Clears throat and steps on soap box.....
My parents expected us to work and "earn our keep" so to speak. Everyone had chores, a paper route, a babysitting gig, something. We were not poor, but they had been and knew that instilling these values in us would benefit us to create a life that was better than theirs. It worked. We were rewarded for good grades and accomplishments. We took exactly one out of state vacation to visit relatives. I had two "generations" of children. My two daughters who might be considered the children of boomers like me (GenX?) and my second two, a girl and a boy that were born in 1988 and 1989 who came along later (GenY?)
Fast forward with the two youngest, I tried as best I could to emulate my parents values with my children. The attitude that the next generation should have it better than the last resulted in a culture of coddling and was well represented everywhere I looked. My son received participation trophies. The schools sent home literature about self esteem initiatives. Try as I might to have a "normal" birthday party for my 6 year old, after she attended parties where private venues were rented and catering was the norm. I had a normal party. I baked the cake, decorated my humble abode, did face painting on all the party guests with a kit I bought, played some games and had prizes for the winners etc. The kids loved it! The parents, not so much. Their attitude was "When we hosted your child, we rented out the poolside room at the local indoor pool, had pizza delivered from their favorite restaurant, and gave everyone a prize.
As my income increased, I caved and started the "keep up with the Joneses" routine. I remember once mentioning to my then husband, "what do I have to do for the next birthday party, rent an elephant?". All of their friends had cell phones. I told them they would have to wait until their teens. They pouted and complained to their friends that I was old fashioned and didn't understand. I stood my ground but when the elder of the two turned 13, I got them each a phone because they are 18 months apart and I knew talking to eachother was necessary.
One thing I would NOT do, is treat them like mere children. They were "adults in the making". They were not protected from the news, the real world or the realities of finances. They were brought in to family budget decisions anXd knew the limitations of said budget.
The schools, the parents, the peer pressure is all very real. Short of home-schooling and living off the grid, it is a jungle out there. Fortunately, my kids have had the "Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat" in various endeavors of their life which helped them greatly. Over protection, over-parenting, over-protecting, over-expecting, over-promising etc. isn't working to create responsible, caring, considerate, humane, or even realistic adults. Yes, my children are now adults. With real adult problems. And they can deal with them.
It was hard to raise Gen-Yers. I cannot imagine now that my oldest daughters have children ( GenXers, they were raised by a hard working single mom) I cannot imagine the pressure they are under to be helicopter parents or over-protective or raise PLSF (precious little snowflakes). Oddly, my grandchildren were raised by great mom's who taught them to appreciate everything and everybody. They are polite. They are funny. They have great vocabularies. They have daily chores. They do their homework before they watch TV or use their electronics. They have select one extracurricular activity to focus on etc.
I do not think we are "doomed". I worry more about the generation that follows the "Millenials". However, the entitlement mentality has taken over everywhere. When everyone is so easily "offended" and "being offended" is now taking on an equivalent footing as an assult, that is disturbing.
Drops Mike. Steps off soapbox.