Generation Z

I was talking with my friend the other day about Generation Z and the way they are growing up...the values they don't have and the expectations they do.  Sometimes I feel sad for them and also scared for their future.  I don't blame them.  No, I think their Gen Xer parents are to blame.  How can the Me Generation possibly raise children who are not not self-centered, self-promoting and micro-minded?

My kids are Zers.  So are their friends.  They have nice friends who have nice parents.  Some nice, but not so nice.  Like nice on the outside, but not the inside.  There is no authenticity in the niceness.  You see there is a sense of competitiveness and there are airs of importance and agendas I don't remember coming into the equation between myself and my childhood friends.

Kids just don't seem to be kids anymore.  And what maddens me most  is that I hear so many parents lament how they grow up too fast and, yet they buy them the latest phones and pay for unlimited texting.  I hear people say how they don't appreciate what they have, and then they turn right around and buy them everything they want.  I hear, "They're too busy," but guess who signs them up and pays for all the extracurriculars?  They complain that there is too much homework and that tests are too frequent and difficult, and then they are indignant that their children aren't being challenged.  They plan and navigate every facet of their children's lives giving new meaning to living vicariously.  They get involved immediately when there are conflicts, and are always quick to find fault with the teacher, the coach, the friend.     

This is a blanket statement about an entire generation and their parents.  I know there are many families who still live by and teach good old fashioned values and personal responsibility.  I know there are because I know them.  They are my friends. These are the people I choose to be friends with.  We seem to be in the minority.

If I sound a little haughty here, I'll own it.  I am.  I am because I believe in the way we are raising our children even though I'll be the first to admit that it's hard to be in the minority.  And let me just say that my kids are not deprived, but they're not indulged either.  So many of their peers are indulged.  That sometimes makes my kids feel deprived.  As a parent, I truly want to give them everything I can and do everything I can and always say 'yes,' but I believe that not giving in to these desires is the best gift of all.  They appreciate every treat, outing and vacation. They don't expect them or take them for granted.  They say 'thank you' after a meal either home cooked or enjoyed out, and after receiving a gift big or small.  They say it and they mean it.  They know they are fortunate.

I think we could do much more to help them appreciate how fortunate we are.

My friend told me a story that I cannot stop thinking about.  She shared how her priest spoke of being on a mission trip in the Dominican Republic where people are living in unbelievable poverty, yet trying to raise money for the children of Africa. They don't have shoes for their feet, they don't know where their next meal will come from, when it rains they get soaked because their housing is inadequate, and yet they give.  They give to others what they need.  Isn't that the purest form of generosity?  I'm ashamed to admit that I do not do that.  I don't think I could.  I think of how so many consumers rush out to buy the latest Apple this or that, to get the newest model car, the latest video game or gadget, and I truly wonder what kind of happiness is derived from these things.  I question is it ever enough?  I cannot see the good.  I cannot shake the feeling that how we live now...our actions toward one another and this earth today...has the greatest impact on young, impressionable children who will be our future.  I just don't think we're living by a very good example, and that is not OK.