America Beware, You're in for a Scare | Teen Ink

America Beware, You're in for a Scare

December 10, 2018
By JAGO0578 SILVER, Tirana, Other
JAGO0578 SILVER, Tirana, Other
5 articles 0 photos 7 comments

The United States of America has seen a major change in parenting:  from parents as the authority figures allowing children to have controlled space to grow, to parents who micromanage children, choreograph their days, and prevent their kids from experiencing any mistakes.  These children are Generation Z. While some might praise this new ideology as progressive, healthy, and effective, recent studies have shown that the United States could be damaging its future. Issues such as obesity, vitamin D deficiency, accepted mediocracy, lethargy, lack of discipline, and a lack of problem-solving skills could possibly be a threat to national security in the future.  

Parents nowadays have objections to disciplining their children.  The new generation has changed drastically for the worst with parents not wanting to be a disciplinarian but rather a friend. Everyone has heard the term “helicopter parent,” “snowplow parent,” “bulldozer parent,” etc.  We as a society have dismissed these terms as mocking or condescending, used to describe parents who “care” excessively - to the detriment of their children’s development. What we haven’t figured out yet is that these labels have behind them a grain of truth.  New generation parents feel like they’re helping their children by clearing all obstacles in their paths -- or “snowplow parent.” These well-intentioned parents are inadvertently hurting their children by not letting them solve their own problems. If children can’t learn to do things by themselves, then how will they ever learn?  “It’s hard to deny that parents are more involved in their children’s lives and education than ever before. Parents micromanage their offspring in almost every way,” says Graham C.L. Davey Ph.D.

The United States of America was made great by hard-working pioneers.  When they found obstacles, determined pioneers found ways to get over them.  So, what's so different about this Generation Z? Their parents have made them equals to them at home and have let them have a say in things, such as their nutrition, bedtimes, pastimes, and habits.  Until the 1970s, what the parent said was the final say in the matter. The parents had the power in the household because they paid bills, washed clothes, provided meals, and quite literally provided you with life.  Now parents still do all these things, but they make sure their children are ok with these first. “The point is that kids in the pre-micromanagement and pre-coddling days enjoyed a freedom that kids today, by and large, don’t even know they’re missing. For one thing, we were free to fail, which is the greatest of all freedoms,” said John Rosemond an American columnist, a public speaker and an author on parenting.

These new parenting styles have been linked with a whole set of problems in the United States, such as the U.S. Army not meeting its recruiting goals in 2017, a lack of Vitamin D as a new health epidemic because the “video game” kids are not going outside anymore, and the acceptance of mediocrity in schools - with nobody allowed to fail. Studies have shown that up to 75% of 17-24 year olds are ineligible for service in the armed forces because of having a criminal record, being overweight, or simply being academically unprepared.  ”Roughly two-thirds of adults, and nearly 30% of children are overweight or obese,” says Christopher J.L. Murray, Professor and Chair of the Department of Health Metrics Sciences. This situation is now considered a national security risk that could affect the United States in the near future, the Army missed their recruiting goal in 2018 of 80,000 new recruits for the first time in 25 years. The United States education rates are going down due to mediocracy being accepted, again, since parents are doing things for their children so they can't do them by themselves. Places like Japan have excellent education levels because of the independence that is installed in the children at an early age, they learn to become hard workers instead of their parents doing things for them which is the thing that is usually seen in the United States. The United States of America could be faced with some new major problems if cycles are not changed.


The author's comments:

This piece is meant to show the people of the United States that if we do not change our ways its shape up or ship out.


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This article has 2 comments.


on Mar. 11 2019 at 3:40 pm
JAGO0578 SILVER, Tirana, Other
5 articles 0 photos 7 comments
@Psychokitty60 sorry what comment I'm confused. Response
Parents do micromanage their children when it comes to school and extra curricular activities but let them be equals when it comes to discipline, the world of parenting is no longer black and white but a large spectrum of colors. Children are not left to have a say in things when they are at home but rather choose to, if your dad made some salad for dinner and you wanted pizza, wouldn't you with the hypothetical child's mindset fight him on it? The difference is that in past generations children learned quickly that they were not the boss in the house but rather the employee with benefits, now , parents let their children be in a form of control which they use to push boundaries trying to control, bedtime, nutrition, screen usage, etc. The household has become a company with two CEO's.

