You really seemed to have hit upon a popular topic! Two pages already!

I didn't have time to read them all, but I wanted to post on this one as well. I am almost 60 and have come through from the 50's to present. I have seen a LOT change!

When I was a kid we drove on two lane roads. We shopped for EVERYTHING at the local stores - a grocery store, a hardware store, a five and dime. Once a year we made a trip before Christmas to the "big" city (Green Bay which, believe me was not that big at that time) to be able to visit stores like JC Penny and Sears, etc.

I saw the first McyD's in our state (was 12 miles from my home), saw malls come into existence, 747's, air travel become a daily event and cars now get about the same gas mileage as back then! HAHAHAHAHA I remember when I started to drive gas would go down to 23cents a gal or lower during "gas wars" and I remember penny candies and 5cent candy bars.

In all honesty, I think what has happened to our kids - and it HAS happened, (kid's aren't the same, well, kids are but raising them is not and problems kids and adults have due to that is not) - is a general malaise about TRAINING our children. Teaching them how to behave, why to behave that way and teaching them a sense of BELONGING. Belonging to family, to community, to our country and even the world. And if it IS taught we often skip the first two or three and go straight to the country or the world. What ever happened to "it takes a community to raise a child"????

I have some wonderful kids, and wonderful families that I work with. I feel soooo blessed! Yet I see the same recurring problems with them and even with my own grandson. Basically, lack of empathy, lack of a sense of being a part of something bigger than yourself, and lack of training in how to behave.

Most of what I see comes down to that, IMO.

I took a lot of space to write a small answer, but I felt some background was in order.

WHY are we where we are? I don't think there's a single cause. This is the "ME" generation. Even my 20yo and 30yo daughters will admit that their entire generation is very "me" centered. Those of us of my generation and the previous generation have made them so. The blame can be placed squarely on our shoulders. Yet I can't put a finger(s) on the cause. Too much abundance and luxury?? I don't know. Whatever the cause, the last few generations took it and ran with it.

Honestly, I've come down to the belief that the WHY isn't as important as what we do about it. I talk to my dcm's constantly about working together to teach discipline, empathy, etc. I talk to other dcw about how behavioral characteristics are what are mostly missing from our "requirements" our "assessments" and our curriculums. And I am working hard to come up with a way to re-invent the wheel: to teach my dck about these things as a part of their dc experience - the MAIN part, not a book or unit on being "cooperative" or "truthful", but an experience that is every day, all day and that they will carry out of here as a basic part of their personality for all of their lives.

I know, it sounds too good to be true, and maybe it is. After all, I'm not the mom, only the "babysitter". But I have them more waking hours every weekday than mom does. I think I can have a lot of influence on them - hopefully for the good!

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