“Adulting” Has Become a Verb. This Is What it Says About Our Parenting Habits
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Adulting
Adulting (v): to do grown up things and hold responsibilities such as, a 9-5 job, a mortgage/rent, a car payment, or anything else that makes one think of grown ups.
Used in a sentence: Jane is adulting quite well today as she is on time for work promptly at 8am and appears well groomed.
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Whether a teenager is intent on getting into an Ivy League school or a high school student hopes to earn a division one athletic scholarship, today's youth face steeper competition than ever before. And many parents have bought into the notion that their child needs their help to stand out from the crowd.
That's why many parents are becoming more like personal assistants to their children. They manage their children's schedules like a dutiful employee.
They deliver forgotten lunches and ｄrop off band instruments that were cumbersome to carry. They chauffeur their kids all over the stateand sometimes all over the ｃountryso they can participate in competitive sports leagues.
When their child faces a challenge that is outside of the parent's ability, they outsource the task like a devoted project manager. They hire tutors and coaches who can give their child a competitive edge.
But parents' willingness to become their children's concierge is backfiring. We're raising a generation of emotional wimps who lack the ability to stand on their own two feet.
Helicopter Parents Raise Kids Who Brag About "Adulting"
Whether you double-check your child's homework or you nag him until he finally does his chores, propping kids up has some short-term benefits. Your child can score higher, achieve more, and look better when she's got you working alongside her.
But, there are some long-term ramifications of this approach to parenting. Kids aren't learning how to become mentally strong adults.
Instead, they're staying increasingly dependent on their parents. Yet, many people don't seem to be alarmed that adolescence has been extended by an extra decade.
We live in a world where 30-year-olds say they're "adulting" when they do everyday activities, like shopping for groceries or searching for apartments. And their parents think it's cute.
Parents Make Too Many Excuses
According to the Pew Research Center 24% of 25 to 34-year-olds live at home. But parents don't put any responsibility on these boomerang kids for returning to the nest. Instead, they blame the economy.
And while it's quite probable many young people are swimming in debt, it's even more likely that many of them lack the mental strength to be on their own. A survey of 1,502 college students found that 60% of them felt emotionally unprepared for life after high school.
Those who felt the least emotionally prepared were less likely to stay in school. They were more likely to turn to drugs or alcohol to help them cope.
About 59% of students who set out to get a degree manage to graduate with a bachelor's degree. However, it takes today's students an average of six years to get their four-year degrees.
Parents Keep "Helping" After College
Rather than breathe a sigh of relief and take a step back when junior graduates from college, many parents feel compelled to keep intervening. Perhaps they know the only reason their child made it this far was because they were doing the behind-the-scenes enabling that made it happen.
Parents are intervening in their adult children's job search. A survey by Michigan State University found that one-third of employers had received resumes from parents on their children's behalf. Some of them submitted these resumes without their children's knowledge.
One-quarter of hiring managers have received phone calls from parents urging them to hire their son or daughter. And 4% of hiring managers have had parents attend the interview with their adult child.
Mentally Strong Parents Seek to Work Themselves Out of a Job
The ultimate goal of parenting should be to work yourself out of a job.
Letting your child fail, allowing him to face pain and teaching him to be responsible can be toughespecially in today's world. But mentally strong parents don't shield their kids from pain. Instead, they teach their kids how to turn their struggles into strength.
Teach your child how to build the mental muscle she needs to stand on her own two feet. And she'll be more likely to see herself as a capable person who tackle the challenges of life.
Article Source: http://inc-asean.com/the-inc-life/adulting-become-verb-says-parenting-habits/
Image Source: https://michelleleighwrites.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/6d2270338e271858d7ab0bf798a04f391.jpg
VOCABULARY WORDS:
1. Intent (adj.) ~ resolved or determined to do (something)
2. Notion (n.) ~ a conception of or belief about something
3. Cumbersome (adj.) ~ large or heavy and therefore difficult to carry or use unwieldy
4. Backfire (v.) ~ (of a plan or action) rebound adversely on the originator have the opposite effect to what was intended
5. Wimp (n.) ~ a weak and cowardly or unadventurous person
6. Ramification (n.) ~ a consequence of an action or event, especially when complex or unwelcome
7. Compel (v.) ~ force or oblige (someone) to do something
8. Intervene (v.) ~ come between so as to prevent or alter a result or course of events
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. What is the definition of 'adulting'?
2. Do you agree that some young people nowadays don't know how to be an adult? Discuss your opinion.
3. According to the article parents are to blame for the situation. What are your thoughts on this?
4. What do you think is the most difficult part of being an adult?
