Are kids growing up too fast?
(Do such things as wearing makeup too early, dressing too old for one’s age, and long-term relationships lead to teenage pregnancy, experimenting with drugs, and exposure to adult issues and situations?)
-What are the causes?
(Peer pressure, family life, television, etc…)
-How can we prevent it?
*~Amanda Wasowitz~*
15 comments:
Yeah, I think that kids are growing up way too fast. I can remember still thinking that boys had cooties inthe thrid grade. Now kids who are in thrid grade are already "going out" and experiencing long term semi-serious relationships. I think kids aren't using all the time they are given to just be kids. We had all those years running around on the playground being happy just playing tag, but these kids are looking to drugs and sex for thrills. I think some of the reasons these kids are doing things like that are television and peer pressure. There is so much sex on tv that kids think they should be doing it too. Even if kids don't see it directly, their friends will tell them what they have seen. I also think that parents are to blame for not stepping in to stop their kids. I know some parents aren't aware of wht their kids are doing, but they need to know and can also step in by monitoring what their kids watch.
I do not think that it is the kids that are growing up to fast, instead I think it is the parents or local observer that does not want to accept that they are getting old and that the kids are just growing up. There minds are no longer under the sheltered protection of their gaurdians. So they feel that they need to experiment with the world they live in and the best way to do this is to do everything and anything that is consedered wrong in their parents eyes and cool in their fellow students eyes. So to sum this up kids are growing up as fast as they are able to and adults deny this growth because of their own uneasiness to accept the change in time.
by: Ryan Duda
I believe that kids are growing up way to fast these days. I think it is ridiculous how fast they are growing up. Not only are kids try to do things they shouldn't be doing at their age, but their attitudes are as if they are older. As I look at the people I'm around everyday, I am reminded of how fast kids are growing up. I have an eight year old brother. He thinks he is old enough to not have a curfew. I don't think so, I'm not letting an eight year old boy wander the streets without a curfew or chapperone. I can't even imagine what kind of trouble he would get into. An example I see day to day is my boyfriend's little sisters. One of his younger sisters, the thirteen-year old, smokes cigarettes; I'm pretty sure she is sexually active too. She tells her mom what to do instead of her mom telling her. She does whatever she wants and when she wants. I think this is ridiculous. I would not want my thirteen year old doing any of that. I think it is crazy how old she thinks she is. My boyfriend's other little sister, the six-year old, has a worse attitude than the thirteen year old. Just the other day, she stomped her feet around the house, telling her mom she couldn't wait until she was thirteen so she could do whatever she wanted to. Wait a minute, I thought eighteen was the legal age for an adult, not thirteen. I think it is crazy how kids are growing up these days.
~Ashley Ross
I agree that some kids are growing up too fast. When I walk through the hallways of the elementary school, I see tons of eyeliner and short skirts. Also, you hear stories about girls getting pregnant at young ages and the age seems to keep getting younger each year. What causes it? In my opinion, television does a good job opening kids up to things that they should not see. One of the reasons that I think that I didn't grow up too fast was because I spent very little time watching t.v. We didn't have cable, so five channels didn't provide too much entertainment besides mr. Rogers. I think parents can definetly help to prevent this. My parents spent tons of time with me. I know that not every family is fortunate enough to have one parent work while one watches the kids, but i think even sitting down together for dinner every night can eliminate time spent watching television or something. Parents can also teach their children good morals, which will lead to not trying to dress "sexier" in the sixth grade or caking on the eyeliner in the seventh grade. If the little things are taught well first, like the proper way to dress, act in public, etc, then the more serious things like sex, and drugs will be easier to turn away from for the kid. So, I guess I am saying parents can defiently prevent growing up too fast. They just need to be involved. Great topic, Amanda. I know what you're talking about here.
