This week’s blog features Jackson , 15, an amazing young man I met who is an aspiring nurse and Jayda, 17, a confident, bold, young woman who is also looking to go into the field of medicine. Jackson and Jayda have style and flare and will give us their insight regarding adults, kids and respect. (all answers are straight from them, with grammatical errors corrected by moi.)
- Do you feel that your generation lacks respect for their parents?
I do think this generation lacks respect for their parent, because having an attitude or ignoring your parents is cool these days. (Jackson)
- Why do you think this generation has lost respect for their parents or do you think it’s the way they are being raised that they never had it?
I think it depends on the parents. If they were raised strictly then they will be stricter, and if they were raised with not a lot of restrictions, they will not use that kind of parenting with their kids. (Jackson)
I feel like technology and the media have a lot to do with the way children view respect. With the media, children and teens especially are seen being disrespectful towards their parents with no repercussions so children see that and think it’s okay. (Jayda)
- How do you think parents can turn around this generation’s attitude about respecting their elders?
Restrictions on phones, more micro managing, and a clear understanding that they are the child and they’re the parent. (Jackson)
Being active in your child’s life can heavily influence the way children will treat them. Some parents can become detached from their child especially as they grow into their teenage years. Communication is important & being more hands on. (Jayda)
- Do you feel that parents should receive respect or that they have to earn it?
I think they have to earn it. I feel like if my parents don’t listen to me, or hear me out, or be irrational, I feel like I don’t need to respect them because they owe me that same respect back. (Jackson)
Parents should receive respect, but if a parent is completely disregarding their child they may not deserve the same respect an active parent might receive. But children should respect their parents regardless. (Jayda)
- How do you feel when you see someone your age or younger being disrespectful to an elder?
I just kind of stand there and let it happen because it’s not my place. But I do get a little uncomfortable because it’s just kind of awkward to see it happen.
It bothers me when I see my friends disrespecting their parents. One of my best friends can be very disrespectful towards her mother and she takes advantage of the fact her mother won’t do anything about it. I don’t like to see it and I’ll usually speak up about it when I’m around. (Jayda)
- How can your peers help correct this generation’s behavior?
By thinking about the consequences down the road if they continue their bad behavior. (Jackson)
Leading by example is probably the most effective way of getting someone to listen especially when you may not have a lot of power. (Jayda)
- Have you ever had an incident where you felt disrespected by an adult and how did you deal with?
I have been disrespected by an adult. I handled it not so well. I got disrespectful right back. My explanation for this is that if you’re a grown adult, and you get into it with a child, you drop right down to my level and you’re just as ignorant as I am. (Jackson)
Yes. Often when I used to work in the fast food industry. It would never really be anything I can do about it but smile and help them solve whatever problem they were having. (Jayda)
- In hindsight of how you dealt with the situation as you mature would you have dealt with it differently?
I would not have dealt with it differently. I pretty much stand my ground in situations like this. (Jackson)
I’ve learned that when people are disrespectful towards me it’s not always the best idea to retaliate with disrespect. “Kill them with kindness” is effective because it can make people think about their actions. (Jayda)
- Write a quote you could use to express how important respect of elders is to your peers.
“A child who is allowed to be disrespectful to his parents will not have true respect for anyone”~ Jayda