When was it okay for kids to swear in elementary school? Or to see your 13-year-old neice practically sitting on a 14-year-old boy while at the lunch table? Why is it okay for 5th grade girls to wear about as much fabric as a bathing suit in their daily routines? Other than on the Chinese gymnastics team, when did 10 become the new 15?
Kids are growing up way too damn fast! I support siblings helping care for thier younger brothers and sisters. That teaches them essential skills for their futures, and often can lead to profitable babysitting jobs. Besides, if they see how hard it is to keep a family running, maybe they'll keep their legs crossed for a few years longer. But when peewee sports become less about having fun and more about tournaments or the possible high-school scouts in the audience, we have a problem.
Perhaps its the internet and digital age. Kids don't have to sneak their parents' National Geographics to see a topless woman. Parents are giving their pre-teens cell phones and hooking up computers in their rooms before they even get their "big boy beds". Does that really help them? Are they kidding themselve by thinking it will make them smarter or they'll not rebel as much when they think you give them stuff?
And I guess I was at the front edge of this change-over. I learned about sex, AIDS, and that santa wasn't real in the same hour - Nick News was having a special on AIDS, and my mother thought I should know about santa before I got a dose of sex-ed. And I had my share of fun before I was married. But I still feel uncomfortable swearing, especially with my parents present.
When kids can no longer be kids, and start acting like adults before they hit puberty, where does the fun go? What happens to mental development when we can't imagine our fantasies anymore?
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