Are We Raising a Generation of Wimps? (1 Viewer)

[Yee-Ming]

Short answer, yeah, probably. Years ago in the scouts, we were pretty much allowed to get into all sorts of scrapes, in later years as a senior it seemed the school was getting all paranoid about things and clamping down on activities, vetoing anything we planned, and I'm pretty sure nowadays scouting is nothing like what I did. And even when we were scouts, the old-timers were already tut-tutting about our "wimpy-ness".

As for math and spelling, it's either right or it's wrong. No such thing as "nearly there". Sure, give some points for getting the underlying principles right (in math), but if the answer is wrong, it's wrong. Would we as adults be allowed to plead to the officer pulling us over for speeding that "60 is pretty close to 55 mph..." ? Don't think so (whether getting pulled over for just 5-over is another issue, see other thread )

 

[Jamie Goff]

I did South elementary k-6, 7th grade at Nathaniel Morton, then off to P.C (back when C meant Carver).I.S. for 8th. Then to a brand new Plymouth South High, first class to go all four years, and I am an Eagle, not a freakin Panther.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

If my boy goes to a school that has "invented spelling", then the local government is getting my "invented tax revenue".

Kids are kids, all kids are different. What works for one may not work for another. But this fairly recent push into protecting them has long since swung the pendulum into overprotection, which is very, very dangerous for young folks.

At critical points in their development, they are being taught that close enough is good enough, and that discipline is punishment. Neither are true.

I do think a major driver of this is litigation. The court of law has become a lottery ticket. That drives the system. That, and candy ass parents.

 

[Chu Gai]

If all this is so objectionable, and at least for me and some others it is, how do we stop 'raising a generation of wimps'?

 

[MarkMel]

Get rid of the lawyers.

 

[Shane Martin]

Better more involved parenting. IMHO.

 

[dana martin]

be a Parent, don't be there friends, set boundaries and keep them to it, make them responsible for there actions, pretty simple.

 

[Mark Sherman]

very well said My parents were parents when I was growing up not my friends. I had respect for my dad because well,he coud Kick my ass. I remember.well I think i do. I had a little quibble with my mom about something and I got an upper cut that laid me out for the count. Need less to say I didn't yell at my mom after that.


I was not The biggest guy around growing up but I could throw down with the rest of em if i had to. I had another thing going for me growing up My brother was Just HUGE and very protective of his little brother. I remember when I was about 7 or 8 one day a BULLY was picking on me. He was holding onto me by my jacket and looked at me "Whats your name Kid?..............MARK!!!!!!!!!.............MARK WHAT!!!!!!????????????...........SHERMAN!!!!!!!!!! . This Kid turned three shades of white and just took off.
I didn't hide behind the blanket of having a BIG older brother. That all changed my Freshman year when I BEAT THE LIVING SHIT out a guy who thought he was all that,I guess he wasn't. But I did have to pay for some of his medical bills and his dental bills. Come to find out I broke his nose and knocked out 2 of his teeth to which he had to get root canal therapy and Braces. I had no problems the rest of my High School days after that little scuffle.

 

[Shane Martin]

Nowadays kids will sue or call the cops on them for child endangerment of some sorts. They no longer fear their parents which is part of the problem which is basically a sheer lack of discipline.

 

[Christ Reynolds]

easy. we get parents to be responsible for their kids, and we get the kids to be more independent and make decisions on their own. in other words, we can't.

CJ

 

[Richard Kim]

I'm sorry, I'm all for discipline but hitting a kid hard enough to knock him out is considered child abuse and should be prosecuted.

 

[Bob McLaughlin]

On the other side of the coin, we have a lot of ultra-competitive parents nowadays who push their kids way too hard and that can be bad too.

As a kid I had no problem with friendly competition but kids and parents can be cruel towards the kids who don't match up as well as the rest. I was forced to play baseball as a kid every year and although I could throw and catch a ball well enough, I was a terrible hitter. Year after year I was berated by my teammates and told how much I "stinked". Even the kids who otherwise liked me would tell me I should quit. I agreed with them, but my parents told me that playing baseball would be 'good' for me, whatever that meant. Most of my coaches were nice to me but I had one mean one who I will never forget--of course, his kid played on the team and was the perfect jock. He yelled at me a lot but I don't remember him taking time to work with me to make me better.

I put up with this for several years before I could finally convince my parents to let me quit. To be fair, I honestly don't think the experience had any negative effect on my self-esteem, I just didn't like playing baseball. It's funny because now as an adult I realize how much better I am at softball than most other adults simply because I played baseball at all. I can go to the batting cages and hit the ball better than most.

