7 values the youth of today lack
- Values are the rules we use to decide what is right and wrong, good and bad, real and true. They get passed down the generations, not by genes, but by patterns of care. For example, parents who steal tend to have offspring who do so too, or who believe stealing is acceptable or even admirable. However, not all children of thieving parents also thieve, and siblings differ in the extent to which they imitate their parents in this and all other respects. It is also the case that plenty of offspring of honest parents are dishonest. So the passing of values from parent to child is not simply a question of imitation or learning – it is also heavily affected by the manner in which parents communicate the values as part of the relationship with the child.
- Usually parents encourage offspring to be law-abiding, civil and sociable, and to do well at school. All these goals are infinitely more likely to be achieved if the child actually chooses them for themselves. This is known as ‘identification’. The child listens to and watches the parent, and if they are well nurtured, adopts the desired characteristic as an act of will. This volition, deciding to adopt a parental conviction, starts with the parent seeing things from the child’s point of view. It is natural for little children to be assertive, demanding even, in their dealings with the world. For instance, to return to stealing, we are not born with a knowledge of property ownership. When placed with other children, the average 18-month-old will try and take a toy from another child eight times per hour. A year later, a toddler will still try to take toys from others three times in the same period. The evolution from this behaviour to a law-abiding citizen depends on how the adults caring for the child react at different ages.
Introjected values
- By age five, the typical child is being more or less coerced into obedience with strict punishments. At one extreme this might mean being made to sit on a ‘naughty step’ or being sent to their room; at the other, regular beatings. As school rears into sight, middle-class children are particularly likely to find that parental love is conditional on performance. Only if he or she does what the parent wants will he or she be praised and loved. It is true that the combination of coercive early care and this pressure to perform may ‘work’, in the sense that it results in the child displaying the desired traits. But if so, the child has not chosen to be civil or studious, he or she is doing so out of fear of either painful punishment or having love withdrawn. Yes, the child does do his or her homework and says ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ on cue. But this is done with a robotic, empty emotion, and not very far beneath the surface, there is usually a sullen, angry sense of menace, while at others a flat, depressed hopelessness. Covert rebellion may ensue. In the teens there is liable to be secret cigarette-smoking, sex and shoplifting.
- When parents pass their values on to children in these ways it is known as ‘introjection’: the child exhibits the principles and desired behaviour but without owning them, instead experiencing them as imposed and meaningless. By contrast, the child who has identified with the values understands why they are doing what they are doing; the introjected child is just going through the motions.
What values do you think the youth of today lack?
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Honesty :- Many youngsters are living in a world of illusion and they are not taking life seriously. So, in the end if they fail, they blame it on others. Being true to oneself, is the greatest virtue one should have.
- Embracing family system:- During the adolescent years, peer influences play an important role in teenagers’ choices. Because peer acceptance is a crucial part of most teens’ sense of self and increasing need to separate from the family system, adolescents sometimes base their choices on their friends’ opinions, rather than what is morally right or responsible.. Generally, teenagers will outgrow this type of behavior as they reach adulthood. Additionally, media influences, such as television and celebrity behavior can affect a teen’s behavior, particularly if they do not have strong role models.
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Moral values:- In the rapidly changing world, the importance of moral values among the youth seems to decrease greatly among our youth. The society plays a huge role in misleading the youth with advertisements that plays a big role in eroding the moral values. George Washington (1732-1799), first president of the United States, once said, "Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for 'tis better to be alone than in bad company."
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Family values:- Accept it or not, blame the nuclear family culture or whatever, today's youth lack the family values. Forget to touch the feet of the elders, it has turned to be a matter of disgrace to address someone with their hands folded.
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Respect :- In the era of Internet, not only the youngsters but also the mature persons are losing the sanity in our societies.their minds and behavours are shaped by the celebraties and influentils characters they entereact with online. Remember, respect doesn't have to be earned. Respect is something that everyone have the right for. Both old and young.
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Patience:- Life, nowadays, is moving at such a pace that the youth is becoming more and more impatient. Desires are increasing at an alarming rate but they are not willing to work hard to get them, because it also requires immense patience.
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Accountability/Responsibility:- Youth is that stage of life, where most of us makes some sort of mistakes. But, rarely do they take courage to accept their fault.
- The current problems with kids and youths may be due to the system of educations across the world. Decision makers have forgotten the role of moral issues when designing the education programs right from the schools. The emphasis is basically on learning just to handle the technical works and the moral aspects of the life of human being are mostly passed by without any concerned attentions. In this course of human life framework, the role of family is fading more and more day by day. Socially, it will turn into a catastrophic phenomenon, if any correct decision is not made, collectively globally .