Kids

'Kids are our future', is often recited. Mainly by desperate parents who have come to realize that there is not such a thing as a 'money back guarantee'. Once you have them, you are stuck with them. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Nope. Kids can be very well behaved, thus demonstrating a correct upbringing. Really. And do not forget that they can come in handy when you are getting older too. And needy. Taking care of your personal transportation when you realize that getting home by car is more a matter of luck than of your ability to drive a vehicle. It also gives kids a purpose in life, paying back their parents for raising them.

However, it seems that Dutch kids do not feel so thankful anymore. Research has pointed out that youngsters are the most frequent visitors of Dutch mental health organizations. And not to pick up their parents either. Lacking a purpose in life and not being corrected enough during their upbringing seems to be the cause of this recent hike in mental desperation among youth. 

How does this not surprise me at all?! 

I know that it is not done to point a finger at the past and claim that things were much better back then. Nevertheless, I will give it a go. I vividly remember that my dad was quite clear in what to do and what not to do. I often was lucky having shoes with laces rather than clogs as I would have been whacked out of them after a badly executed attempt to figure out where the boundaries of decent behavior were. Corrections were thus frequently made.  And in such a way that there was no room for misinterpretation. Likewise, purpose in life was easily defined. 'If you want something, earn the money to buy it yourself.' No such things as free hand-outs during the weekend by guilt-ridden parents, to compensate for a lack of attention during the week. The 'patat-generatie', 'fries-generation', has obviously been spoiled rotten. 

The 'fries-generation' never received critical remarks when showing of drawings to their parents that could have been made by a visually impaired person. Nope. 'Well done darling', is today's mantra. Even when it is not that difficult to explain to kids what their efforts should amount to. Plenty of examples on the internet.

 

 Should be:

It has even gone so far that parents are suing the Dutch Government for not preventing their kids from doing things they should not do, I read on the website of a Dutch newspaper. How stupid is that. Passing on your own inabilities to an amorphous body like the Government.

I therefor propose a return to a meritocracy. You have to earn your rights. Like sitting an exam that wannabe parents have to sit. Failing means you are deemed unsuited to raise a family.

And not only citizens would be affected. Talking rubbish, nowadays a very common and highly regarded skill in government, will not longer do...