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how does the youth in your area act,dress,talk,etc..even though plainfield is a great town to live in some of the youth can cause some major problems they vandalize public buildings,beat people up,steal,break in to cars,break into houses,drink,smoke,chew tobacco, they talk slang which is very annoying and hard to understand and is stupid, they dress like wannabie gangsters or sluts and almost all the time they act stupid and will never go anywhere in life except to the prison,hospital,or graveyard
First of all, gdude, as a parent of two teenagers, I think you are overgeneralizing. I will forgive you for this though as I know many older people tend to think younger generations are disrespectful, don't know proper English, have no ambition, etc. The young people I personally know are quite the opposite. Perhaps you have come to this opinion because these young people stand out a bit more in a crowd??? The ones that are working hard at jobs, or school, or sports are not always as noticable.
The young people in my town, and being Bloomington, there are ten's of thousands of them, dress in a wide variety of ways. Do some of the young women dress in a more revealing way than I would? Yes, but so what? If I knew at 17 or 18 what I know now, I might have dressed like that too. Do I see young men with their pants down far enough to show their boxers. Sure. It looks stupid, but it really doesn't hurt me.
When we moved to Bloomington from the Chicago suburbs I did notice more young people seemed to dress like gangster wannabes but not so much anymore. I found it ironic as most of them had no clue about what a true gang is or the connotations that brings to mind for some people. Having listened to the Chicago news for years gangsters equal senseless killing in my mind. For many young people, far removed from areas where gangs are a true problem, it's just a way to look like a favorite entertainer. Again, nothing new here. Young people have adopted the fashions of the entertainment industry for decades.
At our house, we pick and choose our battles. Clothing is not typically a battle we choose to fight. I think because we have not made it an area where our children felt a little rebellion might go a long way, they tend to dress pretty conservatively.
Do young people use slang here? Of course. Has it reached a point where I can't understand most of them? No. Young people like to develop a language that makes them feel different from their parents and other older people. It's gone on for generations. I'm willing to bet you uttered a few words your parents found inappropriate or ridiculous.
As for the other complaints regarding petty crimes: blame the economy, the lack of parental supervision, a poor police force, the lack of other, more productive outlets for young people in your town, etc. There are as many reasons for this kind of behavior as there are young people. It may not be right, but this stuff goes on in many places. Overall I don't think it's a major issue among teens in Bloomington. I'm more concerned with the drinking and driving issue that is prevalent among the college students here.
Perhaps instead of complaining about how stupid they all are and how they will end up in jail, you might consider stepping up and organizing some sort of activity to get them involved in your town and make them feel like they are an important part of it. From things I've read, young people that are made to feel like an important part of a community are far less likely to engage in anti-social behavior. Maybe that's the problem in Plainfield.
I read an interesting statistic about teens and marijuana yesterday.
It is perceived that nearly 60% of teens do or have smoked.
But in actuality only 16% have.
Teens are often perceived in a negative light by those older than them. I'm not sure if its because the older ones remember how they were at that age, or just mistrust, or what the reasoning. Regardless, this should stop before it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.
how does the youth in your area act,dress,talk,etc..even though plainfield is a great town to live in some of the youth can cause some major problems they vandalize public buildings,beat people up,steal,break in to cars,break into houses,drink,smoke,chew tobacco, they talk slang which is very annoying and hard to understand and is stupid, they dress like wannabie gangsters or sluts and almost all the time they act stupid and will never go anywhere in life except to the prison,hospital,or graveyard
So how does youth in your area act?,dress?,talk?
That's what I see too.
A case in point:
My good friends have a 16 yr old daughter. At 14 she was busted for falling down the stairs at a party - stone drunk! Her parents grounded her for 2 weeks.
Many times during the past two years she has broken curfew, ignores warnings, verbally abused her parents and siblings and continues to dress like a $2 hooker.
I've observed her personally for the past several months and I cannot believe this is the same little girl I've watched grow up! She is completely disrespectful to both parents, to me and my wife and to her siblings. It seems she suddenly hates the world!
The latest episode was a public arrest! She was loaded at a party - when she had told her parents she was spending the night at another friends home! So, she's busted again, for lying, being drunk, and smoking pot! She was grounded for 30 days.
For her, lying, cheating, stealing, abusing alcohol, smoking pot, and getting arrested is no big deal. She blows it off as if nothing has happened.
Her parents keep telling me, 'we're good parents, why is this happening?" My response is always the same - When you don't discipline her with some sort of punishment, there is no downside to her behavior. Unless she is made to realize that her behavior will bring about SEVERE punishment of some kind, she'll just continue to manipulate you and her surroundings.
I think many parents face the same delima. They feel their kids are 'good kids', with a few minor issues and they will grow out of it.
OK. Sure.
If parents will stop treating teenagers like their 'little babies' - and start handing out severe dicipline for bad behavior - maybe it will begin to change.
But, until that happens, we're going to continue to see this 'slide into the street'.
Thank You. If parents do not teach their kids to "man up" accept responsibility for their actions, then the state will. Which do you think is the most responsible thing for these "good parents with good kids" to do. I can tell you from personal experience, I would have rather had my liberal a parents to punish me than the federal judge who did.
I remember my parents telling me in my early teenage years that my behavior is a reflection of them and that if I choose to screw up, I'm on my own to suffer the consequences and silly me, I believed them. To this day, I know that my parents would kick me to the curb if I act like a jerk ... and I'm 40! No grounding, no spankings ... immediate shunning. It worked.
It's too bad your friends are going through this, but it's kind of obvious that grounding doesn't work. Next time she gets arrested, don't bail her out! See what she does when she knows that Mom and Dad aren't going to be there. Tough love, yes .. but this child seems to be asking for it.
The really sad thing about the whole mess is that while I can see the entire 'picture', my friends are so invested in their childrens lives that they can't 'see the forrest for the trees'!
I've tried several times, with a few of my little 'hints', to reach them. I've even said things like, 'these kids need to be weaned!', and, 'Did your Mom let you get away with that kind of behavior?', and, 'If she talked to me like that she would be picking herself up from the floor!'
All I get in return is, 'we're GOOD parents, why is this happening?' They just don't believe they have made any mistakes or done anything wrong.
They feel that somehow, someway, their little girl has been abducted by aliens, or influenced by the 'wrong crowd', or 'It's that other girls fault!'. They can't get their heads around the fact that it is THEM! They are the problem!
I have a very difficult time trying to balance our friendship while I watch a lovely little girl turn into disrespectful witch! She is often so sullen and moody. Her responses to 'Hello' are one word 'Hi', or more often, just a grunt. I've let them know that I'm not comfortable visiting when she is at home. Maybe she will grow out of it - but, her family is living on pins and needles while she tries to find herself!
Often, I would like to put her on the ground and put my foot on her chest and say, 'when you learn to behave like a person, I'll stop treating you like a dog!' But, of course that's not the answer.
It sure is frustrating to witness this and not be able to do anything about it.
The parents have given control of the house to their child ... that's the problem right there! No matter how much I used to act "emo", I always knew my parents were in control. Asserting control now will take a lot of time and a lot of headaches.
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