Reply #24: IMHO, it's distraction, parental apathy, parental stress, and politics. [View All]

[progressivebydesign]

Distraction: Kids apparently need to be entertained passively 24/7 now. They have DVD players in their minivans, DVD players and game boxes in their bedrooms(we're talking toddlers here), they are sat in front of tvs and players for hours on end. Apparently some parents believe that a bunch of coke-snorting party boys from Encino working at the studios are better at child development then they are.

Parental apathy: I watch with horror the transition of parents around the time they hit 6th grade... suddenly, unless the kid is a diehard sports kid, most parents begin to think that the kids can suddenly raise themselves. The parental interaction at school stops, the volunteering there stops, the interest in balancing their kids lives stops, and they are left to their own devices.

Parental stress: Really hard for some parents to really manage a kids life and development when they can't even care for themselves properly. Sitting the kid in front of the tv while you all stare at it from 5pm to 10pm is not parenting. But unfortunately our society has reached a stress level that contributes to national anxiety and depression and need to anesthetize ourselves daily, just to get through.

Politics: Schools are the last things funded, and are often badly managed. Schools should have all the funding and attention they need, but they are repeatedly screwed by unfunded mandates.

And... many parents don't value education anymore. They just assume that every single kid should go to college, but they haven't a CLUE how to get them there or make them successful. The parents are abusive to teachers and administrators, always assuming that they are picking on their child, when they have no idea if that's the case.

It's a national problem, the dumbing down of America. I talk to my 13 year old about how parents used to sit down and read a newspaper every day, and knew complex things about the world and the country. They actually reported on tv and the in newspapers about science issues, and world politics, not 3 minutes sound bites... and then a story about an actresses second marriage. People WERE more intellectual. The book, the Dumbing Down of America, is a huge eye-opener. I suggest that book to anyone wondering if it's their imagination. I blame the dependence on pointless hobbies like shopping and passive entertainment taken to the extreme. Either is okay in moderation, but it's like people have lost their ability to do ANYTHING in moderation... drinking, shopping, laying around relaxing, going out to eat. We have become bloated and spoiled, even as we become poorer. I suppose it's a lack of something real... and perhaps that's why the wacky religious stuff is coming back. People feel empty.

Whew.. long post. Back to cleaning the house!