What is wrong with today's youth?

[Retired]

Look at our education system. Its broken. If you live in a 'wealthy" county you get great schools with great teachers....for the most part. If you live in a "poor" county you get whatever they can afford.

In many schools American History and Civics are no longer in the curriculum. Math and sciences have been dumbed down to the point where its laughable. I asked my 34 year old to name three mammals that live in the water or mostly in the water. Silence. My 6 year old grand daughter says whales, otters and dolphins are mammals that live in the water. Go figure.

 

[AbdRahim]

Parenting, includes education. Now abandoned. With the internet, there is no limit to the education that can be obtained with the right parental guidance. My neighbor nearly rebuilt his house. When I asked where he learned to do all of that stuff. His answer; Youtube is your friend. Today society teaches kids to make bad choices, and we all suffer as a result. Even 50 years ago, the music and TV content of today would not have been tolerated. Today, all manner of vileness is just accepted as the norm.

 

[MapNerd]

I can do this all day

 

[redbaron]

Today's generation does not find it acceptable to "own" another person.

Today's young men accept willingly that they woman can be treated the same. She is allowed to work outside of the home.

The same can not be said of generations prior.

 

[MapNerd]

Remember folks, All it takes for evil to prevail in this world is for good people to do nothing.

you can complain about it on RV Forums, we’ll hear you out. It’s good to let it out sometimes - most times. But you can also help change it.

Take kids under your wing, if only for a moment. Say something if you think what they are doing is wrong. Offer them a soda and talk to them. Do you have any idea how many young, ridiculously rude or oblivious kids I’ve met at campgrounds? I don’t shoo them away. I invite them over. I talk to them while they play with my kids. If they’re hungry I give them a snack. If they’re thirsty I give them a drink. If they are dirty or have ratty clothes, I offer them some of my kids old clothes. If they’re rude or far more likely, oblivious to the fact that they are being rude or disrespectful, I educate them and explain to them why it’s wrong and what they should do instead.

I’m not responsible for them. They aren’t my kids. But they’re around my kids and we are all products of our environment.

If you want a better world for yourself, for your kids, for your grand kids, be the change.

I’ll tell you, I had not great parents growing up. Hearts of gold but pretty bad decision makers and little to no supervision of me growing up. I became who I am and got where I am because others stepped in to be the change for me.

 

[redbaron]

to add to @MapNerd 's comments, you will find that when you take time to work with kids that are not your own, it is a satisfaction that is hard to rival. You never know the impact that a small act of kindness, respect, or encouragement has on a child until much later in life.

There are plenty of "Drama queens" in all age groups, and plenty of angry people.

A few months ago I was in a pharmacy with about 20 people in a single file -- 6 ft spaced -- line. There was a guy near the front of the line that had been waiting a while, and was frustrated. He was mad about the mask, made about the line, mad about life in general. He turned around and started a rather loud rant about the election, politics, and other issues related.

No one said anything, and most people stared at the their feet. He was frustrated that he was not engaged in an argument. So he started getting a bit louder and asking "Do you know what we need? Does anyone know what we need?." He asked this several times, and finally the guy behind him (well in front, since he had turned to face the line) said in an equally loud voice

"Yes, we need Jesus"

That took the wind out of his rant, and they talked quietly. I couldn't hear the rest of the conversation, but they left the store talking as I was in line.

It was pretty amazing that the situation was defused so quickly.

It doesn't take much.

 

["EZ"]

I got promoted to Assistant Manager of the Steak House I worked at at 17. I got married at 18. Bought my first house at 19. Built my first custom home at 21. When the older generation looked at me they didn't have much bad to say. I worked hard and took responsibility for me and my family.

 

[MapNerd]

I got promoted to Assistant Manager of the Steak House I worked at at 17. I got married at 18. Bought my first house at 19. Built my first custom home at 21. When the older generation looked at me they didn't have much bad to say. I worked hard and took responsibility for me and my family.

What a great example for kids to aspire to. Perhaps you might share some of your wisdom and experience with them.

At the same time, it might also help to appreciate that:
- you can’t make a decent living off of a restaurant manager’s pay these days, certainly not enough to afford a house
- marital status is not an indicator of success or failure
- that exact same house you bought at 19 would cost an awful lot more today and compensation has often not kept pace with inflation

still, to do all of those incredible things at such a young age, even back then you would have been something of an anomaly compared to your peers. Share your knowledge, experience and wisdom.

Be the change. Help where you can. Even if it’s just a kind word of advice and a cold beverage. It goes an amazingly long way.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Parenting, includes education. Now abandoned. With the internet, there is no limit to the education that can be obtained with the right parental guidance. My neighbor nearly rebuilt his house. When I asked where he learned to do all of that stuff. His answer; Youtube is your friend. Today society teaches kids to make bad choices, and we all suffer as a result. Even 50 years ago, the music and TV content of today would not have been tolerated. Today, all manner of vileness is just accepted as the norm.

This stuff is funnny.

so inflation is the problem because when our grandparents were alive one person could support a large family, right? When grease was the thing to watch my mom said. "I don't understand the fixation with the 50's, what a terrible time to grow up". My parents worried about drugs and having to support grand kids because of sexual promiscuity.

When I was young I worked long hours so my late wife could stay at home and be a home maker. A few years she home schooled our child, the rest of the time she was enrolled in private Christian school. I spent my free time making sure the teachers didn't side step what We believed to be true.

