What is happening to these kids?

Times are definitely changing, and they seem to be changing for the worse in children. Kids are becoming something that they have never been and something that in my opinion they shouldn't be. Children are growing up way too fast and no one makes a point to say that they shouldn't. People simply discipline, or sometimes don't discipline, children for the things that they are doing and it often doesn't teach them to stop doing those things. Is this the main cause of rebelling against parents and other authority figures?

I have seen many kids  rebelling against the people in authority over them, especially in high school. I am sure that in some situations the child will go against the parent because they don't agree with them and they will do something wrong and learn from it, but children definitely are beginning to do these way too often in cases that it shouldn't be happening. The parents are likely not doing anything wrong, but the children are trying to grow up and be independent when they have no right to do so yet.

As a teen, doing things that adults are doing is cool to them. This is exactly the mindset that is hindering a good childhood for them. They don't understand what they're doing to themselves and to their parents. Their parents can't stop them from doing these things because they aren't often seen as authority anymore. Independence feels good to them, but they don't understand that they aren't independent at all. They are doing things that they want to do, things that they aren't supposed to do, and there are sometimes consequences for these things. Their parents still provide for them and help them if they get into trouble, but they don't get any respect. Kids are lucky that their parents love is stronger than the hurt they feel from the disrespectful behavior.

Bad habits are coming earlier and earlier in life. In high school, I would see kids younger than me becoming sexually active and doing drugs and I just did not understand it at all. They have a whole life ahead of them and they are ruining the best time of their life. Whether they want to believe it or not is a different story, but childhood is supposed to be the most fun part of your life. What I don't understand is why do they need to do these things now when they have a whole life ahead of them where they can do whatever they want? When you turn 18, you're an adult and you make your own decisions, but not now in the time of your life that will shape your future.

The worst part about all of this is that it is happening to more and more kids. The kids that don't do the "cool" things are seen by the other kids as different now. It is terrible to think that this is the norm for kids now. Innocence is no longer an option in pre-teen years and even early teen years, unless that child wants to be looked at as different. That child may even be bullied, which is also beginning to be a huge problem in schools and will likely be one of my future blog topics.

Parents, take a look at your kids behavior and try to figure out the source. Try to figure out why they are doing the things that they are and try to tell them how it makes you feel. If they want to do things that adults are doing show them how being treated as an adult really is. This is merely an idea from a college kid who doesn't have any kids, but something needs to be done. Kids aren't kids anymore and it's sad. These kids are going to be this countries future, and that future doesn't look very promising to me.

-Eric Proulx