They Only Look Like Adults

American youth are behind the maturity curve. Even for those kids whose parents remain together – which is a crapshoot – they don’t necessarily have real mentors. The primary influence on American youth these days is American youth. They grow up surrounded by 20 kids their age and a few teachers, and it continues like this until they graduate from college, which, these days, many consider as necessary as high school. So by the time a person reaches the age of 22, he has little idea how to handle money, little understanding of complex social and political issues, and as was my case, no idea how to do the laundry.

Consider 17-year-old Jamie Lynn Spears, Britney’s little sister, who recently gave birth. What’s currently garnering a lot of media attention is how quickly her teenage body recovered from the pregnancy. Many people are well aware that a woman’s body reassumes its original shape much more easily after a young pregnancy. But when everyone got a good a look at how quickly it actually happened, they were shocked.

Now I didn’t turn out the way my parents wanted, but being raised in the 50’s and 60’s, by the time I was 18 I could change a tire, balance a checkbook, do laundry, cook a meal for 8, use power tools, shoot straight (archery and firearms), back a trailer, count change and add/subtract/multiply/divide in my head.

I learned most of the rest of my skills in college and USAF Basic.

that's great... i was a differnt story... but our 12-year old son can do most of those things... he cannot cook a meal for 8... he can drive a truck, drive a boat, start a campfire, or a fire in the fire place, he uses power tools, is learning to be a pretty good shooter, does mental math, has been doing his own laundry for four years now, he can install a sprinkler line, mow an acre of lawn on a riding lawn mower, plant plants, set up a tent, put together anything that comes with instructions including a trampoline and do many, many other things that my husband and i have taught him... plus he can clean house really well, toilets and all...

on top of all that he memorizes poetry, plays the piano, quotes Shakespeare, and recently took up hooking rugs--something he learned from his grandmother... he can do so much more at 12 than i could at 20... i was the youngest of 7 children--much older children, and i was spoiled...

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