Taking responsibility
There is apparently consensus among American adults that this generation of very indulged children are hurling more social rudenesses than ever (from a piece in the NY Times today). Less than 10% of adults could say that they experienced children’s public behaviors as “respectful toward adults.”
I don’t think the answer is in how best to blame kids and their parents who spend more time with their children than perhaps any previous living generation. It has to do with how we, who supposedly are higher on the emotional intelligence food chain, engage them when they are in our presence. We need to take responsibility for engaging them in a way that makes it easy for them to act with the respect they will need to cultivate for any successful future job, relationship, and career.
November 27th, 2005 18:20
“Children todays are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food, and tyrannize their teachers.”
-Socrates
November 27th, 2005 21:09
What a great quote and the source and period is the wow factor.
November 28th, 2005 09:04
I recall reading once how European visitors to the US in the 19th century were shocked, just shocked at how outspoken American kids were at the time compared to their European peers. Seems that the visitors felt American kids weren’t as respectful of and deferential to authority as they should be.