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I am 20 and I agree with the OP. Childhood has gotten even longer. I have seen some posts with 22-25 year olds claiming to have never worked a day in their lives. Shocking.
Fifty years ago, I would have been expected to be married with two or three children. Now? It is normal to be single with no children at 20.
"Kids grow up too fast these days?" Am i missing something or does this not seem true at all? It seems to me that kids mature less mentally and emotionally now then in the past, and are slower to leave the nest. Now granted I'm only 26 and can only really see the difference between my older sisters generation, and teens of today, the rest i have to rely on stories of older people. But i wonder where this mythic long lived childhood existed within american history, because i sure don't see it.
That isn't really about their growing up mentally or maturity too fast. Many times its what acts society does to bring them into adult situations at that stage of development. Just commercially they have adult behavour thrust upon them. Often itmeans conflcict of if they follow or listen to aprental advise or the advise of thsoe who want to actually take advantage of that immaturity for their own devices.
So speaking of inability to do ANYTHING. At a family party tonight, my cousin (17 years old!) couldnt figure out how to make hot chocolate, then couldnt figure out how to put the lid on the coffee cup. She said daddy always does it. So i told daddy to stop! He said she cant do anything. You know how to teach her? Stop doing it for her!! Jiminy cricket
Ha, no, probably not. I can remember being a teenager and being shocked when my grandmother told me that her older sister was married at 15 and that her father pushed her to get married at that age because she had a boyfriend and he was afraid she would "have" to get married. I thought NOBODY had sex back then before they were married so the idea that her father was worried about her sister getting pregnant was shocking.
Years later I was in a cemetery where a lot of my ancestors are buried. There was great-aunt Bertha's headstone, and close by was her daughter. She was born when Aunt Bertha was just 16.
So speaking of inability to do ANYTHING. At a family party tonight, my cousin (17 years old!) couldnt figure out how to make hot chocolate, then couldnt figure out how to put the lid on the coffee cup. She said daddy always does it. So i told daddy to stop! He said she cant do anything. You know how to teach her? Stop doing it for her!! Jiminy cricket
I was completely disgusted with a friend of mine a few years ago. She did everything pretty much for her daughter, including her homework. She wouldn't even let her order her own food in a restaurant--claimed that her mouthy, obnoxious daughter was too shy to talk to the waiter.
But the worst part was when we went on vacation together with our girls when they were 13 years old and we were trying to get out of the hotel in the morning to go somewhere. My daughter and I were ready, but her (very overweight) daughter was sitting in the chair, stuffing a bagel with cream cheese into her mouth, while her mother knelt on the floor in front of her shoving her sneakers on her feet and then tying them. The memory of that scene is repulsive.
On that same trip, the daughter was supposed to take a shower but hadn't started and we who were waiting to take showers after her couldn't figure out why. It turned out her mother had left the hotel room to do something, and the daughter didn't know how to turn the water on in the shower. She told us that her mother always started the shower for her and got it to the right temperature at home.
I think when people use that phrase, most of it refers to sexuality. In past generations, kids did not date until they were 16 or older, and they certainly weren't dressing like hoochies at the age of 8 nor were the clothing choices available to dress that way. They also didn't have such broad knowledge of the way the world was beyond their communities in many cases.
However, you are right. In some ways they are much more immature. In medieval times, teenagers were leading armies to reclaim kingdoms or fight tyrants. Even here in the US, many kids in the past didn't go beyond 8th grade before they went out to work to help support the family.
How many teenagers these days even know how to do basic things like sew on a button or cook a simple meal for themselves?
This is not true at all. Even as recently as the 70's people were getting MARRIED at age 18. It was not uncommon for kids to graduate from high school and have a wedding 2 months later-and not because they needed to get married, it was just done. Hoochie dressing, are you kidding, back in the 70's hot pants and halter tops were all the rage, and you certainly did not wear a bra with your halter top.
Way back when I was young, kids were dating in 4th, 5th, 6th grades. It is not new. Having premarital sex and getting pregnant isn't new. What is new is these teens keeping their babies. It used to be if you were from a 'well to do" family and your daughter got pregnant, she was sent to "boarding school" and the baby was given up for adoption. If you were not well to do, the girl was sent to "live with family" and the baby was given up for adoption.
In Midevil times, 18 was middle aged with a life expectant of 40.
As for clocks, so what, it's old technology. How many here can use a slide ruler? I know plenty of people that have teenagers themselves that can't sew on a button, hem pants or cook but they do know how to look up a seamstress on the internet or order take-out. How many people over the age of 50 do you know that can't effectively use a computer other than getting their emails? To me that is way worse than a kid not being able to read an analog clock--although every kid I know can read an analog clock.
I do agree that parents do WAY too much for their kids. I don't think this is the fault of the kids vs parents feeling that if their child isn't perfect it's a reflection on their parenting skills.
This is not true at all. Even as recently as the 70's people were getting MARRIED at age 18. It was not uncommon for kids to graduate from high school and have a wedding 2 months later-and not because they needed to get married, it was just done. Hoochie dressing, are you kidding, back in the 70's hot pants and halter tops were all the rage, and you certainly did not wear a bra with your halter top.
Way back when I was young, kids were dating in 4th, 5th, 6th grades. It is not new. Having premarital sex and getting pregnant isn't new. What is new is these teens keeping their babies. It used to be if you were from a 'well to do" family and your daughter got pregnant, she was sent to "boarding school" and the baby was given up for adoption. If you were not well to do, the girl was sent to "live with family" and the baby was given up for adoption.
In Midevil times, 18 was middle aged with a life expectant of 40.
As for clocks, so what, it's old technology. How many here can use a slide ruler? I know plenty of people that have teenagers themselves that can't sew on a button, hem pants or cook but they do know how to look up a seamstress on the internet or order take-out. How many people over the age of 50 do you know that can't effectively use a computer other than getting their emails? To me that is way worse than a kid not being able to read an analog clock--although every kid I know can read an analog clock.
I do agree that parents do WAY too much for their kids. I don't think this is the fault of the kids vs parents feeling that if their child isn't perfect it's a reflection on their parenting skills.
I grew up in the 70's and while some teen girls dressed like tramps, it was not the norm. Especially for the under 12 crowd. Kids are sexualized by society before their age even has a second digit these days. I see 8 year olds wearing bikini's at the beach.
You're correct that girls got married at 16 100 years ago but they were mature enough to handle it. However, a girl marrying at 16 very likely had not even started to menstruate. My mom grew up in the 50's and didn't begin her cycle until she was 17. By comparison, I was 14 and my dd was 11 (hormones in the meat and milk) Today, we have a strange mix. Our kids aren't kids very long at all but they fail to mature until they're well into their 20's. That is due to lack of responsibility.
I bet it's one of those things every generation says.
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