Kids today

[foolish01]

why do some people think this generation of kids are terrible?

just because you get hundreds of rubbish programs like 'Supernanny' doesnt mean all kids are like that.

im 14 and i dont smoke, takedrugs or commit violent crimes, annd yet if i walk down the street with some friens, everyone quickly looks away and pretends they cant see us.

just because some people are violent and nasty doesnt mean everyone else is.

[Chessman]

I've got to agree with you f1, I'm in my fifties, and I wish you the very best for the future. The problem, from my point of view, is the lack of deterrent for the ones that do err, meaning that once they have been caught doing something wrong, having just a slap on the wrist, they feel they can go out and just do whatever they want with impunity.

Just for the record, where I live, the youngsters about your age do on occasion get up to mischief, but in the main, they are as good as gold, and don't mind going out of their way do help the senior citizens from time to time.

[Lore]

personally I find it's not the children who are the problem, sadly some parents don't have the knowledge of strategies to deal with bad behaviour and so in trying to stop the problem they create a monster by constantly shouting at them or worse still, smacking! a lot of these (for want of a better word) 'difficult' children are mostly misunderstood.

these programmes take the worst case scenario and hone in on the most difficult situations, by doing this they can talk about how to tackle the problem and focus on ways in which to deal with them.

unfortunately this coms across as.. look at how badly behaved our children are! instead of we need help as we don't know how to deal with this problem!

Don't feel threatened by these programmes or the actions of others in your area, you know inside what are, you don't need to justify yourself to others!

[geo0939]

I understand your position totally. I'm a 66 year old pensioner and I got the same response when I was your age. The thing is, there is a basic truth which applies to all generations. Everyone has an understanding of what is right and what is wrong. Just stick with it and do the right thing. In years to come you will look back and understand it all. Fortunately you are at least thinking about this, which gives you a head start on the others. Stick with it and you'll be fine.

[stanleyman]

I would agree with the other comments, but there is a real fear of kids by some people, they don't know what to expect from these strangers especially if they are playing about and having a laugh, they don't know how far it will go. Laughter can often turn quickly to violence if it is seen to be disapproved of, more so if drink is involved, "what are you looking at?" That's why they pretent not to see you. It's not your fault and there is little you can do but smile and wave to put them at ease.

As I see it a lot of this bad behaviour is perpetuated through generations of families who never see any other way. If that cycle could be broken by teaching people how to live normal and productive lives then everyone would be better off. Unfortunately, as always, the actions of a minority affects the perceptions of the majority and everyone in that group suffers. Look at recent events, a few Muslim fanatics now make all Muslims look like terrorists in many peoples eyes! Life ain't fair, good luck.

[foolish01]

cheers

[WendyS]

You're right and I think you can be justly proud of yourself.

I suspect that one of the reasons why people look away from you when you're walking down the street with friends may be that young people in a group can sometimes feel intimidating to others, especially if they are full of life and perhaps over enthusiastic with the volume of their voices. The elderly if they are alone, feel quite vulnerable from the threat of attack, either verbal or physical and know that on their own, they would have no chance of defending themselves, so they simply try and look away to avoid inviting trouble.

Sometimes (and you may have come across them yourself in city centres) a situation can arise when group of young people can become aggressive or violent out of the blue, so sensible people just take the line of least resistance and try to steer clear. Try not to take it personally; people are just trying to stay safe in sometime difficult environments.