Posted on 09/07/2004 8:49:33 AM PDT by qam1
We boomers grew up before people realized that a cadre of socialist ideologues was subverting the schools deliberately aiming to break the transmission of culture to the next generation and substitute their own. I can remember when even suggesting this was going on was enough to get you labeled "lunatic fringe". They tried to keep it under wraps in the Sixties, but these days, it's right out front and on parade.
You Xers, knowing instinctively that something precious has been lost, have now set yourselves well on the way to recovering it.
ping
Great article.
I'll be the half of the couple who has the much higher earning potential, but in a field where I cannot consult or otherwise work at home. Meanwhile my husband will be more able to work part time from home. It may not be possible for when we plan to have our first child, but good daycare is just so expensive for multiple kids that we will do our hardest to let him be a stay at home dad when we're blessed with children.
We both are at the tail end of Gen-X, both from loving, intact families where both parents worked. I don't feel as if daycare was detrimental to me...I think it's sad that sometimes people assume that daycare is a horrid experience. There are really good centers around here, but they come at a steep price. So for us, it's really a financial consideration rather than a philosophical one.
I respectfully disagree. I think it is common for children to rebel a bit against their parents' values -- and they often gravitate to the values held by their grandparents. See the book "The Fourth Turning" for interesting generational studies of America.
Cool! This is me, too. 35 years young (stay-at-home) mom to 5 month old twins...
As a Baby Boomer who never felt like one (born in "55), I, too,
grew up a latch-key kid in the '60's.
Today, I'm a stay at home, homeschooling mom who feels she fits in better with Xers than any of the boomers I know.
I had thought this might happen with the generation of kids who grew up the way I did. Glad to see my hunch was right.
Parents who have not grown up as a lacth-key kid, have no idea what it is like.
I still remember when my daughter was little and I would drive past day care centers, I would just cry. All of those kids who will grow up knowing mom and dad had better things to do than be with them.
Good grief.
The Nintendo Generation of couch potatoes are beginning to replicate.
When are the parents of these Gen-X slackers ever going to kick 'em out of the nest???
add me to the ping list....great article
Also the way that all my "X'er" friends are much more conservative than our parents were is encouraging.
Yup, that is me as well. I'm also 34--my hubby is 8 yrs older, but he grew up in a traditional family situation--no divorce and youngest of seven children.
Your point is well taken - kids are naturally rebellious as they become increasingly independent.
I should have been a little more clear - I think its generally true that adults tend to mimic their parents' values.
Carolyn
Anyway, I'm thrilled to see this trend being documented. There is always hope...
The future looks good, Obviously good parents = good kids -- See It's the morning after in America this looks like it's going to be a long term trend
And to those that are complaining that we should all get off our butts and go to work - it just reinforces what this article is saying. We have different priorities - to us, family is more important than a fat check. Back to basics.
I would also like to point out that I recently read an article here about how youth these days actually respect their parents. I happen to have a 13 year old and can attest that, as strange as it may sound, my son falls into that category with ease. It seems to me in my feeble mind that paying attention to kids and giving them a strong upbringing actually may have payoffs in the long run.
I see too many generalities in the article. It seems some people presume a status or condemn groups of people just because of the date on their birth certificate. A lot of it is contrived anyhow. I think the only significant difference is between the kids that were raised up pre TV and post TV. My brother was born in '41. His generation seemed generally better adjusted than my group born in the late 1950s. The kids born in the 60s, 70s and 80s shared with my age group the deleterious effects of the overpowering popular culture. The big difference between the kids of the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s were superficial like what no-talent popular musician was being forced upon us or what ugly clothing style was afflicting our particular age. This Generation X, Q and Z garbage sociology is just a reflection of a people with too much time on their hands.
Ah yes, that may be the article I was recalling. Bravo X-ers! Keep up the good work!
That's why so many of us Gen-X young'ens are having only 1 parent work and getting by on less income -- We're making less money so there's less to tax and redistribute to old fogies and we're also waiting for enough of the baby boomers to die off or become senile so we can vote your socialist security, mediscare, prescription drug crap all right out from under you. Isn't majority rule wonderful?
I second that sentiment. I'm an X'er with two kids. The company I work for is far less important than the two of them. I don't see the same sentiment in boomers (as a group, since there are some great boomers among them).
This confirms my observations. I'm the parent of two Boomers and one Gen Xer. The differences between them are stunning. The Boomers are selfish, arrogant, condescending, liberals who refused to have children. The GenXer is loving, generous and just became a father. I'm watching him with his baby and I'm amazed at his ability to care for her. The grandmas on both sides have stepped in to help her working Mom (teacher)by staying with the baby so she won't be raised by strangers. My son lives over his photography studio and is right near if he is needed. I see evidence of better parenting from the Genxers all around me. I say God bless em.
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