Do You Really Want Your Kid To Have A Better Life Than You Had?
We've all said it, or at least thought it.
"I want my kid to have a better life than I had.
"But is that true?Better yet, is that truly good for your child? For generations, perhaps since the beginning of mankind, parents have sought a better life for their children.
We want them to have a good life, to be better parents than ours, and to not have to struggle as hard as we did.
It's natural.
It may even be necessary for the continuation of our species.
For many of us, our mission in life is to better our children's chances, and we associate this with being a "good parent".
Most of us that are now parents remember how much harder life was when we were growing up.
When we made a mistake, Dad was quick to pull the belt out and beat the tar out of us.
Nowadays, when our kids make a mistake, they MAY have to "suffer" in time-out.
When we were little, and it was raining outside, the best that we could do was read a book or watch one of the three channels on the T.
V.
Nowadays, kids can choose from playing on the internet, video game system, or filming their own movie on the camcorder.
Yes, in so many ways, our kids have such a better life than we had growing up.
With all of these changes that have added to the quality of our kids' experiences, many of us complain that kids these days have become lazy and spoiled.
Heck, most kids don't even bother with babysitting or cutting lawns to earn pocket change anymore.
They don't have to because we give them whatever they want.
It's hard to blame the kids for this.
Wouldn't you just sit on your lazy tail if you were in their position?Wouldn't you blog on the net instead of doing chores if you were given the choice as a child?Of course you would.
You see, kids haven't changed at all.
What has changed is parenting philosophies and social norms.
It has become our culture's standard to not whip our little ones, let them play on their electronic games, and no longer work.
Then again, it seems as if every generation has complained that the next one has become lazy and spoiled.
I imagine that some early cavemen complained that their kids were spoiled because they had fire whenever they wanted it, instead of waiting for the random forest fire like they had to do in the old days.
Is it really good for our child to make their life better than ours?Are we hurting them, or helping them?Maybe we will never know the true answer, but we sure can keep complaining.
Just like Caveman Joe did some 50,000 years ago.
"I want my kid to have a better life than I had.
"But is that true?Better yet, is that truly good for your child? For generations, perhaps since the beginning of mankind, parents have sought a better life for their children.
We want them to have a good life, to be better parents than ours, and to not have to struggle as hard as we did.
It's natural.
It may even be necessary for the continuation of our species.
For many of us, our mission in life is to better our children's chances, and we associate this with being a "good parent".
Most of us that are now parents remember how much harder life was when we were growing up.
When we made a mistake, Dad was quick to pull the belt out and beat the tar out of us.
Nowadays, when our kids make a mistake, they MAY have to "suffer" in time-out.
When we were little, and it was raining outside, the best that we could do was read a book or watch one of the three channels on the T.
V.
Nowadays, kids can choose from playing on the internet, video game system, or filming their own movie on the camcorder.
Yes, in so many ways, our kids have such a better life than we had growing up.
With all of these changes that have added to the quality of our kids' experiences, many of us complain that kids these days have become lazy and spoiled.
Heck, most kids don't even bother with babysitting or cutting lawns to earn pocket change anymore.
They don't have to because we give them whatever they want.
It's hard to blame the kids for this.
Wouldn't you just sit on your lazy tail if you were in their position?Wouldn't you blog on the net instead of doing chores if you were given the choice as a child?Of course you would.
You see, kids haven't changed at all.
What has changed is parenting philosophies and social norms.
It has become our culture's standard to not whip our little ones, let them play on their electronic games, and no longer work.
Then again, it seems as if every generation has complained that the next one has become lazy and spoiled.
I imagine that some early cavemen complained that their kids were spoiled because they had fire whenever they wanted it, instead of waiting for the random forest fire like they had to do in the old days.
Is it really good for our child to make their life better than ours?Are we hurting them, or helping them?Maybe we will never know the true answer, but we sure can keep complaining.
Just like Caveman Joe did some 50,000 years ago.