them and many of us has enabled them in this belief.

Work is a very important aspect in raising children. If a person doesn't work hard for what they get I believe that the desire is left unfulfilled. Abundance doesn't necessarily bring happiness if there is little work involved. I really admire farmers, they work really hard and at harvest time they must feel very satisfied see what their work created...food.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest TheProudDuck

Originally posted by Strawberry Fields@Jan 21 2005, 08:24 AM

One of the things I believe that has made life hard for our children is that as a society is that in general we have given them too much and expected too little of them. I believe that this is part of the problem when we talk about hiring illegal immigrants to work the hard, low paying jobs. Today¡Çs youth, want things handed to them and many of us has enabled them in this belief.

Work is a very important aspect in raising children. If a person doesn't work hard for what they get I believe that the desire is left unfulfilled. Abundance doesn't necessarily bring happiness if there is little work involved. I really admire farmers, they work really hard and at harvest time they must feel very satisfied see what their work created...food.

Yeah, well, what kind of lesson does it teach when you work all year growing a crop of peaches, watch them swell big ripe and fuzzy, and then have peach tree borers destroy the whole crop right before you pick them?

"You tried your best, and you failed miserably. The lesson is -- never try." <_<

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest curvette

Originally posted by TheProudDuck@Jan 21 2005, 12:20 PM

Yeah, well, what kind of lesson does it teach when you work all year growing a crop of peaches, watch them swell big ripe and fuzzy, and then have peach tree borers destroy the whole crop right before you pick them?

"You tried your best, and you failed miserably. The lesson is -- never try." <_<

Oh Duck, are you really that unimaginative? There are a myriad of lessons to be learned from fruit tree infestations. A couple are: watch for the danger signs (clear sap, sawdust, shed pupa skin), keep the tree healthy, be ever watchful, etc. This is a parable waiting to be told!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest TheProudDuck
Originally posted by curvette+Jan 21 2005, 01:53 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (curvette @ Jan 21 2005, 01:53 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--TheProudDuck@Jan 21 2005, 12:20 PM

Yeah, well, what kind of lesson does it teach when you work all year growing a crop of peaches, watch them swell big ripe and fuzzy, and then have peach tree borers destroy the whole crop right before you pick them?

"You tried your best, and you failed miserably.  The lesson is -- never try." <_<

Oh Duck, are you really that unimaginative? There are a myriad of lessons to be learned from fruit tree infestations. A couple are: watch for the danger signs (clear sap, sawdust, shed pupa skin), keep the tree healthy, be ever watchful, etc. This is a parable waiting to be told!

I have tried dormant oil sprays, diazinon (back when it was legal), pinching off green shoots with signs of borer damage, clearing back neighboring bushes where larva can hide, kept the tree itself in Olympic-training physical condition, and pretty much done everything to beat the little buggers, and I still lose nearly all of my crop. I think the lesson is simply, don't plant peach trees in coastal southern California. My apples and plums, on the other hand, do fine, and I even have a bearing cherry tree for the novelty of growing a cold-weather fruit where everyone says it can't be done. (I can get a small yield if I trick the tree into thinking it's getting enough winter chill by packing ice around the graft in December and January.)

Peach tree borers are the strongest evidence for evolution I've ever seen. No kind and loving God would ever have created the little blackheaded demons.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, PD I didn't know that you were a farmer.

I think I said that I admired farmers for their hard work. My dad was a farmer when he was a kid and I have always admired his work ethics. He is up early in the morning (5:00) and goes to bed early (by 10:00).

My dad also lost his peach tree to a bore just recently. :unsure:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest TheProudDuck

Originally posted by Strawberry Fields@Jan 21 2005, 03:39 PM

Wow, PD I didn't know that you were a farmer.

I think I said that I admired farmers for their hard work. My dad was a farmer when he was a kid and I have always admired his work ethics. He is up early in the morning (5:00) and goes to bed early (by 10:00).

My dad also lost his peach tree to a bore just recently. :unsure:

Not a farmer, just an amateur. I started out rehabilitating my parents' ancient orange trees, then branched out after I got bored with fresh-squeezed orange juice every morning.

I could never be a real farmer if it involved getting up at 5:00 in the morning, first because I'm an owl and second because my son (almost 1) wakes up every couple of hours in the night. Concerning which, if anyone has any suggestions for dealing with said problem (short of punting the little stinker into the backyard), I'd be very grateful.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by TheProudDuck@Jan 21 2005, 05:06 PM

Not a farmer, just an amateur. I started out rehabilitating my parents' ancient orange trees, then branched out after I got bored with fresh-squeezed orange juice every morning.

I could never be a real farmer if it involved getting up at 5:00 in the morning, first because I'm an owl and second because my son (almost 1) wakes up every couple of hours in the night. Concerning which, if anyone has any suggestions for dealing with said problem (short of punting the little stinker into the backyard), I'd be very grateful.

