Sunday, March 10, 2013

The Age Of Too Much Stuff

By Allen Bacon, The Daily Bosco

I was having lunch with a friend recently and the subject came up about our kids and how they tend to forget stuff. Like leaving their skateboard helmets or Cel Phones places. My friend asked me if I had that problem when I was a kid.

My first reaction was no...I was very responsible. I never left or forgot stuff. Then I quickly caught myself. I didn't have that much stuff to carry or lose when I was young. Not like today's average tween.

Life was much simpler when I was a youngster.

If I was going skateboarding...all I had to remember to take with me was one thing...my skateboard. We didn't have cel phones so I didn't have to take and remember that. When I got thirsty, I drank water out of a water fountain at the school...so I didn't need to take a water bottle.

There were no rules about wearing helmets...so I didn't have to take or remember that. Heck we didn't even wear pads...so we didn't have to remember that either. Didn't need a bag to carry my skateboard and gear so didn't have to remember that. Didn't have video cameras to record our skateboarding adventures so didn't have to remember to bring one back.

And that's just for skateboarding...Don't even get me started on a bicycle trip to the beach.

This is not to say that all this stuff we ask our kids to take and bring back with them isn't cool. I would have loved to have these things when I was young. All I am is saying is maybe parents need to be a little more patient if a skateboard pad or a cel phone gets left behind every once in awhile. It's a lot of stuff to remember for a kid. It's a lot of stuff to remember for an adult.

The most important things about responsibility...like checking in from time to time to let us know they are ok or if they are going to be a little late...don't have stuff attached to it.

That is unless they lose their cel phone and can't make that phone call.

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