Kids Today: 8 Things That are Different From my Childhood

Today's generation of kids, what has happened to them? They don't know how to get out and get fresh air, they don't help around the house, they are demanding and disrespectful. What happened to the days of playing outside, riding a bike or walking to a friends house, getting a butt whooping for talking back or being disrespectful? Did parents get soft, have the kids taken over, or has society made it ok for kids to be lazy and rude.

Times have changed and not necessarily for the better. I have encountered so many kids anywhere from preteen to teenagers that are rude, self-entitled, and disrespectful. What happened, why is this ok?

The things I grew up on aren't even heard of today. Today's generation of kids doesn't even know what discipline is, what manners are, or how to help others and be selfless. They are spoiled rotten, rude, entitled and just plain lazy. There are so many things that have changed since my childhood and here are a few of them.

1. Manners

I was taught to say "please", "Thank You", "Your Welcome". I was taught to address my elders as "Ma'am" or "Sir". When I was growing up you didn't even think about forgetting these phrases, they were taught early on, and engrained in your brain. Forgetting these simple and polite phrases would be the difference between getting punished and getting what you want.

Today's kids don't even know what these phrases mean let alone how to use them. They walk into a store and ask for an item with no please or thank you. They don't address their elders as sir or ma'am, they say hey, or nothing at all and just ask. It's sad because you know their parents weren't raised that way.

2. Depending on Parents for a Ride Everywhere

I rode my bike or walked to my friend's houses, the store, the park, school, and when I was old enough to the bus stop to get to the mall. I survived being outdoors and getting exercise to get where I wanted to go. My parents were busy working, keeping up with the house and taking care of my siblings. They weren't going to drop what they were doing to drive me a block away. I never even thought of asking them to drive me places, unless it was far away or on the other side of the highway.

Today's kids, won't get off the couch and go a block away unless their parents will drive them. They play on it's dangerous to ride our bikes or walk, and in certain high crime areas, I am sure it is. However, we had pedophiles and weirdos when I was a kid and we still made it from point a to point b safely. Kids just need to stop being lazy, because parents work much more today than they did when I was a kid.

3. Drinking Water from the Water Hose

This was how we quenched our thirst while playing outside. Hot and sweaty we weren't tracking dirt across mom's freshly mopped floor, we got our drink from the water hose and guess what we survived. Water was water and we were thirsty and we didn't even need a glass to drink it.

Today's kids can't drink water unless it cost $3 a bottle and comes from some foreign land. It's puzzling to see what society has created, and the fear instilled about dying from something because you drank from the water hose. Little do most people know that the water in the bottle came from a faucet somewhere.

4. Video Games

When I was a kid, yeah we had video games we got to play once in a while. We Atari, Ninetendo, Sega Gensis. Very Seldom did we play them because they were in the living room and dad was watching the news or some war movie. We played outside, running the neighborhood streets, playing hide and seek, riding our bikes or sitting around with friends telling stories. We simply weren't inside.

Today's kids, sit around and play video games and computer games with their friend's next door on the internet. They have no clue what it's like to go outside and play. I have seen kids as young as 6-10 years old spend an entire day on the computer or video game playing with friends and strangers. Yet parents wonder why their kid is unhealthy or doesnt have friends. They don't have to get out of the house because they aren't made to.

5. Chores

Afterschool and on weekends I had chores. I had to clean my room, do the dishes, walk the dog, take the trash out, vacuum the floors, mow the lawn and help my parents around the house. It was how I earned money for things I wanted. This one thing is what helped me learn to work hard for the things I want. It taught me that I needed to work to earn money.

Kids now don't know what chores are or earning money. They expect their parents to give them money. They feel they are entitled to money or objects without earning it. That is why there is very little work ethic in today's society.

6. Respect

Respect goes with manners. I was raised to respect people, places, and things. I respected people in general, offered help when I saw someone in need, carried groceries for the neighbor, or held a door for someone. I didn't just throw my belonging around, I put them away. I respected others homes and property as well as friends parents.

Nowadays kids just walk into places don't hold doors, they will drop their trash on the ground, throw their cups and bags out the car window. They have no respect for what they are given. They will throw the things that their parents give them around or leave them where ever. They have no respect for the iPods, computers, video games and other things their parents spend their hard earned money on.

7. Cellphones

What the hell is a cell phone?? When I was a kid we had payphones and home phones. If we needed to make a phone call, we either had change to use the payphone or called collect. We asked to use our friend's house phone. Our parents had the phone numbers to who ever's house we were at. There was no cell phone attached to our hips. They didn't even exist. As I grew up pagers became a thing, but kids still didn't have them.

Cellphones are in the pocket of every child, I can't get over the fact that every kid 8 years old or older I see has a cell phone in their hand. You don't see pay phones anymore, in fact, most kids don't even know what a pay phone is. My kids at 5 and 6 years old already know how to use a cell phone better than me. Can someone please tell me what has happened to kids today?

8. Family Values

I was raised with family values, I valued my mom, dad, grandparents and the time I got to spend with them. I looked forward to family trips and outings, family dinners and get-togethers. Holidays were about family getting together and catching up on what has been happening in their lives, sharing stories and photos and eating food.

These days there are no family values, kids don't know the meaning of family get-togethers, family meals, outings or trips. For many reasons family just isn't as important today as it was 20 years ago. Siblings don't even stick together, watch out for each other or protect each other. Most holiday's don't consist of a family being together anymore, it's just another day in the neighborhood. It's saddening to see what this world is turning into.

At the end of the day, times have changed, people have changed and what's important has changed. Change is good most of the time, however, sometimes it is not. People can change how they raise their kids, but shouldn't necessarily change the values, integrity and work ethic that their children are raised with. Today's generation of kids will one day be adults raising children of their own and because they weren't taught how to respect, have manners, value family, and work hard for what they want, they aren't going to pass those values down to their children.

Who is to blame for this? We are all to blame, society has placed stereotypes on people, just to monetarily survive in this world parents are home less and less to teach their children these important values all for the mighty dollar to survive on. Many parents figure if their kids are home playing video games, at least they aren't out in the world getting into trouble. It's truly disheartening to see what the times are coming to.

We should be able to rely on the teachers at school to teach these children the things that their parent's can't or aren't teaching them at home. But our teachers are expected to teach so many other things to prepare them for life, and they are limited on time and funding to teach what they need to. Parents need to take some responsibility for something in their children's lives. It all comes down to parenting.