[MidnightDad]

What utter nonsense. My mum was born back in the 1920's. Her birth certificate shows when her parents were married. Her parents were young and.... ohh ohh... the time difference between their marriage and her birth makes it crystal clear she was the product of out of wedlock passion. Kids don’t grow up faster, us old folks slow down. Always have, always will. Parents tell their kids to take time growing up, just as their parents did before them and just as their kids will, in time, say to their own. Come 2098 the same thing will be talked about.

[twotoddlers]

i agree that kids are growing up too fast... makes me more vigilant that my own children always know whats going on.. whats right and wrong.. why some people behave the way they do at a certain age.. i remind them that something in due time.. and i try my hardest that they enjoy their childhood just as much as i enjoyed mine..

[anon60]

Really? My parents generation (and older) left school and entered the workforce far earlier than I did, let alone my kids. My Dad & FIL were in their respective apprenticeships by age 16, my dad living at the Y in another state from his family. Mum & MIL were either at Business college or already in the fulltime work force. When I was 16 (mid70s) most left at the end of Yr10 to pursue traineeships, apprenticeships, etc unless you were academically inclined and plannned to go to Uni or Colleges of Advanced Education (Teacher training). My grandmother and her sisters had left school by 14yo and either gone to secretarial school or learned a trade like millinery (Nana's sister was a milliner).

This post has been edited by anon60: 14/04/2011, 07:09 PM

[BetteBoop]

What utter nonsense. My mum was born back in the 1920's. Her birth certificate shows when her parents were married. Her parents were young and.... ohh ohh... the time difference between their marriage and her birth makes it crystal clear she was the product of out of wedlock passion. Kids don’t grow up faster, us old folks slow down. Always have, always will. Parents tell their kids to take time growing up, just as their parents did before them and just as their kids will, in time, say to their own. Come 2098 the same thing will be talked about.

This. My great great grandmother had 16 children by the age of 38. How old do you reckon she was when she started?

Besides, in many countries people are parents by 13 and it's not even the subject of an eyebrow raise. In a lot of ways, our adolescence is more and more protracted. Bernard Salt the demographer says we have 'adult-lescents' who are up to 25 or 26 years old.

These kids have never moved out of home or been financially responsible. Sex is only one small part of the overall picture. The overall picture suggests many kids are growing up very very slowly, compared to previous generations.

[anon60]

Yep, my parents & PILs were the generation that were born just before or during the 29-32 Great Depression & fought or were teens through WWII. my grandparents generation saw many 16 yos & younger put their ages up to fight in WWI. I think our kids are being kept somewhat "Infantilised" by we, their parents.

This post has been edited by anon60: 14/04/2011, 07:13 PM

[lovinmummy]

As a step mum to a 13 year old girl, I feel in some ways she is more grown up than I was at that age, but in other ways I don't think much has changed between 1 generation of teens. She wants to go hang out alone with her friends (shopping etc), she likes boys (although there doesn't seem yet to be any "too serious" interaction) I think the main difference lies in what they UNDERSTAND about the world. There is still than underlying fear of exploring the real adult world but they understand what sex is a lot earlier, about money & the financial responsibilities of life (even if they don't understake those responsibilities themselves), they are a lot more aware of the world and adult issues.
I wasn't playing with dolls or climbing trees at 13 and nor do I expect my SD to. But given the chance, she still jumps on the tramp with my 8 year old son. Our children are not growing up faster, they are just exposed to a greater range of information and what they do with that and how they react is shaped mostly by the boundaries we as parents set and the volume to which we indulge the ever present ability to over-engage in the more adult side of life.
We have rules - Facebook at 13 - ok. We have your password, we check your page daily and keep it in check. Shopping with friends? - ok. Mum or Dad is still within the shopping centre, we have a meeting time and place, a check in via call or text time and we know who you're with and how much money you've got to spend. We have the same boundaries with clothes - fashion says midriff - we say, with a singlet underneath. Short shorts - ok with tights under. I Pod - but not while homework or family time. Compromise, communication and boundaries. Kids aren't different, the world is different and we have to help them fit in to it a information-overloaded world without over-exposing them to what's readily available.

[80'sKnickerb...]

Girls are being encouraged by the media and fashion magazines to start wearing
make-up and to pursue superficial beauty at an age where they should instead be
enjoying their childhood.

That's so true. I'm reading a book called, "Living Dolls" right now which explores this very phenomenon of girls being negatively influenced by the current culture. Highly recommend it as a great read.

[soontobegran]

Being tech savvy does not make a child grown up. I would say that if anything children are less mature and 'grown up' than they were when I was a child...I am mid 50's.
Most children were gone from home and earning a living or studying independently by age 18 and often earlier. Very few children these days are.

ETA-There is a big difference between 'feeling' grown up and being treated as if you are grown up and actually 'being' grown up.

This post has been edited by soontobegran: 24/06/2012, 02:01 PM

[Oriental lily]

I agree soontobegran.

I do think that children are being exposed to adult themes from a younger age and the age of innocence s becoming shorter and shorter.

I hate the idea of tweens.

But the transition of adolescent to adult is now getting longer and longer. An adult was once considered to be someone who turned 21 .now people are starting their carefree 20s and being a grown up with mortgages and responsibilities is more likely to happen at early 30s.

A young mother these days is not someone having a child in their teens, but in their 20s.

My mum by the age of 27 had three children and had immigrated to the other side of the world.