I'm Scared For Today's Children

No matter what generation you were born into, there has always been something to fear: war, poverty, kidnapping. However, as we fly through 2018 today, I can’t help but think there are so many things that make us fear for our children today.

Technology

When I was pregnant with my son I was one of those mothers who was adamant that her child was going to be kept away from technology and the internet for as long as possible. He is now nearly 5-years-old and while I haven’t quite kept to the vow I made while he was growing in my womb, I still have pretty strict rules that I intend to keep to.

My view is that technology is soul-sucking and once it gets their claws into your child it can be hard to break them free. My son has limited days that he is allowed to watch television and I hope he doesn’t discover the internet for as long as possible. If it were up to me he wouldn’t be allowed on the internet until he is 15 (yes, I know that is unrealistic).

That just concerns the fun stuff; what I really worry about is the dark side of the internet. The online bullying and the stranger danger—you hear about it all the time—the predators that will try and get your children from across the screen.

Living

The cost of living keeps going up. If I had known when I was a child how much house prices and the food was going to increase, I would have begged my parents to save as much money as possible for me instead of buying expensive toys and holidays abroad. Many people today can’t afford to buy their own home, so what chance has the next generation got?

While you are growing up you can’t even begin to understand the concept of money. Even in my early 20s I still didn’t fully understand the value of money and how important saving was. As a result, I am drumming into my child’s head that saving and thinking about your future must be a top priority. My hope is that by teaching him from an early age he will be wise with his money when he grows older. I guess we will see what happens where that is concerned.

Too Much Pressure

Children today are under so much pressure, more than what I felt as a child and this is due to a number things. The first thing is schools; since my son started school I’ve discovered that there is this huge pressure on very young children to meet certain "targets"; e.g. they should be doing this by this age etc. Now obviously children should be meeting certain milestones but I feel that the window to achieve certain things is too small, especially where the education system is concerned. Why can't we let children develop at their own pace for a while?

I think children today are forced to grow up too fast and I don't like it. The pressure to do so seems to be coming from all sides: school, social media, and even their friends. Childhood is getting shorter and shorter these days.

So what does the future hold for our children? I don't think it's all doom and gloom, but the way things are going I find myself wondering if it will be worth going to university in the future. How many young people will struggle to find work and will they ever be able to buy their own home?