So I was going through my rounds of reading up on a few blogs and I read this post where the blogger defends for her right to breastfeed in public against those who think that they should move. Her defense is mostly geared towards another blogger, who happens to be 16 17 (lol) and believes that breastfeeding mothers should go elsewhere.
For me, I think that there are appropriate and tasteful ways to breastfeed in public. I have no qualms about it, but I still believe that there should be some limitations to respect the environment that the mother and baby are in. I don’t believe that there should be an uproar against mothers who decide to breastfeed – even if they do it properly. I’ll agree with Jem in most of her opinions and defense. A baby is hungry and s/he’s hungry now.
After going through some of the comments, one pointed out that the anti-feeding blogger is 16. A mere sixteen years old. Now, I know that there are a good set of teenagers who are quite mature for their age, but I’ve run into, seen a lot of, and feel an utter disgust for many who don’t know any better. Was I one of those teenagers? Who knows – I did my best but probably faltered somewhere due to my lack of wisdom.
What I don’t like about this new generation of teens is that everything is very “me, me, me.” Maybe it’s the way that society has raised them – we focus on their abilities and their strengths and what they inherently already know. We tell them to follow their dreams, their desires. If they aren’t happy, then they must change that for themselves. No longer are the days where many feel they have certain duties to uphold – we’re supposed to let them live and learn on their own.
In a way, yes, I’m saying that we’re breeding a bunch of selfish brats. How do we fix this? How will this effect us in the work force? How will this effect our own children? I do not want mine to grow up already feeling entitled – I want them to work for their privileges and understand that they are privileges, not rights.
Anyway – just my mini-rant I guess.
Tags: breastfeeding, rant, teenagers
This entry was posted on Friday, Jun 04, 2010 and is filed under Thoughts.
6 Comments
Not that it makes much difference, but she’s actually 17. She just hasn’t updated her twitter profile. Of course, when I called her “only 16″ a while back she pointed out my error, and yet now people are pitying her for being “only 16″ she’s lapping it up. Anyway… 16 or 60, nobody has the right to tell me how to feed my baby.
I absolutely agree with you 100%, the freedoms that the modern world has provided youth has given them an unfounded sense of entitlement. For everything my younger brother does for our mum, he demands cash payment. Nothing is ever done because that’s what’s supposed to be done – all he can consider is ‘what’s in it for me?’.
What ever happened to just walking on and minding your own business. She must really get off on watching tit feeding otherwise she wouldn’t bitch about it… Oh well. One more idiot in the world with one more idiotic opinion. Can’t win ‘em all…
“How do we fix this?”
I don’t know if it can be fixed. Would it be too harsh for me to say “Scrap this generation, let them figure it out, work on making sure the next generation gets it right”? Just thinking out loud.
As a 17 year old that stumbled upon this blog I felt quite defensive when you mention this:
‘What I don’t like about this new generation of teens is that everything is very “me, me, me.” Maybe it’s the way that society has raised them – we focus on their abilities and their strengths and what they inherently already know. We tell them to follow their dreams, their desires. If they aren’t happy, then they must change that for themselves. No longer are the days where many feel they have certain duties to uphold – we’re supposed to let them live and learn on their own.’
I feel that this statement is contradictory to the statement beneath where you say that you’re creating a generation of selfish brats – I don’t see how telling younger generations to focus on their abilities and strengths is synonymous with telling them to do whatever the hell they want and if it goes wrong you’ll pick up the pieces.
I know that the majority of young people I know are hard working, talented and focused individuals who are struggling with a lot of the same issues that previous generations of teens have all faced, as well as an ever competitive world where you DO have to fight for your place otherwise you’ll get left behind. I don’t see that being encouraged to be your own person and take your own matters into your own hands can be seen as anything other than a positive thing, and feel it is unfair to brand an entire generation as a failure because of one ignorant comment – last time I checked, ignorance is not a trait specific to 17 year olds.
Sorry that didn’t translate well. What I was trying to explain that by teaching children to think for and about themselves, in a way, we teach them to be selfish – to only worry about their own needs and do what makes them feel good about themselves.
No, ignorance is not a trait specific to 17 year olds (hell, I see it in older people too, but that’s beside my point). The reason I made said statements is due to a book written by a sociologist (Generation Me) where she discusses the fact that in general (as seen through studies and research, and act as a average finding for the population), this new generation of teens is very self-centered. We teach them to focus on themselves and in a sense, to forgo what anyone else thinks. That’s not to say that there aren’t a lot of individuals who don’t fit this average model.
I recommend the book – it can probably explain my current opinion on the current (and new) generation of youth better than I can.
But my main point is that the youth these days – due to a lack of world wars, technology advancement, etc – aren’t so focused on what they should do for other people, what they can do for society or humanity. We’ve taught them to celebrate mediocrity, to promote self-esteem (which, in many cases leads to narcissism – but that’s another story), and to live their lives according to their own desires. Some parents might be more relaxed than others, but the findings’ averages suggest that yes – the youth are very “me, me, me.”