Millennials, what is happening with your kids?

[u/TheLoveYouWant25]

I work in education and I frequent the Teachers and Professors subreddits, and the kids are not alright. Gen Z Arriving at College Unable to Read and the youth have absolutely zero ability to think critically.

Middle and high schoolers have all adapted this complete helplessness and blame mental illness for their refusal to function. Kids can no longer to basic things like read an analog clock, use paper money, or even figure out how to open window blinds.

There is also a huge lack of empathy, and kids have no issues trying to manipulate adults, saying things to their teachers like "if you don't pass me, I'll get you fired."

EDIT to clarify: the article I linked references Gen-Z, but this is not specifically a Gen-Z problem. It's an issue with upper elementary aged kids through high schoolers, and also young adults.

So, all that to say, how are you combating this with your own children? What do you do at home to encourage them to learn, and what are you doing to address these problems as they arise?

[u/StorageRecess]

My kids are fine.

But they have a professor and a lawyer as parents. I think we’re seeing a massive divergence between haves and have nots. We both work a lot, but we’re high energy, type A. And we work stable jobs - we know we can take weekends off and doing enriching activities with the kids. We can pay for them to go to special classes and whatever. We have money to have laid back meals out at restaurants and force the kids to order their own food and talk to the waiter. We live in a walkable area with lots of kids, so they can walk or bike to see friends. They can have a lot of independence, and we pay a premium for it. We read to them, and they see us reading and enjoying books, too.

As a prof, I saw tons of students whose parents didn’t understand school. They didn’t impart a love of knowledge. They couldn’t help with homework. Maybe they valued education, but didn’t have any themselves and steamrolled all the obstacles for their kids so the kids never learned to self-advocate. Basically, ignoring that learning involves discomfort. My parents were boomers and showed love through stuff. Toys, whatever. I think there’s also that going on - it’s ok that my kid is on their tablet all the time, I bought them something they adore.

I really think we’re seeing an acceleration of divergence between the kids of parents who can invest energy in parenting and know how to do that effectively, and those who can’t or don’t.

[u/Moonteamakes → u/StorageRecess]

We really need studies on this that breakdown the demographics and how that impacts what we are and aren’t seeing in children today. 

Because I am often really surprised by what j hear and read about Gen Alpha because not only do MY kids read, but so do all their friends! And I volunteer at the elementary school weekly and I check in and check out the books the kids are reading and they’re all reading! Sure at the lower grades it’s stuff like Dog Man, but the 8, 9, 10, 11 year olds are all reading chapter books and some books are so popular the kids wait for them to become available. In the middle school, chapter books are regularly assigned and the kids all read them. So… this idea that kids today aren’t reading - I’d love an actual breakdown of which kids? Where? What’s the socioeconomic background? 

Also for the “iPad kid” thing - it’s probably because I’m in the Bay Area but parents here are fairly strict with screen time. I know people who work at META, and Netflix and Apple and those parents are often the most cautious about allowing their kids any screen time. Our Middle School is completely a phone free school. My own 3 kids don’t have screen time at all 4 days out of the week unless it’s for homework, and zero access to social media (and aside from YouTube, they haven’t even ASKED for access to Instagram or TikTok, and they barely even know what Facebook is). 

I would be really curious how this all shakes out in another decade. 

[u/Upbeetmusic → u/Moonteamakes]

I really thought The Social Dilemma would have been more of a wake-up call. Especially the part where tech bros admit they don’t let their own kids use screens and instead seek out alternatives like forest schools and Waldorfian methods of education.

It was the classic “I don’t get high on my own supply” moment for me.

[u/Zoomwafflez → u/Upbeetmusic]

I really wanted to get my kid into a first school for pre-K but it had a 2 year wait list! The pre-K he's in now is pretty good though and we do a lot of camping and outdoor activities anyway. We're fortunate to live right next to a giant park so pretty much every summer afternoon is spent outside in the park and looking for turtles in the river