Read on how to give your child the luxuries that you got to enjoy while growing up.
Many of the luxuries which the previous generation has taken for granted would soon become obsolete among the next generation. While the new generation may have a relatively privileged upbringing as compared to previous generations, there is a price to pay for enjoying all these little comforts of life. The ‘luxuries’ which I am referring to are ‘privacy’, ‘innocence’ and ‘family quality time’. Read on to find out more as well as ways on how to give your child these luxuries that you got to enjoy growing up.
Privacy
With social media intruding every aspect of our lives, it is little wonder that privacy is fast becoming a myth. From facebook to twitter, personal details ranging from interests to birthdays and even the number of ‘friends’ one has is now public information.
Apart from privacy concerns, kids nowadays also have to deal with cyber bullying which is becoming rampant. Going through puberty is already a tough ordeal. But imagine just how much worse it gets when your online ‘friends’ start making snide remarks about your pimple outbreak or changes in your body shape. Furthermore, since everyone seems to feel obligated to post their entire lives on social media platforms, chances are your own life will seem to pale in comparison. Hence, many young kids nowadays feel depressed because their life does not seem to be as ‘happening’ as their friends.
Solution: Educate your child on some of the privacy controls available on social media such as restricting how much of their facebook profile their friends can see or protecting their tweets. Also, counsel your child that no matter how interesting everyone’s else life seem to be, get them to remember that no one has a perfect life and everyone all have their individual issues to deal with.
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Innocence
The fact of the matter is that kids nowadays are growing up way too fast. The internet has seemed to become the number one playground for kids these days which means that kids are exposed to all kinds of topics like sex and alcohol a lot earlier than previous generations. This has unfortunately led to a trend of kids trying to act like adults and wasting their precious childhood away.
The phenomenon of 12-year old girls putting on make-up and wearing revealing clothing is not an uncommon one. Boys too are affected as it is not unusual to see scrawny teenage boys working out at the gym because they want to possess the kind of bodies they often see on Hollywood leading men like Channing Tatum.
Solution: Try to offer as much parental supervision as possible whenever your child browses the internet to protect them from inappropriate websites. You can also set restrictions on what kind of websites your child has access to. Furthermore, remind your child that the models they see on magazine covers are probably excessively ‘photoshopped’ and not an image a child should aspire to.
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Quality time
As costs of living rises, it is becoming increasingly normal for both parents to be working to support the family. This has unfortunately meant that kids nowadays are often raised by an outsider or a relative and have little quality time to spend with their parents. This often causes the child to feel neglected and may push them to seek attention and companionship in all the wrong places.
Solution: Although work may be draining a lot of your time, try to set aside one day a week at least for a family outing. This way, your child will not feel so neglected by you.
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