Where Childhood Went

Adults of the world, let's be honest: we're always sighing and wringing our hands and complaining about how kids today have to grow up so fast, but we are totally ignoring the truth.  "Why can't we just let kids be kids?"  we ask.  "Whatever happened to childhood?"

Um, hello--we stole it from them.  Let's be honest: today's adults act like 10-year-olds.  We are completely reverting to childhood, and it's affecting every aspect of society.  Take, for example, Joe Lieberman. After losing the Connecticut Democratic primary in August, he decided to stay in the general election by running as an Independent.  This is more or less the exact same strategy employed by Sister Bear in the Berenstain Bear's No Girls Allowed; after Brother Bear built a clubhouse and said Sister couldn't come in, she decided to go ahead and build her own, cooler clubhouse instead.

This trend's many manifestations include the preponderance of adult kickball leagues, "cool" offices, and general discussions (my own included) of our nation's obsession with sentimentalizing things that happened three days ago.  (Please note that I openly admit to being one of the worst offenders in this category.)  And let's not forget the grups. It all points to the overwhelming conclusion that we're all turning into 10-year-olds--except, of course, for the actual 10-year-olds, who are busy joining gangs and buying suggestive T-shirts.  Have today's kids even heard of the Berenstain Bears?  Probably not, but they do all have cell phones and a favorite latte.

I worry about how this will play out if I ever have kids of my own.  I can imagine the typical dinner conversation as my five-year old briefs us on the newest sexual slang, my preteen talks about how Nicorette has made it so much easier to quit smoking this time around, and I dish out the green beans and tell everyone about how Mommy won her kickball game today.

Comments

[lauren]

Very true. And I loved those books. I noticed recently all the 10-12 year old girls with cell phones. I was a senior in HS before I ever had one. 12 year olds do not need phones. period.

[Adam]

That girl who just posted clearly must have found your blog by Googling her own name, which came to your blog because you and Kelly are mentioned together frequently.

Furthermore, I wonder how long this traffic on the blog will last.

[Lauren]

You sound disgruntled.

I saw a Berenstein Bears book once. It was title Berenstein Bear get's kicked in the nuts. It had sister kicking brother in the, well nuts. It was pretty funny.

[neal]

what the hell?!
conference bike?
conference bike... if your company uses the conference bike, you should promptly ride yourself off a cliff, overpass or bridge. what happened to a table with a gaggle of uncomfortable chairs? this is work. if it was supposed to be fun, it would be called unemployment with pay.

[Jeff]

That woman's hand in the photo looks very man-ish. In fact, it's damn near caveman-ish.

[Dan]

I don't understand what this post has to do with Joe Lieberman, but congrats on saying something negative about him without calling him "Liarman" or "Rape Gurney Joe." You're darn-near unique in the Lieberman detractospehere. (Yes, that was meant as a compliment - I'm compliment deficient)

I taught 7th, 8th, and 9th graders in Japan several years ago and I was taken with how childlike they were. They played sports, rode bikes, walked home from school, and did kid things. They were relatively innocent and sweet, even in the throes of puberty. Coming back to teach in an American high school was a shocking experience.

[fahrrad]

Dies ist ein großer Ort. Ich möchte hier noch einmal.