what is wrong with todays kids?

[Chris Padilla]

Attributed to Socrates by Plato (469–399 B.C.):
The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.

It's been going downhill ever since the first teenager arrived I think.

Adam, perhaps?

[harry hood]

Adam, perhaps?

Or Mashya. He came first.

[Larry Edgerton]

That is, if you could stand living with your parents for any longer than you had to, I couldn't!

I know what you mean. I left home on my 18th birthday at 5:00 am.

I have been in business for over twenty five years, and I always liked to give young fellows a chance to make some decent money for a days work.

But..... I noticed a trend. It became harder and harder to find kids that actually want to work. The last ones were two years ago, two 17 year olds. I had a tough job and there was myself and a nother 55 year old and these two kids. The two old guys were outworking them four to one. I gave them a check and told them that their effort was just not good enough. They said that it was just too hard. These are not skinny kids, these are football types.

I gave up on hireing kids after that, its just not worth it. I have no clue to the reasons why, but there does seem to be a problem with work ethic. Of course work ethic is not poor just in the younger set, there are plenty of adults that are lazy as a pet coon.

Then there is the fear of lawyers, a whole other topic....

Larry

[ray hampton]

I know what you mean. I left home on my 18th birthday at 5:00 am.

They said that it was just too hard. These are not skinny kids, these are football types.


Larry

what you need is to train a colony of army ants to do your work, ants can carry three times their own weight

[Brian Elfert]

I've hired a high school kid to help me with a project I needed help with. He did a really job after a little training. I've also dealt with other high school kids who didn't want to work and it was easier for me to do the work myself.

[harry hood]

It's been going downhill ever since the first teenager arrived I think.

And Cain rose up and slew Abel.

I don't think Cain was a troublemaker or lazy, it's just that the 10 commandments didn't exist yet so Cain had no idea that it was wrong to kill his brother. That and, like a lot of us, god likes meat more than vegetables.

[Belinda Barfield]

Off with their heads!

[David Weaver]

But..... I noticed a trend. It became harder and harder to find kids that actually want to work. The last ones were two years ago, two 17 year olds. I had a tough job and there was myself and a nother 55 year old and these two kids. The two old guys were outworking them four to one. I gave them a check and told them that their effort was just not good enough. They said that it was just too hard. These are not skinny kids, these are football types.

This must have something to do with what society tells them is important. I never considered myself an especially tough physical worker, but I could work hard enough that my employers would compliment me on it and then tell my parents. It just always seemed to me that you're all or none when it comes to busting your butt, and there aren't many guys in between. I also learned that I didn't probably want to do it for the rest of my life unless I was the guy in charge, and now I'm just a soft office guy who likes to break a sweat sometimes if I can find a task to do it - but it sure would take a while to get in work shape again.

I think society tells kids now that if they have to work hard and break a sweat, that they failed and that smart people don't have to do that. I don't agree with that, but what can you do when that's what they tell kids? That's my guess, because you know a lot of those same kids will go out and leave their guts on the field when they want to bust their butts.

Back then, even though it's only 20 years ago, parents where I was from liked to run their kids through the wringer as a mason tender or as a go-fer and runner on a construction crew, because they knew the kids would be worn out, and maybe afraid of being the go-fer for the rest of their lives.

[Brian Elfert]

I worked at the local state fairgrounds every summer for seven years starting when I was 16 years old. It was hard sweaty work outdoors. They liked my work and there was never a question if I was welcome back the next year. I just called in the spring and they asked what day I was planning to start. I would usually work from the Monday after school got out until Labor day. I was a good worker so they always wanted me back.

I have a desk job now and I am way out of shape.

[Mike Cruz]

Chris, the short answer is... Parents! They are the problem.

On another note, when I was a "kid", I wasn't 20. 20 yo's were adults. We were responsible. We had to be. We expected to be. We were TOLD to be. And we listened...

[Bill Edwards(2)]

Off with their heads!

If you're talking teenagers, that's not a loss. They rarely function with them.
so the loss would be negligible.

[Gary Max]

We never run out of wars to send them to.

[Larry Browning]

I have sort of an opposite story that happened to me when I was maybe 15 or 16. I had an uncle who worked by the hour doing odd jobs and lawn care for folks at a lake resort area. One summer he was getting behind and had more work than he could do, so he asked me if I could mow a couple of the lawns he had lined up. I did the lawns working at the pace I always worked at and finished them pretty quickly. He was pretty angry at me and told me that he would never give me anymore lawns to do because I finished them way too quickly. "How can I make any money finishing the lawns that fast, after all they are paying by the hour. You are making me look bad to all my customers". I lost respect for my uncle that day, he never gained it back until the day he died.

[Rod Sheridan]

What's wrong with today's kids? Well, the answer is obvious, they were raised by us.

Regards, Rod.

[ray hampton]

What's wrong with today's kids? Well, the answer is obvious, they were raised by us.

Regards, Rod.

now that is a good one Rod