Protecting Our Children From Growing Up: Part One

Every generation bashes the ones that follow and claims to have had better standards growing up. It seems that we never approve of the way new generations are brought up! Perhaps it is human nature to be cynical, perhaps it is our way of holding on to old memories or perhaps there are good reasons behind it.

It is not a secret that many elements effect the way the new generations are raised; From technology, to politics, school systems, new parenting books, crime...etc. It is almost impossible to protect our children from changing times.

I always tried to be fair to the young ones and to understand their new challenges and their current living standards. I never agreed that we should impose last decade's way of life upon the current generations. However, It seems that one aspect of modern parenting methods is causing more damage to children rather than helping! I constantly find my self debating parents over it.

I have been training children for many years and recently I noticed that the majority of children lack basic physical skills. Most of them cannot perform a Cartwheel or a somersault. Basic skills that we learned as children. This is only a small part of a new reality that the new generation is facing. 

Everyday on my way to work I end up behind at least one of the many school buses that travel up and down Foothill rd. It amazes me how some stops are basically the house next door from the last stop. Since when the shcools offer a Limo service? Although it is very annoying, that's not the point. What exactly is the effect this simple everyday event has on children! The whole Universe has to stop and wait as one child eaither boards a bus or comes out of it regardless of which side of the road the bus stops at!

When it comes to teaching disipline, our modern soiecty has reached a mileston! The days of the belt or the shoe, the spank or the smack, have gone and not to be back ever again. today we send our children to their rooms to think about what they have done! We banish them to their castles where they have to be stuck with their computers, gaming devices, their own TV sets and cellphones away from the rest of the family. We force them into exhile and expect them to learn the disipline they will need to funciton as adults!!

I believe that we have failed our children by contstanly protecting them from dealing with everyday live. We are protecting them from climbing trees, running in the woods, building forts, playing with wooden swords. We are keeping them from falling and getting hurt, we are preventing them from practicing basic skills that would only make them tougher. Our children are golden boys and girls kept in gilded cages and saved from doing what children do best.....learning to get up whenver they fall down.