Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

I believe that in today's ever increasing competitive environment, it's not as easy being a kid as it maybe once was. I believe that children are indoctrinated at a very young age to plan and obsess about their future, whatever that may be. I believe that from out of the womb, they're forced into a situation where they need to work hard, study hard, to get the good grades, to get into the good colleges, to get the good jobs.

Being one who believes strongly in hard work, part of me applauds this mentality, and this driving force that's being instilled into the next generation. I'd much rather see them struggling to become tomorrow's lawyers, doctors and comic strip writers than waiting at the welfare office for a check.

That said, I also believe quite firmly that kids should have the opportunity to be kids. At 10 years old, they should not have to spend 8 hours in school only to be followed by another 6 hours of homework. They should be able to play, to go outside, to hang out with their friends, waste hours on stupid video games, find out what happens when you down 5 pixie sticks in a very short amount of period, build forts, discover the joy of Lego, watch Lord of the Rings and all 6 Star Wars in one sitting…

12 year olds should not suffer from stress. They should be kids. They should play.

While being overworked and overburdened is a massive issue, it's not really the one I wanted to address today.

(Please note that I generally am of the mind that using coarse language frequently is a sign of a poor vocabulary, yet I do think it serves its purpose well in the following sentence.)

I think its ******** twisted.

11 year olds having sex is a product of a diseased society, of a society where parents are not spending enough time with their children, where sexual education is severely lacking in the bible thumping states, where the so-called tween celebrities consist of Paris Hilton, Linsday Lohan and the always wonderful role model Britney Spears.

The real issue here, folks, is that kids are growing up too damn quickly.

11 year olds should not be having sex. They should be kids. They should play.

With their clothes on.

That's what I think. And you?