In my experiences if he always wakes up each night like then he was just developed a habit. If he checks out physically then I would try to cut back on checking in on him when he cries in the night. Maybe just check on him once or something like that. At this age it is very easy for the little tyke to actually train you. If he does, then you¡Çre a goner. ;)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest curvette

Originally posted by TheProudDuck@Jan 21 2005, 02:05 PM

I have tried dormant oil sprays, diazinon (back when it was legal), pinching off green shoots with signs of borer damage, clearing back neighboring bushes where larva can hide, kept the tree itself in Olympic-training physical condition, and pretty much done everything to beat the little buggers, and I still lose nearly all of my crop. I think the lesson is simply, don't plant peach trees in coastal southern California. My apples and plums, on the other hand, do fine, and I even have a bearing cherry tree for the novelty of growing a cold-weather fruit where everyone says it can't be done. (I can get a small yield if I trick the tree into thinking it's getting enough winter chill by packing ice around the graft in December and January.)

Peach tree borers are the strongest evidence for evolution I've ever seen. No kind and loving God would ever have created the little blackheaded demons.

Okay, so the peach tree borer is Satan, and the peach tree represents lawyers who try to be farmers...
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest curvette

Originally posted by TheProudDuck@Jan 21 2005, 04:06 PM

my son (almost 1) wakes up every couple of hours in the night. Concerning which, if anyone has any suggestions for dealing with said problem (short of punting the little stinker into the backyard), I'd be very grateful.

All but one of my five children woke up often at night when they were little. My favorite was when I let my youngest cry for a little while, and then she quieted down. I heard her babbling a while later, so I sneaked in to check on her. She had had a "poo poo diapy", and decided to decorate the crib and wall with it when I didn't jump up and change her. This was an intricately carved wooden crib with lots of little nooks and crannies. It was the longest night of my life!

(sorry I can't give better advice--I just think you are a heck of a nice guy to get up in the middle of the night with him--my husband never did!)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by TheProudDuck+Jan 21 2005, 01:20 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (TheProudDuck @ Jan 21 2005, 01:20 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--Strawberry Fields@Jan 21 2005, 08:24 AM

One of the things I believe that has made life hard for our children is that as a society is that in general we have given them too much and expected too little of them. I believe that this is part of the problem when we talk about hiring illegal immigrants to work the hard, low paying jobs. Today¡Çs youth, want things handed to them and many of us has enabled them in this belief.

Work is a very important aspect in raising children. If a person doesn't work hard for what they get I believe that the desire is left unfulfilled. Abundance doesn't necessarily bring happiness if there is little work involved. I really admire farmers, they work really hard and at harvest time they must feel very satisfied see what their work created...food.

Yeah, well, what kind of lesson does it teach when you work all year growing a crop of peaches, watch them swell big ripe and fuzzy, and then have peach tree borers destroy the whole crop right before you pick them?

"You tried your best, and you failed miserably. The lesson is -- never try." <_<

I think Strawberry has made some very good points. And ProudDuck, you have got to be kidding with this post. ;):P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by curvette+Jan 21 2005, 06:11 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (curvette @ Jan 21 2005, 06:11 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--TheProudDuck@Jan 21 2005, 04:06 PM

my son (almost 1) wakes up every couple of hours in the night.  Concerning which, if anyone has any suggestions for dealing with said problem (short of punting the little stinker into the backyard), I'd be very grateful.

All but one of my five children woke up often at night when they were little. My favorite was when I let my youngest cry for a little while, and then she quieted down. I heard her babbling a while later, so I sneaked in to check on her. She had had a "poo poo diapy", and decided to decorate the crib and wall with it when I didn't jump up and change her. This was an intricately carved wooden crib with lots of little nooks and crannies. It was the longest night of my life!

(sorry I can't give better advice--I just think you are a heck of a nice guy to get up in the middle of the night with him--my husband never did!)

PD--from one who has been there, who was it that said, "This too will pass, my son". Just enjoy the fact that you have him and he is still close to you--it is amazing how fast that time passes and they are gone raising their own families.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by curvette+Jan 21 2005, 07:11 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (curvette @ Jan 21 2005, 07:11 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--TheProudDuck@Jan 21 2005, 04:06 PM

my son (almost 1) wakes up every couple of hours in the night.  Concerning which, if anyone has any suggestions for dealing with said problem (short of punting the little stinker into the backyard), I'd be very grateful.

All but one of my five children woke up often at night when they were little. My favorite was when I let my youngest cry for a little while, and then she quieted down. I heard her babbling a while later, so I sneaked in to check on her. She had had a "poo poo diapy", and decided to decorate the crib and wall with it when I didn't jump up and change her. This was an intricately carved wooden crib with lots of little nooks and crannies. It was the longest night of my life!

(sorry I can't give better advice--I just think you are a heck of a nice guy to get up in the middle of the night with him--my husband never did!)

:lol:

Luckily it was your youngest! I think we get much more relaxed (or tired) as we add to our families. ;)

So Curvette, did that episode keep you tensed up when she would fuss at night?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share