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I mean in this day and age of memes and political polarization, I really don't know if sheltering children from the madness of our world really serves a point anymore.
Think about it, when children are over sheltered and over protected they will get an incredibly dysfunctional shock. This dysfunctional shock kills the versatility to adapt to various enviroments or focus on more dark topics(in my opinion anyways )
But what do you guys think? Should children still not be taught the rawness of society at all in this day and age? Or no, avoid hiding the world from them as much as possible?
I mean in this day and age of memes and political polarization, I really don't know if sheltering children from the madness of our world really serves a point anymore.
Think about it, when children are over sheltered and over protected they will get an incredibly dysfunctional shock. This dysfunctional shock kills the versatility to adapt to various enviroments or focus on more dark topics(in my opinion anyways )
But what do you guys think? Should children still not be taught the rawness of society at all in this day and age? Or no, avoid hiding the world from them as much as possible?
They grow up with a screen in front of their face now I think it’s pretty much impossible to hide the world from them. I think it’s a shame though. Childhood is supposed to be carefree, kids dont have enough knowledge to process what they see and here. They don’t need to spend childhood worrying about the future.
My neighbor's kids lived on 16 acres plus were homeschooled and I was thrilled for them. They both turned out to be smart, fine human beings. They luckily did not have to go through the awful years of peer pressure, bullying, gossip.
I have a niece who is 16 and has been homeschooled her entire life, with no access to the internet. The only TV she was allowed to watch was reruns of vintage comedy shows like Gilligan's Island on DVD.
She is sheltered to the point that it has handicapped her. You cannot carry on a typical conversation because she doesn't understand even the most basic of references. And this is only with her cousins, who are not exactly street thugs.
The thing is ... I can tell there is a part of her that knows she is missing something, and when she is finally allowed to question her upbringing, she will be in for quite a transition.
I think what I have always thought about this issue ... that part of raising children is to prepare them for the world in which they will live in ways that are age appropriate. I think they should have certain restrictions as they grow, but that they should be educated, busy, and informed. And they should be allowed to ask questions and speak their minds in ways that are productive, not destructive.
We need to work to raise kids who will have a positive effect on society, not kids who will hide from it.
We tried to allow things as we deemed age- or understanding-appropriate. As a young mom the leakage of things I wasn't ready to deal with made me frantic, unfortunately. I still had a lot of my own education, understanding and opinion-forming to do on controversial issues.
In the meantime I dealt with a lot of stuff just by saying, "It's not what we do" or "We don't say those words."
The advent of MTV and the first time I heard the F bomb on TV I realized that if I thought I was fighting a war then I might as well admit defeat right then and there. So I changed my strategy. From then on it was, "We'll talk about anything and everything."
I tried to approach everything from a health standpoint because I had education there and because ultimately that is the goal - to be healthy. That works for me and keeps the political and moral struggles to a minimum.
My children were reserved about candid, controversial conversations and still are. They do that somewhere else, I think. Probably sick of talking about health. LOL
Should children still not be taught the rawness of society
Sure, after they've learned math, science, health, personal finance, fitness, Excel, computer skills, civility, manners, sensitivity, maybe another spoken language, grocery shopping, cooking, home economics, several sports, swimming, investing, retirement planning, basic auto repair, geography, and personal hygiene. And ALL of these before middle school.
And you think they need to be exposed to the harsher realities of life? And if that IS what you think, can you give examples of what you think they need to know at that age?
We tried to allow things as we deemed age- or understanding-appropriate.
The advent of MTV and the first time I heard the F bomb on TV I realized that if I thought I was fighting a war then I might as well admit defeat right then and there. So I changed my strategy. From then on it was, "We'll talk about anything and everything."
I tried to approach everything from a health standpoint because I had education there and because ultimately that is the goal - to be healthy. That works for me and keeps the political and moral struggles to a minimum.
My children were reserved about candid, controversial conversations and still are. They do that somewhere else, I think.
This seems like the right approach and the one my parents took. IMHO my siblings and I didn't end up being overly naive or frightened by new things, nor are we cynical, desensitized or cavalier about most things our lives hand to us. None of us react to the same things in the same way either. We are individuals...and I think that is important.
Maybe the key is to present new information to a child based on the child...their developmental "age", their inclinations and individual personality. You could do your best to expose a child to reality in a responsible manner, but they might still reject your attempts. Three kids raised in much the same manner won't receive things identically.
I am not a parent so can't comment as well as those who are, but I have done a bit of teaching. Kids who happen to be in the same grade or the same age absorb and accept new information very differently. Some don't dive deep and others jump right into the depths.
The problem gets confounded by the parents' understanding of all these topics and how their own upbringing/exposure shaped them. If you have parent(s) who carry ignorant or very opinionated views about certain topics, or refuse to recognize them, that's going to rub off on their kids unless they are extremely diligent. You have to do more than present your views...you also have to force yourself to present the opposing ones. I often think about my dad...who held some fairly rigid cultural and racial prejudices. He wasn't overt about it AFAIK (outwardly abusing anyone). However, he never taught his kids that thinking this way was correct and wouldn't have tolerated it if we had. He seemed self aware enough to know he shouldn't pass this type of thinking on to anyone.
Raising decent, considerate, thoughtful humans seems like the hardest job on earth. Well, maybe not as hard as trying to change the path of one who isn't.
Last edited by Parnassia; 07-02-2019 at 02:17 PM..
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