Step Up

James Cagney once said, ~Perhaps people, and kids especially, are spoiled today because all kids today have cars it seems, When I was young were lucky to have a bike.~ I stand on my proverbial soapbox once again as I say the following statement: kids today are spoiled bratz. For it truly befuddles the mind on the things kids possess in today's society because they not only don't deserve it, but they are just too scared to say no. I apologize ahead of time to any parent who takes what I'm about to say as a personal attack but it has to be said. You see, there are a number of kids today who are seemingly living the good life with certain rights and privileges that when you hear as to what their parents give/do for them your initial response is you gotta be kidding me.

As I said before, it seems to me that these days kids are being given things they in all honesty don't truly deserve or for that matter worked hard for, which is a statement that I wholeheartedly stand by. I think many would agree there are particular parents who give in way too easily these days on their kid's requests or should I say demands on certain things they now have but didn't work hard for. For many of us back in the day we all did chores either around the house or the neighborhood in order to earn an allowance by doing such things as mowing the lawn, raking leaves, babysitting, or whatever the case may be. It's a sad situation indeed when a handful of kids of this generation don't even lift a finger to earn what they have just because it's too hard and/or got too hot.

Without a doubt, cell phones are a permanent fixture in today's society as they are considered technological wonders that many of us back in the day didn't have the privilege to own. Thinking about it, many young kids today are reaping the benefits of having cell phones that do everything from surf the internet to watch tv/movies. Yet, would you as a parent give a child as young as 6/7 years old a cell phone knowing full well he/she doesn't really need it? It's a dicey situation to give young children a cell phone because with features such as texting they are able to send messages without knowing how much they’re racking up until the bill comes. Let me tell you something, we all remember hearing the news of a 13 year old girl who racked up a $4,756 texting bill in one month alone so imagine what a 6/7 year old would do.

Let me ask you this question to many of you parents out there, would you give your 8 year old child a credit card? I think it would be safe to say no parent would allow their 8 year old child to have a credit card in their possession even if they're to use it "for emergencies." You have to question the sanity of any parent who would give a young child...an 8 year old girl mind you...the power to charge whatever she wanted, which is like opening Pandora's box. As the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility and its the parent's responsibility to know that its a bad idea to give any child, especially at the age of 8, a credit card because its indeed like a kid being in a candy store where they'll get in way over their head buying things that they don't have the money to pay for when the bill comes.

A friend recently said, ~It's a challenge these days. Families aren't always the traditional type we grew up with. It's scary to let kids roam free even in their own neighborhood because of creeps. It used to be that dads brought home the moolah while women tended to the kids. Now it's both parents, when the family has managed to remain intact, that work like crazy. The saying goes: "it takes a village to raise a child"....well, we don't have that sense of "village" much anymore. When I was a kid (a long time ago) people looked out for each other's kids. Our world is changing too fast and it's the kids that are getting the short end of the stick!~ In retrospect, I agree with her as there are a number of parents who aren't being responsible and just letting their kids run the show, so to speak. In the end, to those parents who are incapable of taking control I say you have two choices which are step down or step up.