Rebecca
More and more kids are dressing way too old for their age. It seems that all the clothes are getting smaller and smaller. Every girl is wearing a mini shirt and shirt that shows their stomach. I think this does lead to many more problems. Like in high school even in the winter the girls don't cover up. Those are the same girls that go out and party and get drunk every weekend. The same girls that every boy talks about. Peer pressure is a big issue today. When its only one group that goes out and drinks. People need to learn to say no. My mom keep an open book with both my sister and I. She talks with us about everything which helps us make the right decision. We know how she feels and how disappointed she would be if we did something wrong. Kids are growing up too quickly and the parents culd talk with them more because we do listen.
Nicole Mulrooney
I do think that kids are growing up too fast. I see kids out all the time who are 10 years old and have on more make-up than a 18 year old. But i think it all depends on what they see at home and on tv. I have a 5 year old neice and all she wants to do is put on make-up because she sees me and my older sister's doing it. I also think the media has a lot to do with it. Kids see famous people as their role models so they think they need to wear makeup and high heels so they can be pretty.
Kellie
Sometimes I wish I could hold on to my youth forever. In a society in which competition is growing, kids are being forced to grow up. with additional rules and restraints being put on innocent kids by namely school officials, kids are wishing to grow up and get into the real world so they have some sort of control over their own lives. This is the reason young girls wear makeup, and the cause of many of the examples you listed. Schools and parents need to lighten up and see that competition and strict rules are restricting the innocence of childhood.
-Michael Holmes
Kids do grow up to fast and they miss having a childhood. It is hard these days when both parents have to work; kids receive more responsibilities, the majority of the household chores. In some, but not all cases, children lash out from losing their childhood. They can act older than they really are, wearing too much makeup, trying to date older boys, and yes-even drugs. Causes can vary in many ways, but I do not think we should lay blame, but find a solution. I am not saying kids should not do chores, but why should they do everything. This is not true in all cases, but it seems that kids are left home alone too often. In prevention, we could not leave them home alone as much, not have the household chores their responsibility, and be more involved in their lives. Yes, we are always busy, but the kids should be our most important priority. Darcy Cekander
I definitely think kids are growing up way too fast. When I was in sixth grade, I remember having my first "boyfriend-girlfriend" relationship. We barely talked to one another because we were so shy. We rarely held hands, and when we did, it was a huge deal. Now, you hear of sixth graders that are performing oral sex on one another, or sixth graders that are drinking, smoking, or trying drugs. Its crazy!! What makes these kids want to grow up so quickly? As a senior in high school, you hear rumors flying around about the junior high kids. Some of them may be true and some of them may not be true, but many of the things they have done, I've never even tried. There is no sense of innocence with many of the younger kids anymore. Its very sad that the parents let them grow up so quickly!
Alex
I think its natural for a little girl to see her mommy putting on make-up and then suddenly wants to put on some of mommy's make-up on herself too. But then their are also other cases. One of my friends has a little sister, who's best friend i think is a perfect example of what your asking about here. She is going into 5th grade and is probably the worse case of "growing up too fast" i've ever seen. Her mother is a stripper and is gone all day and gets home late at night. She is constantly wearing shorter than short skirts and realizes "boys like that". She talks to my friends little sister about how her and her bf make-out and do stuff all the time. The list goes on and on. She's going into 5th grade! So i guess i'm saying that yes i do think that there are some cases where the children are growing up too fast. It wouldnt' surprise me if this perticular girl wasn't pregnant by the end of her high school career. I know that not all cases are this serious but they could get to that point.
I think the causes are simply the parents. If a parent wants their kid to dress like she is a 20 yr old stripper then they will let them keep wearing what they're wearing, (after all they are the ones who would be buying their cloths.) and if the parents don't have a problem with how their child behaves then whats to stop their child from behaving that way?
Really the biggest way to prevent is would be for the parents to realize what their doing to their kids. As far as the clothig issue schools should maybe have dress codes starting at a younger age. Or maybe uniforms. for the other issues i think thats up to their parents to choose.
