I have spent a lot of time wondering how things have changed so much, from the time I 
was born till now, regarding our children. And today while writing an article on Good Parenting I think it all came together. You see:
In the 1950’s –
- Most Individuals reaching the age of maturity in the 1950’s were born in the later part of the Greatest Generation sometimes known as the Silent Generation, they experienced WWII as children and experienced the Civil Rights Movement as adults;
- A man had to court a woman before marrying, he meet her family, they were usually chaperoned when they were together, he usually ask her father’s permission to marry;
- For the most part when a man and a woman got married they stayed married for the rest of their lives. Divorces were a rarity;
- The marriage may not have been perfect but they made a commitment and honored that commitment;
- Most women once they had children stayed home and raised them. If the mother did go back to work there was usually a family member ready and willing to help out. Day cares were an unknown;
- The children born of the marriage; known as Baby Boomers; knew what was expected of them in the home, in school and in society;
- Not every home owned a car;
- Not every home had a telephone;
- Most children had chores to do around the home;
- Children were expected to show respect to their parents and other elders;
- Children were disciplined at home and at school;
- Parents took the word and stood behind the teachers and police;
- Extra-curricular activities were earned and not expected;
- Not every male child would be picked for a sports team;
- Not every female child would be a cheerleader;
- Not every child would be passed to the next grade or graduate from high school;
- Most people desired to rise above manual labor but knew that manual labor may be their starting point.
- Parent’s of children born in the 1950’s wanted their children to do better than they did, and the child knew that it would take hard work, studying, and the desire to be a success.
Early Baby Boomers may have started out as part of the counterculture, hippies, flower children, etc., but they later became more conservative, more innovative and more successful. They influenced the use of computers, bringing them into the home. Were a part of the formation of cable television, cellular phones and the internet. We are part of the breakup of the traditional family, the end of the role of the stay at home mom and the beginning of day cares.
Now in 2015 Children:
- Do not:
- have to show respect to their parents or other elders in their lives;
- have to verbally communicate with their parents, friends, or family members;
- feel that they should be held accountable for their actions or lack of actions;
- feel they should be disciplined when they misbehave;
- feel that they should have to help around the home;
- have respect for items given to them;
- have respect for items their parents purchase;
- have respect for items belonging to others;
- regularly receive home cooked meals;
- know what a true family unit is. They have part time parents, half brothers and sisters and step moms, dads, brothers, and sisters.
- They feel entitled to:
- be a part of a team, whether they are qualified or not;
- wear whatever they want, no matter the cost or the image it may present;
- throw public tantrums when they hear the word no or do not get what they want;
- to have the latest and greatest electronics.
- Have parents who no longer support teachers and schools, but:
- allow their children to act up in class
- question the teachers actions
- demand that their child goes on the next grade whether they do the necessary work or not or if they even know the subject;
- expects their child’s grade not to be affected if the child does not complete the assignment or homework;
- look the other way when their child is acting inappropriately;
- refuse to discipline their children.
- If they do something illegal, they expect:
- to not be held accountable;
- for their parents to blame the school or police, other person or establishment;
- for their parents to bail them out of trouble, no matter how old they are.
- Spend more waking hours:
- with day care workers than family members;
- going to and from extra-curricular activities than they do on homework;
- on electronics than they do communicating with their parents.
If we Baby Boomers had acted the way children behave today we would have, after receiving “swats” at school, been suspend from schools, and then gotten our buts whipped at home. If we would have failed to complete school assignments there would have been consequences at home and at school including failing a grade. If we had thrown the public tantrums that are thrown today we would have been given a real reason to cry, probably in public. If we had been disrespectful to our parents the way children are now-a-days we may not have been able to sit down for a day or two. The statement “wait till your father gets home” put fear in our lives but today it only brings smirks.
As Baby Boomers we wanted our children to have more than we had, but we forgot to teach them to respect themselves and others. We forgot to teach them about hard work, we forgot to teach them about honor, discipline and respect.
Baby Boomers, survived their childhood, they worked hard and succeeded, they were one of the most innovative generations and yet they failed their own children.