What's Happening To Our World????
I admit that I watch way too much television. Usually it is on 24/7 in the house, if we are at home. I don't watch constantly, but it is on for the noise and for company. The "critters" aren't the greatest conversationalist! This morning (confession time) I was watching "Martha's" new show and she was talking about the "great american pastime" of playing cards. The whole program was on card groups, the new craze of celebrity poker, Texas Hold-em tournaments, on-line and television gambling. This got me to thinking............................
Don't get me wrong, I am not against playing cards, but I am getting a little scared as to what this new fad of playing poker is doing to our society. When did it become socially acceptable for our teens to gamble away their lunch hour at school or have a poker game at home with their friends in the evening? Do parents really allow their children to play on-line poker? Do they know what their children are doing on the computer? Do they know that their children are gambling? Do they even care? It's a scary thought to me!
When did gambling become so acceptable? Remember all the old gangster movies, where the bookies and runners and the backroom gambling dens were run by the mob? Now the government controls gaming!!!! Another scary thought! What does it make them? I realize that the profits from gaming, at least in this country, does some good. It helps support our education system, sports facilities and a host of other things. But at what cost?????????? How many crimes are caused by a gambling problem? It's everywhere you turn. Every store has lottery machines. Almost all bars have VLT's. There are Bingo Halls and Casinos everywhere you go. It's crazy!!!!!!!!!!
Now onto the next issue..........
What is happening to our children? Bruce had a call from one of the young guys that works for him on Saturday night, saying he couldn't come to work the next day because his brother was SHOT. Apparently he had asked a girl, that he had just met, to go for a drink with him and was followed by a car that rammed into his car. When he got out, he was shot by a guy, who happened to be the girls boyfriend, with a sawed off shotgun. This is NUTS!!!! Luckily, it appears that he will be okay.
Why is it that everytime we turn on the news or open a newspaper there is some story about young people being the victims or perpetrators of some horrendous crimes? Could it possibly have anything to do with the total lack of discipline that the youth of today receive? Since when is it acceptable to tell your parents or teachers to "F" OFF and there are no consequences for doing so? Why must the bullies and troublemakers be allowed to continue doing there thing with no negative consequence? Then when these youngsters become old enough to be tried as adults, we ask ourselves, what happened to make him/her turn out this way? He/she came from such a good home!
I think that we have got to start asking ourselves if this lack of discipline in the home and at school is really for the good to our society. It's time to make everyone accountable for their actions.
posted by Momma C at 1:18 a.m.
10 Comments:
I agree with you 100%. Back when we were kids we would play outside and come home when the street lights came on. Kids can't do that anymore. We were able to go into the ravine, no way kids can do that now. School yard fights were mostly verbal fighting over the monkey bars, I'd hate to think what they are now.
When you doing running around here and there around the city(malls, stores, downtown), the amount of kids that hanging out without their parents is terrible. Or parents just letting them run around like idiots (South Common Superstore/Wal-Mart) Even things like K-days. I don't think parents seem to care anymore. They use malls as a daycare.
And who invented those little shopping carts for the kids in the stores? "Shoppers in Training" my a$$!!! It's just another way for parents to NOT watch their kids in stores. My grandchildren(if I ever have any!!) will NEVER use one of those!!!! I will be a mean grandma!!!
Okay Grannie Chris....Hahahaha:) As if I would ever let my kids use those things...
(if I ever have any:)
I'm going to buy one for my kids to play with at Grannie Chris's...tehehehehe.
or Granny Chris's?
First off, I want it clearly understood by my children that under NO circumstance will I ever be called GRANNY (GRANNIE). Having a mini shopping cart would be fine to play with at home or at Grandma's house. They are not appropriate in place where there are large groups of adult going about their business and not paying attention to someones child who is on the loose in a store. That is an accident waiting to happen!!!! Someone could be seriously injured.
Yeah...people need to pay attention to their children. In wal mart the other day there were two kids playing like, Star Wars or something in a big aisle with lots of traffic and one kid was waving around a long pole like thing....how safe is that!!!!
OKAY, HOLD UP, WAIT A MINUTE.