Maria Shallenberger
I think that kids are growing up to fast. When I was a kid I didnt really care about to much, just my friends and baseball. These days you hear some girls complaining that they are to fat and they are only 8 or 9. When my sister was only 2, she was asking for lipstick because my mom would always put it on. So Im sure alot of the causes come from their parents or older sibling. Aaron Royse
Hi, Amanda. Yes, many kids are growing up what I would call too fast. At least in some important ways. Like others, I blame most of this on the schools and TV, because that's where kids get most of their basis for comparison. Kids compare themselves to others and, at this age hyper-needy of attention, change themselves and adjust their behavior to gain favor among their peers.
Because I have 4 daughters, I notice the problem mainly in girls.
My eldest daughter enjoyed activities like jump-roping and playing hide and seek or soccer or kickball at about the same age that my current girls (12 and 14) enjoy watching THE OC and IMing their friends to talk about boys.
If we let them, my girls would wear clothes today that 10 years ago were considered slutty. They point out that other girls in their school are wearing these clothes. They all want to wear what they think the boys will like I guess--to the point of advertising their sexuality on their shirts and shorts. The slogans like "I am a Flirt" and "I Kiss But Don't Tell" on tiny pink shorts. Saw those at Wal-Mart this week.
For my youngest two kids, we've decided to turn off the TV and homeschool them. I think more and more parents are resorting to homeschooling, and of course turning off the TV has always been a good idea.
I know I sound like an old fuddy-duddy on this issue, but I do love and appreciate the simple charms of innocent children and want to see them keep that a few years longer than they do now.
Not that I love my older daughters any less because they want the boys to like them.
John W.
Hey Amanda
Yes, I do think that kids are growing up way too fast. Just the other day I saw a fifth grader with eyeliner on, talking on her own cellphone and wearing a shirt that was supposed to show cleavage that she didn't have. When I was in fifth grade I would've been in trouble if I would've worn eyeliner, and you would've seen me wearing my jean short overalls. The whole cell phone thing? I got a cell phone a couple months before I turned 16 because I was starting to go out with friends that could drive and my parents wanted to make sure that I could call them if I needed to. I still hardly use my cell phone to make social phone calls. I don't know...maybe I am already becoming "old fashioned" because I know that my parents have raised me to be that way. How terrible is it that there are 7th graders getting pregnant? Or finding out that an eigth grader has an STD. I suppose you could say that it is the parent's fault for letting it happen, but I've seen parents not have a clue about their kids. Not only have kids starting dressing and acting like adults, they've started to be able to sneak around the adults. They are sneaky. I don't know how they do it. Kids have stopped respecting their parents and it is like they have switched roles.
I'm not sure how it has gotten to be like this, but it could very well be the television, music, and most definatley some of the celebrities. We seem to focus on celebrities quite a bit but they live under the same sky we do. They are just as human as us. I also can see how maybe advances in technology have influenced teens. When you think about it, when I was younger my parents would take me to my friends house, and then I would call them the next day for them to come pick me up, but now that they have cell phones, they can call from those...and whose to say they were really at their friend's house the whole time? I think that we need to pay closer attention to the teens and there should be more disciplinary action.
Lindi Hettinger
(My thoughts are kinda all thrown out there...in a not very organized manner. Sorry lol)
Yes I believe that children are growing up to fast, and that is the reason why there are so many teens getting pregnant early, experimenting with drugs, and getting into adult situations. its really about how parents choose to raise their kids, if you raise them right then they will be okay.
Corey
i think kids are growing up too fast becuase of the things they see at home and the things they see on T.V. they kids gets their ideas from their older brothers of systers. the way they dress, the ways they act, and the things they use. also the media are puting ads on televison that are in apropriate for kids under the age of twelve. if these kids don't see any of this things, they wouldn't be in a hurry of growing up.
Post a Comment