Generation Gap (2)

One of the important problems of all times is a generation gap. Adult's mentality is different from
teenager's. We are the children of two epochs with different views on various subjects. Because of
this parents and children sometimes argue with each other.
Some people believe that teenagers today are generally rude, lazy and ill-behaved. Other people,
however, think that teenagers are not so bad. Sometimes people don't understand teenagers. They
don't understand some problems and things which are very important in teenagers' life, for example
the lifestyles, piercing, tattoos, relationship with friends and teachers.
Some people don't want to understand modern views, ideals and our system of values. They say
that teenagers are cruel, brutal, heartless and rude. Yes, today new generation "plays" with smoking,
drugs and alcohol, but this doesn't mean that all teens are really bad!
On the other hand, today many elderly people look at the world with new eyes. Moreover, they try to
understand teenagers' problems and solve them.
Most of the quarrels between parents and children happen because of children's marks at school
and generation gap. We try to learn better, but if we have a bad mark our parents can shout at us.
In most cases "new generation" doesn't understand their parents and becomes depressed because
of this. To protest against it, teens can shock people around them. That's why it is considered that
teens today are lazy and ill-behaved. Elderly people usually compare their childhood and youth with
present, they are always talking about "the good old days". People are said to become wiser with
age. Sometimes it is true and sometimes it is not. I think that you can meet a wise man among the
old as often as among the young. It is wrong that when wisdom always comes in old age.
Sometimes when we talk to adults, they listen only to threir own point of view. That's why some
teens don't like to talk to adults. To sum it up, nowadays everyone has a different view on teen's life.
But, in fact, we should simply learn to understand each other.

The gap between the old people and the young is called the generation gap. It is
the difference in the attitude, priorities, and views among generations.
As to the different attitude of life, the people belonging to the old generation
always wonder what has gone wrong with the new generation. They feel that
during their time, young boys and girls were better behaved, more obedient and
had greater respect for elders. Young people, on the other hand, feel that they
are capable enough to learn on their own rather than lean heavily on the older
generation for any guidance. Young people do not like to be spoon-fed by their
elders.
The differences also appear in some other ways. For example, the way of
entertainment. Our grandparents' generation never understood Elvis and the
Beatles, frequently opposed to them, relating rock as "the devil's music". They
did all they could to ban rock and contraceptives, mostly because they couldn't
understand what was going on. Then came flower power and the hippie
generation, who were smoking pot, protesting against Vietnam, taking acid and
going to rock festivals, such as Woodstock. With it came the Sex Revolution and
Women's lib. The seventies bring the punks and the disco generation, leaving

parents' hairs prematurely whitened. AIDS came in the eighties, and we are the
children of a generation in which, contrary to all others, pleasure leads to death.
Even so, many parents don't understand their children, and often neglect them.
The first kind is the generation gap between the immigrants and the native
people. Take the students for example. Newcomers are racking up high grades
despite language barriers, overwhelming poverty, and personal hardship.
Marcelo M. Suarez-Orozco, a Harvard University researcher who, with his wife,
Carola Suarez-Orozco, has studied immigration for 20 years says: I think
immigrants bring hope and optimism and energy that is harnessed in the first
generation.

Generation Gap
Do you know what a generation gap is? Even if you don't know the particular definition, you are
aware of this problem, basing on your own experience. Generation gap is a popular term used to
describe serious differences between people of two generations.
To realize how to deal with it, you should keep in mind that generation gap includes several
aspects: children must know as much as possible about their parents and parents about the world
outlook of their children, about relations between brothers and sisters, and also about the attitude to
them of close relatives on both sides father's and mother's.
Children demand a great deal of attention, time and patience, so, if you are not ready to devote all
that to your baby, it is better not to hurry There are many families where both parents keep working
after giving birth to their baby It is similar to the situation with a single-parent family, when a father or a
mother hardly have enough time and neglect their children's upbringing. In such cases most of the
time the child has to spend on his own or with his friends. Due to the fact that he has not got any
guidance from his parents he may be involved in some bad companies which commit violence or even
crime and become alcohol or drug addicted. When the parents discover that, it's usually too late to
change anything.
On the other hand, there is a different situation when the parents treat their children too strict and
don't give them any freedom at all. In this case the children may become pariahs among their peers.
Constant bans may increase the risk that the child will grow up insolent and defiant. This causes
another big problem lying. The child is forced to lie to the parents because of the fear to be
punished. It can be anything from putting on make-up in the girls' room at school to stealing.
Some children rebel against discipline and family values. They listen to a loud music, wear
inappropriate, to their parents' mind, clothes, dye their hair in inconceivable colours, have all their
bodies pierced and tattooed trying to show their independence and establish their identity. They want
to be treated as adults, but they are not ready to take all the necessary responsibilities. It doesn't

mean that your child is bad and he will become a criminal. Of course, not! It only means that your child
is in his transitional age and he is in need of your understanding and support.
But how to handle such behaviour? Parents should become his close friends. First of all they
should learn to respect his interests. Try to speak with him as often as possible, offer some parentchild activities like shopping or going in for sports. It is worth involving the child in discussing some
family questions, just to show that he is a full member of the family. Moreover, children in their teens
are very vulnerable when they are criticized in public, so try to avoid it. Parents should always be
honest and sincere with their child; otherwise it would be unfair to require the same from him.
Too authoritarian parents can't do any good to their children as well as parents who overindulge all
the child's caprices. Overindulgence may lead to the same results as negligence. There are parents
who are afraid of hurting the child by banning something when it is necessary. Such parents risk
becoming powerless in the family and losing control over their children who may become spoiled and
capricious.
It demands to make a great effort from both parents and children to reach mutual understanding.
There are many different opinions on the question of treating children if they disobey their parents, but
every parent should decide for himself what will be best for his child and set him on the right path.