The kid is married to her one and only husband. She home schools her 3 kids and works overtime to help her husband. Why you ask? Because she was taught by example, with morals and a strong standing with Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And Her kids, I am confident, are getting the same education and moral high ground.

Want to change the world??? It is done one family at a time. I was not brought up in the same kind of environment but Promised the Lord I would bring her up knowing Him first. This happened because of an ambassador of the Lord, that had no Idea what they were doing for me and mine.

 

["EZ"]

What a great example for kids to aspire to. Perhaps you might share some of your wisdom and experience with them.

At the same time, it might also help to appreciate that:
- you can’t make a decent living off of a restaurant manager’s pay these days, certainly not enough to afford a house
- marital status is not an indicator of success or failure
- that exact same house you bought at 19 would cost an awful lot more today and compensation has often not kept pace with inflation

still, to do all of those incredible things at such a young age, even back then you would have been something of an anomaly compared to your peers. Share your knowledge, experience and wisdom.

Be the change. Help where you can. Even if it’s just a kind word of advice and a cold beverage. It goes an amazingly long way.

Don't kid yourself. It CAN be done today. But how many 16-17 year olds do you know that are willing to work 40-45 hours a week while going to High School and playing football and running track? Very few. You know why? Because it's a lot of HARD WORK. At 18 I made $400/wk in 1981 when the minimum wage was $3.35. How? Because I went above and beyond on every task my boss gave me. Every time. Soon I was promoted from fry cook to cook to head cook to assistant manager. My pay went up as well. I cleaned things that hadn't been cleaned in 10 years without being told to do so. I worked any shift they gave me. Every time someone called in sick I offered to work to help the manager. I wasn't satisfied with $3.35/hr so I did something about it. I didn't protest in the streets and demand $15/hr like the cry babies I've seen on my TV set. I worked for it., I did MORE than I was asked. And this was my first job. Needless to say I was promoted to Manager or hired as Manager in every job I ever had until I went into sales. I soon figured out that a guy who was willing to work harder than his competition and do right by his customers would soon make a good living. You don't have to be a super salesman. Let's just say that the Gov't said I couldn't have a stimulus check this year. And I was OK with that. I'm on straight commission and wouldn't have it any other way. I control my pay by how hard I work. I've talked to kids about this and it goes in one ear and out the other as soon as you start talking about hard work...............

1981 United States Minimum Wage in Today's Dollars
In the year 1981, the United States minimum wage was $3.35. This is equivalent to $10.11 in 2021 dollars.

 

[Neal]

IMHO, there's nothing we can do about it. How about asking a kid today to navigate with a MAP? Heck, don't ask ME to navigate with a map. Our parents, grandparents, etc. all had it harder than us but that was their normal. We have our challenges, they had theirs. Go back to life in our country when our country was at war and people worked in factories or the great depression. Think about foreign countries where they have to deal with bombs dropping on their soil, something MOST of us have never experienced. I'm also willing to bet kids in 3rd world countries suffer depression less than our children because I call it "spoiled brat syndrome".

I went to Virginia Military Institute for "college" where we have a rat line and all that goes with it. Years ago was far harder than I had it, I had it far harder than they have it now. It's just how it is. Kids today will get PTSD when they don't have Internet.

I can tell you my neighbors daughter, okay, both sides of my house the kids are amazing. It's how they are raised I'm sure. The kids that lived next to me prior to the current owners, two boys, were absolute hell. They'd be casting fishing lines into my yard, beating on my fence, throwing temper tantrums, they fall off their bike and they lay in the road screaming like a stuck pig. Their father was in the military and gone a lot, the difference was evident.

Be the best role model you can be.

 

[Retired]

When I was a baby my parents picked cotton for a penny a pound to make ends meet. There was no public assistance, you worked, you budgeted, you lived within your means.

My Dads parents raised a family on an 80 acre family farm through the depression.

My Mom never knew her Dad, her Mom struggled her entire life.

I have had it much easier than they did.

Successful people work hard, make sacrifices, learn from their mistakes and above all make good decisions.

Society is changing. I know people in their teens and 20s who do not drive and have no intention of ever owning a car or owning a home. They dont want the expense or the time required to keep up a car or home. They are content with public transportation, Uber and renting.

 

[rv4travlin]

When I was a baby my parents picked cotton for a penny a pound to make ends meet. There was no public assistance, you worked, you budgeted, you lived within your means.

My Dads parents raised a family on an 80 acre family farm through the depression.

My Mom never knew her Dad, her Mom struggled her entire life.

I have had it much easier than they did.

Successful people work hard, make sacrifices, learn from their mistakes and above all make good decisions.

Society is changing. I know people in their teens and 20s who do not drive and have no intention of ever owning a car or owning a home. They dont want the expense or the time required to keep up a car or home. They are content with public transportation, Uber and renting.

When I was a kid, I picked cotton for 3 cents a pound.

 

[AbdRahim]

Hmmmm! I hear hard work, good morals, discipline, live within your means. Apparently we need to be re-educated and cured of these insane and archaic principles. ?

Yes, we need to pray, pray, pray and lead by example.So glad to see people who understand. I hope to get to meet some of you some day.

 

[Amoque]

Well said, ,John.

No written word,
No spoken plea,
Can teach our youth what they should be.
Not all the books,
On all the shelves,
Its what the teachers are themselves. --John Wooden