On Parenting this Generation….

Youngster now a days are exposed early to a lot of things that I was exposed I think 2 to 3 years later when I was in their age.  I don't know if it is also because of technology or also even school lesson is also far more advance now than before.  I remember I started to learned how to do my addition when I was in Grade 1 maybe around 3rd to 4th grading, while my boy who was in pre-kinder learned it during the 2nd grading.  How to tell time using an analog watch was taught to us if I am not mistaken when we were in grade 2, whereas my pre-schooler's final exams paper was write the time the clock says.

These observation doesn't only goes to preschoolers but mostly with the adolescents.  As young as 9 years old, girls now are having their menarche ( first menstruation ) and boys (in the philippines) wanted to be circumcized by almost the same age (during their 3rd grade).  They learn sexuality, gender and gender identity younger than we had before, but the problem is, the source of learning these things.

Filipino youngsters today learn more from internet and their peers than from their parents or school teachers. And it is quite alarming that they depend on what they have read in a not so realible website and their unexperienced friends and try it on their own.  They are aggresive and usually doesn't think of the consequences their actions will bring. These may lead to more serious problem if not addressed properly. 

As a parent, I think its time that we must really sit with our kids and also learn from them.  Not always telling them what to do and learn from us, but also try to see what movie they watch, navigate the site that they are going in the net, and learn these together with them.  We can also try to loosen a bit the tightness of holding onto them with the things they want, like activities they want to experience, books/articles they want to read, places they want to go and the like.  Growing up with them in their generation will lessen the problems that may arise with the fast track type of life today.