I think parents need to listen to what their kids want--they don't always know what's best for their kids. The most fun I had as a kid was not something my parents chose for me--Boy Scouts. My parents were worried it would cost too much, so I paid for all my own equipment with my paper route money. No, I didn't care whether I ever made Eagle Scout, (that was for the ultra-driven competitive types) but I had a lot of fun camping, hiking, boating, fishing, etc.

 

[Mark Sherman]

yes and no. Yes He hit me and yes I deserved it. But Child abuse not to sure. In my eyes A guy who comes home from the bar shit faced avery night and Kicks the shit out his kid for the hellof itor locks him in a closet tied up with no food for a week to me thats abuse. Im not going to go on Oprah or Dr phil saying that my dad beat me or that I was an abused kid.Hell I told my parents the other day THANKS for being who they are and raising me the right way. Without them I never would have been able to do what I have done without them. They tought me ho to handle money. ( I just Bought my second house) they tought me how to cook, clean all the stuff that some of my friends have no idea how to do. All of the kids in my family have turned out Great. My Brother owns his own Company. My sister is an asst Vice President at a Mortgage co. And I am Just me. Stand Up comedian, DJ,Photoghrapher, Drummer, and a salesman. why cause my parents tought us well.





THANKS MOM AND DAD

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Bob, you are correct to a point, but part of life is learning you have to do things that are not enjoyable, even things you hate, YOu say it left no negative effect on your self-esteem. To tell you the truth, it probably had a great effect on your self-esteem. You realized that you were not the best, that the world can be cruel to those who are not the best and, in the end it does not really matter when you get down to it. If "child experts" would start to realize that self-esteem is not gained by propping up every little failure as a success, making it seem like every child is an uberkid, the world would be a better place.

Hey, I wish my parents had forced me to take piano lessons. If they did, I wouldn't be trying to take them at 40 with carpal tunnel syndrome wreaking havoc on my hands.

 

[dana martin]

my mother has apologized a thousand time to me, in the last ten years for what she thought was being to hard on me,and all i can do is kiss her forehead and say thank you Mam, you did a good job don't apologize, i have manners, i understand respect, i know that if i do something wrong, expect something to happen from it.
I only hope that my children understand that is my role model, and i think a damn good one, for the person who stated here is my point, she is a widowed woman age 32 at the time, it's 1976 and you have three teenage boys, you stand 5'4" and weigh 135 lbs, you better be able to back it up, and to tell the truth she did once, that was all it took. Not knocked out but put me on my @$$

 

[WillG]

Here's a link to a site that has people talking about some more of these rules that I mentioned in my initial post.

It's from a Opie and Anthony message board so you might not want to follow the link if you are at work and some of the opinions are a bit "Strong" at times, so if you are easilly offended, you might want to avoid as well.

http://www.wackbag.com/showthread.php?t=38860

 

[dana martin]

for those of you with younger children, you have my prayers, i only have to worry about one more, to make it through high school, thank god because it is a challenge. Some of my biggest concerns are safety, i am not whining, i am complaining, kids have to feel somewhat confused on this issue, if school is supposed to be a safe place, then why have a metal detector at so many of them, why have police or security, "this is a safe environment"

I think as we become more tech orientated, i am guilty, of not spending enough time, or teaching, how many fathers teach there kids how to change the oil in the car, well you see you take it to jiffy lube, no i mean crawl under the car and show them,
no now quality time is sitting on the couch watching someone play x box.

I don't mean to offend any one with this, but i think the joke goes, why do we have 10,000 laws the cover the same thing that is stated in the 10 Commandments, because there is a loophole in there somewhere.
that is part of what is wrong.

 

[JonZ]

"Hey, I wish my parents had forced me to take piano lessons"

My mother did. I had no choice. Once a week from 10-15 years old.At 15 she finally allowed me to quit when I told her I wanted to take up the guitar.

It suprised alot of people when they found out I took piano lessons. I was a heavy metal kid in a catholic school.

 

[Chris Lockwood]

"linear thinking belongs in Asia"

What does that even mean? Some reference to Asian people doing better in science, or what?

It reminds me of Planet of the Apes, where one species is the scientists, another the gov't, etc.

And I'm not trying to compare any people to apes, just pointing out how stupid it sounds to me.

 

[MickeS]

ANyone who advocates beating your children (don't give me any crap about calling it beating, that's exactly what it is) is no better than those who don't discipline at all.

If you're a good parent you don't need to resort to violence just because you think you've run out of options.

No wonder there are problems in this country when the only answer given in this thread is that people should be allowed to beat up others more freely.