Teens These days....

[Thisisme18]

So...don't be fooled by the title. It doesn't belong in the teen section. But it might, I don't know. Anyways, I have noticed some factors in teens these days. They drink, smoke and they have intercourse. I mean I'm all for babies (yay) and kids and all that, but save it for marriage. We don't need any unwed mothers and all that. It's horrific.

[Vorlan]

I hate to say it but there is nothing new about kids smoking, drinking and having sex outside marriage. Take drinking for example, underage drinking levels were just as high many years ago. The difference was that underage drinkers used to get served in pubs and didn't have to drink on the streets and that underage drinking never used to get reported in the press. I happen to know that both my father and grandfather started getting served in pubs at 14 years old! It's the same with smoking, people never used to see smoking as a problem before we found out how bad it was and when young people did it there was not nearly as much stigma attached to it as there is today.

Underage sex and pregnancy probably have risen recently but they are equally much more likely to be reported these days. If you go back a few generations then any underage sex was done quietly and no-one heard about it. These days people are much more likely to know about it.

No doubt there are problems with how some of today's teenagers behave but I think that it is a problem too easily blamed on the teenagers themselves instead of for example the education system or the parents who brought them up.

Sorry about the semi-rant :) but this is something I feel quite strongly about as there is a lot of discrimination against young people at the moment about this sort of thing and anti-social behaviour and in the end it is still a minority of young people who engage in either. Feel free to disagree with me though, I respect your opinion. :)

Best wishes,

Ben

[Thisisme18]

I agree with you. I was talking about like 18 year olds doing this stuff. It bothers me. I mean have you watched two and a half men on tv? The mom on there has had a rough life sleeping with different men and all. Also on George Lopez, his mom had one guy and he left her. Which is disgusting.

[cmperry]

I agree somewhat with you vorlan about the parents and education a fault. I am not quick to blame the upbringers tho, I think we all reach a point in our lives that we have to make wise decisions for ourselves, tho a good example will help influence those decisions, I know 2 single teen moms,one had twins at 16 and another at 18, the other had a child at an astonishing 14 yrs old, but not so surprisingly they both had very little adult supervision in there lives. As far as smoking or drinking I actually think this generation of teens is doing better than say my generation did. Drugs are the same as they've always been, everyone gets curious! Now the attire many of them choose is horribly distastful, my sister said it's always been like that, but for some reason I don't remember it, maybe bc I never dressed that way, I'm a modest mouse!

[Little lock]

Yup, we smoke, we drink, we have underage sx, and all that stuff. But to me, what's new? Previous generations of teens were mostly like that, its a phase ain't it. Its just like that. Only most adults forget it, forget about all those growing pains after going through greater hurt in their lives. They are only preoccupied about the "now" they were in, and sadly alot of them, mostly parents, do not have the empathy to understand their teens.

Its like when we look at children, and we see the games they can play with their imaginations alone, and we go. "Yea, I was once like that." Only now we have lost that special imaginative ability after growing up, so we can't really understand kids and their irrationality. We even get pissed by it.

Similarly, alot of adults might say" Yea, I was once like that as a teen," but so? They cannot understand the teens. They lack the empathy, and they too get pissed by us:)

Sorry for the rant, like Vorlan, I too feel strongly about this, as I am a teen myself. It was not in my intention to offend anyone.

[breakforever]

Are teens different or is the world around them changing?

Hanson Harmony Tech: Exponential Living: So What Does it All Mean?

[Kaysa]

I blame parents for not being parents, I blame the kid for being stupid, and I blame society - for making it/ accepting it as "normal".

Plain, blunt and simple. Most of all, honest.

-Kay

And most of all, teens should know better. They do know better. Stop trying to fit in, experimenting isnt an explanation, and going behind your parents back wont make them trust you anymore. You earn trust, not demand it.

Dont worry though, when you have kids, you will look back at this and finally it will dawn on you.

[Bird-boy]

Man, I like all the good points here. And Kaysa's point about society accepting it as normal (teenagers acting the way they do) was really thought provoking. I never would have thought--before reading that--that believing such a statement (teens will be teens) is almost basically justifying these bad things.

[Cupcakemomma]

Just wanted to leave my two cents, it might not change any minds, but this is a topic that is very very dear to me. I was that teen. I smoked, and drank and did stupid things. I had 3 kids before I was 19. I was not married to the father. But I will tell you, it has a whole lot more to do with parenting than you would believe. I come from a fairly straight, upper middle class family. I was always well educated, and informed.. The problem for myself and so many of my peers was the boredom that comes from never having to deal with "real" issues and always having activities provided for us. I have a very different relationship with my kids then I did with my parents. I make a point of talking with, and listening to my sons instead of giving them expensive toys and luxuries. I make them go outside and use their imagination, and we have made "I'm bored" a personal problem in our house. I am NOT here for their amusment, neither is my bank balance. Anyway, the point I was trying to make was, being young is not an indicator of bad parenting, though it can be a factor. I know moms who waited until their 30s to have kids and struggle with basic things that even I, at 15 grasped quite quickly. If you want your teen to make better choices, make sure you let them learn how to be a kid or, like me, they may wind up learning about your job as a parent first hand.

P.S. Sorry if that sounded rant-y and bitter, but I fight this stigma day in and day out, yet I hear from teachers, PTA associates and family alike that they are all impressed with my well mannered, kind hearted and behaved young men. I think judging ALL teen moms, may be hasty. o:-)

[rosie]

Sorry for dredging up old thread...but couldn't resist.

So...don't be fooled by the title. It doesn't belong in the teen section. But it might, I don't know. Anyways, I have noticed some factors in teens these days. They drink, smoke and they have intercourse. I mean I'm all for babies (yay) and kids and all that, but save it for marriage. We don't need any unwed mothers and all that. It's horrific.

Oh, the humanity. Unwed mothers. Satans spawn!!!!!

Well, I was an unwed mother too. I had two children by 19, my parents were horrified, of course, as this didn't fit with their perfect little social veneer. I also happen to be an awesome person, and mother, and feel as if people who judge others by their marital status are far more lacking than any young parent is. I would say that WITHOUT A DOUBT, the hardest thing about being a young parent was the type of attitude I see in this thread.

My sons (3) are happy, well rounded, successful people, and I would be horrified if they grew up to be so judgemental as attitudes expressed in this thread. Also, I am 32 and and in 10 years, my children will all have well and truly left home and be living successful lives independently. This, my friends, is my travel time. World...here I come. When you think about it... this seems like a smart way to do it ;)

For your info... they found hieroglyphs from ancient Egyptian times where the 'elders of the day' were whining about the 'youth of the day'. Is it not a new phenomenon and no matter WHAT youth of the day are doing, someone will find it necessary to raise themselves above those 'ghastly youth' in order to feel a sense of superiority over them.

That's all.