I honestly think that everybody is overreacting here. Our world is not going to hell in a handbasket, and it is still safe for kids to play on the streets, even after the streetlamps come on. There have ALWAYS been parents who leave their kids to be raised by society. There have always been problems in society, but we have to remember that these things are now reported moreso in papers and on television. Years ago, even the news was limited to what it could tell you. Teenagers hung out at the mall in the 60s...my Mom has told me numerous times that she and her girlfriends used to go to the Bay Downtown every day after school and stay there late. Now, I would have to agree with a statement about parenting skills...I think they are really starting to slide. Now it seems that most parents are parking their kids in front of the television at any opportunity. The new cars and vans have DVD players, and I see them being used just for a drive through the city. If you have to keep your kid entertained for the 10 minute drive to the mall, maybe it's time you spent more personal time with them. And yes, I am aware that both parents usually work now, but you can still have the kid in the kitchen with you while you're cooking. You can talk to them. Always include them in a home activity. Your children should not be a chore...you should LOVE to be in their company and not get rid of them at every opportunity to the idiot box. As for foul language being used to parents/teachers? What makes you think it didn't happen before? Did your kids use foul language with you? If not, chances are their kids won't use it with them either. In the end, they may go through a bad phase, but we all end up fairly decent. And as for discipline, you can only reason with a child for so long...sometimes they do need a quick spank on the bottom. However, everyone is being told now that this is abuse and that they need a time out. Excuse me? Do you honestly think your child is reflecting on the repercussions of their behaviour? They'll understand the repercussions if they get one quick slap on the bottom...not to be used all the time of course, but if you just threaten your child and never follow through, they'll play you for your entire years.
The TV focuses on the twisted for entertainment value, and if you rely on the twisted for your entertainment, perhaps it is time to reevaluate your television habits.
So no, ladies and gentlemen, our world is not becoming more and more terrible. What happened to that young man is a terrible thing...but you can either sit back and say "the world is going to hell" or you can accept that with new generations, attitudes and behaviour may change, even dramatically, but you can do the best that you can! You can try and raise your children as you were raised, and in the end, they won't forget what you taught them. And when you are dealing with the world, when you are in the mall and you see rowdy kids...or one rowdy child, go and talk to them. I do it all the time, and it usually startles them so much, they don't make another sound. You can also look at the intimidating teenagers in the mall and be intimidated, but they're teenagers. The worst they have is words...the odds of them doing you physical harm are awfully slim. They'll grow up...they just need to go through a phase. EVERYBODY does. Just some go through better phases than others. The world is okay. Really.
Well Johnny, you have quite a lot to say on this subject. I did not say that the world was going to hell. I was just asking the question as to why the kids of today are becoming more and more violent. You also say that a swat on the bottom can be a good thing every once in a while. From what I have observed, that doen't happen. Every parent is so afraid at being labeled a "child abuser" that they have stopped disciplining their children. And god help us if another adult even says boo to someone's child! And yes, the media is partially to blame with their coverage. But society demands that they report on all of this terrible stuff.
I don't think that the world as a whole is going to hell. It's just that the population has grown so quickly that the laws that are there to protect us have fallen behind!
Hmmm...but what laws do you think should be ammended? Or created? And are children really becoming more violent? I guess I can't make the judgement call, but I never really found that kids were getting more violent when I worked with them.
And yes, you are right about the smack on the bottom. But as I said, parents are being intimidated by psychologists and parenting books telling them that it is abuse. If you're a new parent with no support, or even with support, you look for all of the help you can get. If all of your sources are saying, "Under absolutely no circumstances should you hit your child," they will likely obey it. I just worry about everyone worrying about kids and teenagers. Every generation has its problems. Every generation complains about teenagers, and yet they all grow up, and every generation has its bad kids and its good kids.
Tee hee... I have to laugh at your comment about saying "boo" to someone else's child. I'm sure I'll be arrested someday because I always go and talk to other people's children. In fact, on my plane to Toronto in July, this mother was sitting next to her daughter, who was fake-crying to get her way. The mother just sat there and kept saying, "No no, honey, stop that" in a casual voice that indicated she was simply ignoring her daughter. Well, this nice lady went to the washroom, and I promptly got out of my seat, sat next to said child (who was about 8 years old!!!!) and told her I knew her cries were fake and that she was aggravating other passengers, and asked her how she would feel if she were her mother and had to travel with a snivelling child who pretended to cry. I finished this off by saying (in a very calm, even voice) that she should act her age, and if she didn't, I would throw her off the plane. Severe, yes? Too much? Probably. Did she cry at all for the rest of flight? No. Did I feel good about myself? No. But that's the fact. Nobody likes to discipline their child, but you have to come through and do it.
Dang, I'm just all over with my posts. I need to start organising my thoughts ahead of time.
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