Modern life 'poisoning' childhood?

[Nevareion]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5337422.stm

 

A very interesting article and a point of view I have some sympathy for. When I and my girlfriend have children we are planning on moving abroad as we both feel that kids in the UK are pushed into being adult like far too early.

 

What do you lot think. Particularly those people who are younger and in the UK. Does this fit with what you have expeieienced, or is it just not true?

 

[trying again in the right forum...]

[Tamurin]

Well, I can't answer for the UK, but the recent development in Germany is concerning as well.

 

I think that there was a break somewhere around 1985 - 1995. Before that time there was little mass-media and advertising bombardement in Germany. Until the 80s there were just two half-governmental TV stations and in the 80s only a handful developed. You didn't sit in front of the TV the whole day and you did children-stuff.

 

During the 90s everything in that sector really exploded: Dozens of TV stations, Internet, cell phones and all the stuff around that. Mass marketing targeting tweens and teens. When I see an elementary-schoolkid with a cell phone I realize the difference between now and then.

 

Sum this up and add that many parents have no time for or don't really care about their kids and are just content if they can dump them in some "children custody station" like kindergarden, school or in front of the TV or the computer and you can see the picture. Who knows what effect this modern mass media has on a child's psyche?

 

The bottom line is: Without proper care for your children you cannot rise them right.

[Ide Jima]

That raises an interesting point, and one that I agree with completely. Looking around in just Haywards Heath, it seems that children go straight from being toddlers to young adults - either by fault of the way the parents treat children or the environment in which they are bought up - which makes me feel sorry for the child given that they have no choice in the matter eitherway.

[Nevareion]

It is quite scary how young some children get bought adult style clothes, or makeup and jewelry, these days. It really can't be healthy for society to do that.

[Haken]

I don't really see the direct link between fast food and performance they put up in the article.

 

I think in Belgium it's still pretty ok. Yes, two years ago, in high school, I did see first-graders with g-strings, but they were still childish in their behaviour and that's the issue it's all about. Dressing slutty doesn't have anything to do with dressing like an adult. It's a general occurance in the Western society and it will more than probably pass in my lifetime.

 

Yes, children have more luxury than the previous generation. Does that make the entire generation spoiled? No, because every generation gets more luxury. That's what you get with technological advancements.

 

Things change and people should learn to live with it. Past doesn't mean better. You can't trust memories. Young people use to have more respect for old people? When the old people beat up the young people, I call that fear. The community used to be more closer? That has been swapped with people joining all kinds of organisations, where they find people with more similair intrests. And if you think that being a child use to be playing with your friends in the forrest, take into account, you may be remembering a television program instead of the doll truth.

 

Perhaps children look more like adults sooner, but that's normal in my eyes. People are smarter each generation. Direct evolution on a short term.

 

Society is tougher on everybody now and it is needed, because these rude, disrespectful, spoiled kids will be one of the first that only give money, because of the aging.

 

They need to pay more for the pension of their parents.

They need to save more money because their pension is going to be smaller.

They need to raise and pay a new generation.

 

And above all, in Belgium, I'm going to have to pay of my share of the enormous debt the government had made in the time that everything used to be better (read: payed by the government).

 

The kids better be ready...

 

This rant was brought to you by Hannes De Ridder, tired of reading letters in the papers and magazines of old people blaiming everything on the youth

[Nevareion]

I agree with some of what you say but I think it is worth saying that a lot of the issues the article talks about are no way near as serious in Belgium as they currently are in the UK.