Yes, You Did
E. Boyer
I read somewhere that today’s teenagers are making better decisions. I’m not sure what that means but if it’s true why do we constantly hover over them? It seems like parents today are infinitely more involved than parents of my generation were. But, if kids are making better decisions why are we hovering? After all, they’re doing a lot less dangerous stuff than we did. Admit it, you rarely wore a seatbelt or helmet, you had unprotected sex and you partied like a Viking. You drove a vehicle at least once while intoxicated and you knew parents who actually hosted the keg party for your 10th grade class. It’s true that we didn’t have the dark and scary social network sites or even computers and HIV wasn’t a concern back then. But, why weren’t our parents hovering? Face it, we all knew someone who was dating their history teacher or sleeping with somebody’s mom. “My word!” you say. “This is absurd!!” Please, spare me the time consuming task of digging out all those old photos, which undoubtedly have you, Mr. & Mrs. Not-Me, back in the day at one of the Kimmers parties demonstrating your genuine talent and affection for beer-bong hits. There were a good many other talents you demonstrated which the editor of the paper felt weren’t appropriate for print. Let’s just say you had more than one tender moment in the back seat of the station wagon. The point is, we did that stuff. No matter how removed we may feel while cloaked in the safety of our conservative Banana Republic chinos, tastefully decorated homes and environmentally hip vehicles. We did it. So, why do we bring in the team of professionals when our children display the same curiosity? I sometimes feel like we’ve lost our perspective. Do I want my child to wear a dark hooded cape, sit in the corner and smoke pot? No. Do I want them to have un-protected sex or date someone named Johnny Death? No. Do I think that at some point they may experiment? Yes. And it scares me. But, why do we so seldom hear any of the good stuff about today’s teens? Is it just the plague of parents that we get so caught up in trying to control everything and worrying about the latest horrifying statistic? Is it the local plaid-skirt gossip about our teens that hurls us into a tail-spin of horror? Isn’t an unusually long time in the bathroom for a teenage boy more likely to mean he’s popping zits or masturbating rather than smoking crack or cleaning his semi-automatic weapon…isn’t it? I hope so. And isn’t a girl locked in her bedroom for six hours more likely trying on her new push-up bra and figuring out what to wear to this weekend’s party rather than instant messaging with a middle-aged creepy guy from Vegas? I hope so. Still, the thought comes to mind…and that leads to hovering. But, along with all their trials and tribulations, today’s kids seem bright, funny, talented, hard-working, graduating from college and making lots of un-noticed good decisions. And…they seem better behaved than we ever were. No? Well, I guess I’ll have to drag out those old photos.
