The Mouths of Children Today

Maybe I'm old fashioned, maybe I'm old school or bordering near being The Crypt Keeper as my daughter likes to call me...but it's amazing to me how kids have changed since I was young.

I know it has to do with how they are raised and their environment. I know kids always mouth off to their parents, just to see what they can get away with. I remember attempting the "storming off out of the room" routine that I always saw on television. Somehow that never worked. My mother was never like Pa Ingalls. When Brittany's behaviors were at her worst, she'd swear at me like a sailor. I never knew she knew all those words and I still don't think she knew what they meant. I told her if I had ever talked to my mother that way, I'd have gotten a slap. So, I never knew where it came from, but then it made me realize it came from other kids at school.

This past weekend, I went to visit one of my best friends that I've known since I was 12. She was with me when I thought I was straight and we've had a few years of losing touch with each other for what ever reason. She has been with her boyfriend for 12 years I think, so it is more than a passing thing. And he is a wonderful guy...I love him to pieces. He has 2 kids, the girl is 15 and the boy is now in college. It's true, the girl is a bit high strung, but the language that came out of her mouth shocked me...what shocked me the most was that her father was joining in with her...with F**** You....no F*** you. Oh I say that glorious word all the time, amoung others as do most people. But then when I said to my friend, "Wow she does have a mouth on her doesn't she?" My friend says, "Well, we let them swear and it's not a big deal. We used to talk to them and tell them not to, but it's just easier to let them talk the way they want."

Is it me, or is that crazy? Oh I know they disagreed with choices I made about Brittany when she was younger. They thought she shouldn't be on any medication, Period. And I respect their decisions in parenting as their own. I guess we will always disagree on this point. I think about this girl in the workplace, dealing with the public, hopefully she knows when it's okay to use the language and when it's just not appropriate. For me, it's disrespectful and blurs the line between parent and buddy. But I see young people today in the clothes they wear and the way they talk...it's just amazing to me that it's been allowed to happen. Of course, you can do the best you can do and kids still make bad choices and don't turn out the way you hoped.

Oh I'm sure my mother thinks I turned out wrong myself. I used to think she taught me some good things, but maybe they were things I already knew and were in my soul...because she, herself has not learned them. So, it's not all parenting....

But some of it should be.