Kids: To Have or Not?

What’s the matter with kids today? La,la,la . . ..

We can say that they are rude, entitled, or just plain asses, but it occurs to me that modern-day kids lack one thing that makes all the difference in the world; humility. Children today don’t seem to accept the chain of command, and they have no respect for the wisdom of adults who have lived long enough to earn the right to lead them and guide them as supportive adults should do . . .

If children had a sense of humility, they would experience gratitude for their amazing, Technicolor lives, and all of the privileges that they have been granted. Notice I say privileges, and not rights. Kids get what they want today, and wear what their friends do, and expect every whim to be provided for as instantly as an ATM provides cash. As adults, we do our children an injustice by allowing them to continue to exert their demands and to continue to enable them to believe that this is how the world really works. We are not preparing our children for the real world at all, the one that we live in, and we are not providing them with the knowledge they need to one day sign our social security checks.

During a recent conversation with my daughter, a twenty-five year old who is living with her boyfriend, we discussed the possibility of her having children one day. To my surprise, she raised some valid points against having children that I have never heard spoken before. I had previously thought that I had heard all the usual arguments; costs, a messed-up world, etc. My daughter pointed out that kids today are, in general, assholes who suck the life out of you. How could I argue? I mean, I love my children, and have never regretted having them, but every word she said was true. With the rare exception, kids ask, and take, and disregard, and ask and take again.

Even the rare parents, who take the time and effort to teach virtues to their children, have to at some point allow their children to go out into the world, and onto the Internet, where they are barraged by images and messages that do everything possible to undo what has been taught at home. Schools do nothing to counteract this effect. Schools coddle students as well, refusing to fail them, passing them through, and cow-towing to parents. No Child Left Behind is a joke. We are teaching students how to pass a test, and have thrown real education out the window entirely. Education is worse than ever, and no politician is going to change this fact.

Both of my children are well on their way to becoming adults, and I am proud to say that they are so far, equipped to deal with the stresses of the real-world. But, it has been a long haul, with a great deal of angst, and worry, and giving, giving, giving. For me, it’s been worth it, but I had my kids when I was so young that I never stopped to think about what I was doing.  For my daughter to realize all that she has, at twenty-five, and to realize that she might just be too selfish to have children, is just plain brilliant. She has really thought about this, and she has valid reservations against ever having children. Although I would like to be a Granny one day, I would never have my daughter give up a moment of her happiness to grant me that title.