Paradise lost
Our childhoods keep getting longer.
I see this in myself and those I know around me. I see the comparison in those still living.
My great-grandmother had 14 children. It was not uncommon to have that many children in her generation. The workload was immense, and there was no actual childhood. You were born, you worked, you had children, you died (except she hasn't passed away yet, bless her soul).
My grandparents started working and taking care of themselves when they were barely more than children. They started a home and had children before they were twenty years old. They worked 2-3 jobs, had 3-5 kids.
My parents started working when they were about 18 years old, worked 2-3 jobs, started having children when they were just over 20 years old, and life was pretty hard. There was never any real money, and there were no luxuries.
I compare these three generations before mine, and I see that life got progressively easier, but it was still pretty hard. You began your "life" early, and you had to work very hard to make it work.
I also compare it to my own generation. It has become socially acceptable to not move out of your parents house until you're pushing thirty (or even beyond in some cases, god forbid). It has become much more of a norm not to start having children until you're nearing 30, with I guess 26-27 being the mean. You generally stop with 2 children, with ever greater numbers of people opting to not having any children at all.
Although many people still work hard and long hours, it's not comparable to earlier generations, with a lot of people getting by with one job, a 8-9 hour workday, and weekends off. We live in ever greater luxury, with free time on our hands, spare money, trips abroad, nicer cars, even hobbies, a concept my grandparents find hard to understand. We are also allowed to act like children for much longer. We are forgiven the "follies of youth" for quite a bit longer than ever before.
I also see people taking this for granted. We have arrived in the age of expectation, where people not only want all these things, they expect them.
Ungrateful children. That's what we are.
I see this in myself and those I know around me. I see the comparison in those still living.
My great-grandmother had 14 children. It was not uncommon to have that many children in her generation. The workload was immense, and there was no actual childhood. You were born, you worked, you had children, you died (except she hasn't passed away yet, bless her soul).
My grandparents started working and taking care of themselves when they were barely more than children. They started a home and had children before they were twenty years old. They worked 2-3 jobs, had 3-5 kids.
My parents started working when they were about 18 years old, worked 2-3 jobs, started having children when they were just over 20 years old, and life was pretty hard. There was never any real money, and there were no luxuries.
I compare these three generations before mine, and I see that life got progressively easier, but it was still pretty hard. You began your "life" early, and you had to work very hard to make it work.
I also compare it to my own generation. It has become socially acceptable to not move out of your parents house until you're pushing thirty (or even beyond in some cases, god forbid). It has become much more of a norm not to start having children until you're nearing 30, with I guess 26-27 being the mean. You generally stop with 2 children, with ever greater numbers of people opting to not having any children at all.
Although many people still work hard and long hours, it's not comparable to earlier generations, with a lot of people getting by with one job, a 8-9 hour workday, and weekends off. We live in ever greater luxury, with free time on our hands, spare money, trips abroad, nicer cars, even hobbies, a concept my grandparents find hard to understand. We are also allowed to act like children for much longer. We are forgiven the "follies of youth" for quite a bit longer than ever before.
I also see people taking this for granted. We have arrived in the age of expectation, where people not only want all these things, they expect them.
Ungrateful children. That's what we are.
posted by Völundur at 3:30 am
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