TEENAGERS
Birge-Bytes: "A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killers hand!" Does this sound familiar??? It was written in Ancient Rome by Lucius Annaeus Seneca!! It is not a new excuse for the use of weapons...
"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing!" (Albert Einstein ) He also said, "we cannot solve our problems with the SAME thinking we used when we created them!"
Great truths that Adults have learned:
(1) Wrinkles don't hurt.
(2) Families are like fudge...mostly sweet with a few nuts!
(3)Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground!
(4)Laughing is good exercise! It's like jogging on the inside...
(5)Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber and not the toy.
And, last but not least? Raising teenagers is like nailing jello to a tree!
THE YEAR IS 1909 AMERICA:
(Average life expectancy was 47)
(1959)Teen years...
I love teenagers because it IS so confusing today & the ones that make the right choices are my heroes! Mrs.B.
P.S. On a positive note Today's Teens ARE curious & questioning. 79% of today's teens feel Church and/or Faith is a Good and Positive thing to have.They are looking for answers and they are looking to PARENTS & TEACHERS for Guidance. Please don't disappoint them.
"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing!" (Albert Einstein ) He also said, "we cannot solve our problems with the SAME thinking we used when we created them!"
Great truths that Adults have learned:
(1) Wrinkles don't hurt.
(2) Families are like fudge...mostly sweet with a few nuts!
(3)Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground!
(4)Laughing is good exercise! It's like jogging on the inside...
(5)Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber and not the toy.
And, last but not least? Raising teenagers is like nailing jello to a tree!
THE YEAR IS 1909 AMERICA:
(Average life expectancy was 47)
- only 8% of homes had a telephone
- Only 14% of homes had a bathtub
- There was 8,000 cars & 144 miles paved roads
- Maximum speed limit was 10 MPH.
- 95% of ALL births were at HOME
- Most women washed their hair once a MONTH & used Borax or egg yolks!
- Two out of every ten adults could neither read or write!
- Only 6% of all Americans had graduated high school
- There were only 230 murders reported in the USA!
(1959)Teen years...
- TECHNOLOGY: Network t.v., phone & radio.We had the first TV in our neighborhood! Very popular.
- EXPOSURE TO VIOLENCE: Highly regulated.
- TODAY: 8 out of 10 teens said they didn't have a problem with it BUT 53% of the SAME teens said violence on t.v./movies sends the WRONG message to young people! Adult Homicide rate has remained fairly steady for the last 40 years BUT the Teen Homicide rate has risen 168%!!!!!! 25% now are killers under 21.
- THE FRAGMENTED FAMILY: Concept was for the "nuclear family" (Father,Mother,children)Mine were divorced & stood out from the norm.I couldn't have teen slumber parties because my Dad was single!!
- TODAY: In 8 out of 10 families it is the FATHER that is absent...much less "extended family" support like (Grandparents,Aunts,Uncles)Much less closeness in healthy neighborhoods, Churches & Community.
- NEUTRAL MORAL AND RELIGIOUS VALUES: For the first time in American history,teens are growing up missing certain moral values that are now seen as "neutral" ..."If it feels good...do it!"A recent survey found that it is now felt that "what is right for one MAY not be right for another"; that "morals and ethics is different for certain people" and 57% of teens said "Lying is sometimes necessary"...very "vague" as to what that means to them.
- TODAY: Called the "Bridger Generation" (after 1977) who are fuzzy at best about right and wrong...no clear standards; mostly amoral.
- Generations before: (1)"Builders Generation(before 1946)..."Boomers Generation"(their children) and the "Busters Generation" (their children)all started withdrawing from churches in large numbers. The Boomers and Busters Knew their parents & grandparents morality as "Theory rather than Practice"!
I love teenagers because it IS so confusing today & the ones that make the right choices are my heroes! Mrs.B.
P.S. On a positive note Today's Teens ARE curious & questioning. 79% of today's teens feel Church and/or Faith is a Good and Positive thing to have.They are looking for answers and they are looking to PARENTS & TEACHERS for Guidance. Please don't disappoint them.
