[ForegoneAlternative]

What do you expect when most parents refuse to grow up, and most children are forced to mature before their time?

[stands2reason]

They fail to understand parenting is a job-- it is your responsibility to teach your children to become civilized, not to indulge their every whim because you don't want to bother with the hassle. These people are what's killing civilization.

[glc1173@aol.com]

The "generation gap" is bigger than it ever was in 1968; it's called money.

Back in 1968, today's U.S. parents of teenagers - at least the overwhelming majority who were European-American - were almost guaranteed a standard of living equal to that of the lower Brit landed gentry as soon as they got a bachelor's degree in any subject. They didn't graduate to student loan debt the size of a Mercedes, either - because their parents paid the bill and because college expenses were low before federal student aid. They typically retired to a full pension before "downsizing" even was a word.

But now underemployment is rife among America's best-educated recent college graduates. It's especially rife among the most-educated - those with graduate or law degrees. Student-loan indebtedness is enormous - a reality of the transfer of college responsibilities from parents to kids. To worsen their futures - compared to Hillary's generation, which their parents were part of, still more - "downsizing" is now common.

[Sabertooth]

I'm youthful enough that I've been mistaken for my high school daughter's older brother. She and I play a game... I tune a classic rock station and she has to guess the artist to change the channel (after the song's over, of course). Then I have to guess the artist on her stations ... (System of a Down, Linkin' Park, Incubus, etc.) to change it back.

We saw Dave Matthews the other night, and I'm taking her to see Cheap Trick next month, and the Rolling Stones with Sheryl Crow and No Doubt in November.

But that's all just for fun. The generation gap is still there, as it should be. She still doesn't have pierced ears (mutual agreement, actually), wear spaghetti straps, or show her belly button.

[LadyDoc]

Parents and children as friends "Fun" is, in fact, a word heard far more frequently in families today than in the past, when "duty" and "responsibility" were often operative words.

Yup. Sounds about right. Which is why most of the kids lack a parent (usually a father) who prefers fun with a young chickie to being a parent, and either didn't marry mom or ran off with another babe.

[SamAdams76]

I know the generation gap is disappearing when I see grandparents listening to Led Zeppelin and going to Aerosmith concerts. When I was growing up, my parents were horrified with rock music.