Are We Creating A Generation of Jerks?
On the Wall Street Journal Site there is an article that places the blame for narcissistic, self-absorbed, entitled children (even college students) on Mr. Rogers.
You know, the sweater wearing nice guy who talked to puppets and told us all how special we are.
Well, in the article the author doesn’t say Mr. Rogers is solely to blame, but that the incessant doting and coddling of children is. When we make life all about them instead of all about life.
Now, I’m no parent, yet, but I tend to agree. Each generation of kids (especially Americans), seems to be brattier and brattier.
Why do you think this is?
One of the things that the article was saying is that some of the parenting methods that were a result of the 60s and 70s seemed like they were good at the time, but have produced successive generations of entitled brats.
Instead of seeing lower grades as an accurate reflection of their work and as motivation to work harder, more and more students feel it is their right to get a better grade because they showed up to class and put in an effort.
Sounds to me like the same kids whose parents came up with the no score little league games. Nobody wins or loses! You’re all special. Seems harmless enough but in the end it appears that these “child absorbed” tactics are producing kids that don’t deal well with adult situations.
Why is this?
Probably because we talk to them on their level and make the world revolve around them from day one. Maybe we should be adults a little more instead of making everything about them and raise our kids with more exposure to real life situations. Talk about OUR lives and invite them into OUR worlds. Kids need to see parents deal with real world stuff. They don’t need obsessive coddling.
Seems to me like a good concept. Teach them to live in a world that they will one day have to live in themselves…one that won’t always revolve around them.
Teach them that not one single person owes them anything and that if they want to achieve and accomplish good things in life they need to work hard and earn them.
By the way, my parents told me I was special regularly, but they also grounded me for bad grades, gave me chores, and under NO circumstances allowed me or my siblings to play video games or watch tv for hours on end! They didn’t let the world revolve around us and they truly MENTORED us in the Word, in God’s love and in life. They showed us how our worlds could revolve around God.
Thanks Mom & Dad!
I think it’s larger than parenting.
Inner-city youth face real life situations. They’re forced to grow up a lot faster. They manipulate, are street smart, and know how to work the system. Sometimes they may not be raised with their parents.
They’re still self-absorbed and feel entitled.
We live in a consumerist economy. The way to survive is to consume. Focus on and feed “I”. Get yours, ‘cuz I’m gonna get mine.
Indeed. Great perspective here. I definitely come from a limited worldview. Thanks for broadening my view a bit!
Part of me still want to think that one of the underlying causes of the self-absorbed-ness of this “me” generation (whether they come from the inner-city, woods or burbs) is a lack of moral definitions. Call it parentless-ness. Call it fatherless-ness. Labels don’t mean much when it comes down to it. There is something significantly different now than 100 years ago in society at large. It doesn’t mean that the world was perfect, but there is definitely a different paradigm and framework of what is considered to be upright.
So whether it’s the spoiled brat in an uppity neighborhood or a street wise kid from downtown, the end result is the same: the focus is on me. And I do feel like that that end result would change if there were more positive influence during the formative years.
Ha! That’s funny right there… blaming Mr. Rogers… Pee Wee Herman maybe… Kids get a lot of “real life” experience at public school, like bullying, school shootings, foul language. The list could go on but my point is, Mr.Rogers isn’t to blame and neither are most of the parents as far as the root cause goes. It all goes back to taking God out of school in 1964. No higher power to be responsible to leads one to place one’s self at the position of personal deity. Basically I agree with Brendyn, it goes much deeper than parenting. It goes to the core of the immorality of our society and the “I want it now” culture and the “It’s all about me” message that we are all bombarded with daily.
I definitely think that’s one of the factors, but training a kid to be a moral adult starts in the home. I think the general “decay” of society begins to unravel when individual families don’t stand for what’s right, and in the end you have things like the omission of spirituality in public places (i.e. prayer removed from school).
I agree with you, in that sense though, that the continued attack on spirituality (some would say Christianity) in the school and the public at large is definitely a factor in the “shift” in what is considered acceptable behavior culturally.
Boundries. If the word is unfamilier it is because parents don’t use them! It doesn’t matter where the kid comes from, wether it is rural or inner city, if a parent doeesn’t set boundries there is going to be problems. Our generation doesn’t make our kids work for anything, or expect them to do anything great that isn’t handed to them. Forget blaming Mr. Rogers, blame the NBA! I think I can find many things to blame Mr. Rogers for, but not this.
I think a parent who loves God (single or married) sets the best example by living out a God-centered life. You teach by actions and when we as parents cater to and coddle our children or in another sense (as Brendyn brought up) when we abandon our children or choose to leave them behind to pursue OUR own lives we create a generation of kids who look out only for themselves.
I think the ultimate cause is the examples being set for them in their formative years are ones that cause them to think more highly of themselves than they ought.
I think a parent who loves God (single or married) sets the best example by living out a God-centered life. You teach by actions and when we as parents cater to and coddle our children or in another sense (as Brendyn brought up) when we abandon our children or choose to leave them behind to pursue OUR own lives we create a generation of kids who look out only for themselves.
I think the ultimate cause is the examples being set for them in their formative years are ones that cause them to think more highly of themselves than they ought.
I definitely think that’s one of the factors, but training a kid to be a moral adult starts in the home. I think the general “decay” of society begins to unravel when individual families don’t stand for what’s right, and in the end you have things like the omission of spirituality in public places (i.e. prayer removed from school).
I agree with you, in that sense though, that the continued attack on spirituality (some would say Christianity) in the school and the public at large is definitely a factor in the “shift” in what is considered acceptable behavior culturally.