Next response
The U.S education system is falling lower and lower due to the mediocrity of the students, they would not as you stated drop out of school due to mediocrity because most children in the U.S go to public schools where many students slip through the cracks into mediocrity. Many highschoolers drop out because they decide to take easy ways out, comforting themselves saying "I can get plenty of jobs", the reality is that they have a role in their own mediocrity. Their parents not allowing them to fail as children in elementary school or middle school resulted in them not being able to figure out their own problems which led to them thinking there is a fail safe and not applying themselves to work and slipping through the cracks becoming the barely useful and barely functioning members of society. I guarantee that if students apply themselves fully to everything they do they would excel in academics, sports, home life etc.

I don't think you understand the micromanagement thing
because parents micromanage their kids from a young age and solve problems for them a lot of kids fall into a mind state where all their problems will be solved no matter what. They become lazy, fat and thinking they can do whatever and everything will be ok they partake in criminal activity. In a flash they are 18 sitting on a couch about to start their life, oh wait they have bad grades, no physical strength and no self capabilities. They are also not fit to join the military. Contrary to the popular belief that the military will take anyone even they have standards (Not the Marines or the Army though :) ). I really hope you where joking when you said people not joining the military was a good thing because that statement was ridiculous and quite frankly plain stupid. Humans have been drawn to war ever since we found out we could kill each other, it has only evolved, you would not be sitting in a free country with the rights you have if not for the bravery of the Continental army. The United States has been through countless wars that we would not have come out of if not for the bravery and skill of our armed forces. My family has fought in every war since the revolutionary have a long line of service. I plan to serve my country one day and I think I'm in the right state of mind, maybe not though. Count your blessings and hopefully don't tell that joke about the military again, not to hot that one.

As for this article condoning child abuse, that is the most ridiculous thing I've heard in a while. Gen Z's definition of child abuse includes hurting feelings and creating differing opinions from popular belief. If what we did back then was child abuse then we need to continue it today because those generations with so called abuse were the ones that made this country the great, leader of the free world it is today. Though I didn't know child abuse was putting a child in their realistic place and teaching them life skills

Thanks so much for your comment, I am happy to receive feedback on my work. I did this for a class and I think it turned out well,

Regards, Jago

on Mar. 4 2019 at 7:34 pm
Psychokitty60 BRONZE, Lynnwood, Washington
1 article 0 photos 2 comments
OK so I came to this article in order to decide what side of political issues you are on when I mentioned you in that other comment. After reading this it is pretty clear. But I just couldn't give up the chance to talk about all the things in THIS article. You state that a major problem is how parents now-a-days micro-manage their children without letting them figure things out on their own, but then go on to say how kids now are left to make decisions for themselves without the input of the parents. You cite things such as "nutrition, bedtimes, pastimes, and habits". So which is it? are children being micromanaged or let to go do what they want? Also letting kids choose their own pastimes and habits seems like a good thing to me, what better way to have them learn then to have them involved in the activities that they want to do? You talk about school at the end which I thought was interesting. You say that not allowing the children to fail is a bad thing. I agree the U.S. education is a complete mess, but since when did education become a bad thing? You say it is because of mediocre work, but without that acceptation wouldn't most of those students just drop out of school? Or is it better to learn nothing than something? Plus, mediocre work in U.S. schools would be a C or B, correct? That would mean you have all straight A's otherwise you are putting in the same mediocre work, but for some reason I don't think you have perfect grades. You say being academically unprepared means people are not eligible for the military but I fail to see how forcing students to have a harder work load would mean more people in the military as more students would just drop out. Another reason people haven't joined the military is because they have criminal backgrounds, if children ARE being micromanaged, why would they have criminal backgrounds unless they were out doing their own thing without parental micromanagement? I think people not joining the military is a good thing as it shows a more educated society, because who in their right mind would willingly join the military unless it was legitimately their only feasible career path? This entire article full of contradictions that don't make sense and is basically in support of child abuse.