Are we raising a generation of whiners?
Posted
Jul 14 2008, 02:26 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Jesse at You Need a Budget has a 4-month-old daughter, Lydia, and is concerned about how to raise her properly. He's deeply worried about what he sees as an American trend.
In a post that pulls no punches on a subject many others might dance around, he writes: "I'm sure it's partly my own biases, seeing things through my own lens, but it seems society is bent on making our kids the softest, weakest, most selfish, spoiled brats the world has ever known. Are we raising a Generation Y-Me?" His answer: Yes.
There's are risks associated with making this argument. You can sound like the old grandpa who claimed to have walked three miles to school each way in the snow -- barefoot, no less. You could end up stereotyping an entire generation -- which is unfair -- and turning people off to your message.
But isn't it still worth talking about, as we prepare our children for a world that's probably not going to be as predictable and prosperous as the one we've come from?
Jesse says our approach to personal finance has morphed over the last several decades. He writes: "The crowning achievement in personal finance for my grandfather and his generation was to 'own your home' (and it was likely 1,000 square feet -- not 2,000-plus). It seems the baby boomer changed that clarion call to something along the lines of 'leverage what equity you do have in your home to fit a lifestyle you can't afford.'"
In other words, he's identified the source of the problem -- and it is us. "If we screw up, we look for a bailout," he says. "If we're duped, we look for a regulator to prevent us from being duped again." Our kids are raised to be soft, and they're told they are all winners. The Wii has taken the place of "we are going outside to play," he says.
He plans to teach Lydia that life can be tough and prepare her for a struggle. He says: "If we always hold her hand, she'll never learn to walk. If we give her handouts, she'll never learn to work. Sacrifice. And win."
