Growing up in the 50’s and 60’s was such an easier time…. As a child you knew who your 
elders were and respecting your elders was a way of life. You knew what type of behavior was expected when you visited someone’s house or when there were visitors at your home. Your parent’s were allowed to have adult conversations.
In my day a child was introduced to an adult by Mr., Mrs., or Miss and then the person’s last name. You called your friend’s parents Mr. or Mrs. and whatever their last name was. This showed a sign of respect for the older person. You also referred to you Aunt’s and Uncles as Aunt ______________ or Uncle ______________. Now-a-days you have toddlers calling adults by their first name and sometimes never knowing the persons last name.
In my day a child would not be involved in an adult conversation and now-a-days a child has no problem inserting themselves in the middle of a conversation no matter who their parents are speaking with. Growing up we had Grandma T who loved to see us children running around and having fun and we were allowed to go into her yard and run around, play ball, play with our dolls, or play with the kittens, but we didn’t insert ourselves in the adult conversation. We also had Grandma W who felt children were to be seen and not heard and while at her home we were to sit on the couch and be quite. At our home when there was company we would either be in our rooms or outside, never interrupting the adult conversation unless there was an emergency. We did this because we knew the adults were having an adult conversation that we didn’t need to worry about and if they wanted to talk to use they would ask the opening question. Now-a-days when you go to a friends house for an afternoon visit you must tolerate a child insisting on being part of the conversation even if they are to young to know about the topic of discussion. If it is an evening visit you may have to tolerate a child refusing to go to bed because they want to be a part of the visit.
In my day if a child saw their parent on the telephone they would not interrupt the call unless it was a life or death matter. Now-a-days a child will demand the parents attention no matter who the parent is speaking with. There are people, including family members, whom I no longer call unless it is a must because a conversation that should take 15 minutes will last an hour because of all of the interruptions by the children.
I love remembering the days when my son was in school, having a long name that was hard to pronounce, his friends would call me Mrs. T. When his friends would introduce me to their parents they would introduce me as Mrs. T, they didn’t know my first name and would never think about using it. Today I am seeing children who do not know how to politely introduce someone, they will introduce their parent to their friends using the parents first name. I have nieces and nephews who refuse to refer to me as Aunt because they believe that they are my equal without realizing that I will always see them as children.
We wonder why children are growing up so fast never realizing that by allowing them to enter the adult world as a mere child we are encouraging them to grow up to fast. When you instill in your child that there is a difference in ages you are allowing them to remain a child longer. When you instill in your child boundaries regarding their interaction with adults you are allowing your child to remain a child longer. If you always allow your child to interact with the adult world they will never see the beauty of their childhood.