We had to wash dishes by hand. They have dishwashers that they won’t even load without a fight.
We typed our term papers by hand and used white out. They use laptops and can create flawless papers with a little effort.
We had to work with teachers after school if we didn’t understand a concept. They can use Google and Wikipedia as their tutors.
We carried nickels and dimes so we could call home in case of an emergency, if we could find a payphone. They can connect to us and their friends instantly with their cell phones.
We had to walk a mile to school in ten feet of snow….
The hardest part of our kids having it so much easier than we did is that they don’t even understand the concept. As a teen I would spend hours walking to help my parents pay bills or to pick up books at the library for my own entertainment. Meanwhile our teens have almost no household responsibilities, and expect us to entertain them.
Their lives are certainly much easier than ours were.
But is it really a bad thing?
The world is moving and changing at break-neck speed and there’s not much we can do to change it. We can hardly expect our kids to keep up with the way things are done through technology and advances and still be sensitive to ‘how hard we had it’ 30+ years ago.
We do, however have some things to offer. We can make sure they can cope without computers and cell phones should they need to. There is nothing more annoying to me than the cashier that panics if the cash register is not working. We don’t want our kids to be that person. There is nothing more sad than a teenager who does not make connections outside of his or her computer. Sometimes you have to push them out of the house (when other teens are around) and lock the doors. We can slip in a ‘you are so fortunate because…’ story in those rare times that we have their attention.
~If you liked this you should also read my other posts at the home blog, the homeschooling blog, the parents blog, and the frugal blog. You can read my recent posts here.
This Year Teens Want Cold Hard Cash for Christmas
Don’t Stop Hugging Your Teenagers
Worried About Your Kids Sexting?