generation ME

I loathe Dr. Phil with his "Texas-isms" and stupid talk show and books. I need that guy's advice like a need a hole in the head. But while flipping through the tv stations today, I noticed that he had guests on discussing "Generation Me." Now, I remember Generation X and Generation Y, though I don't remember what differentiates them or which I belong to. I've never heard of Generation Me. It's young adults, defined by a complete sense of entitlement, spoiled rotten, lazy, and attention-addicted. These people want to be famous for the sake of being famous, want to be rich without working, want every desire addressed by instantaneous gratification. And you know what? It's not their fault. We made them.

We don't want our kids to lose, so we sign them up for tee-ball teams that don't keep score and everyone gets a trophy. We don't want our kids to fail, so we do their science projects and book reports for them. We don't want our kids to be unhappy, so we hand them every gadget, cell phone, iPod, computer, Nintendo DSi, Wii, Playstation that comes out. We don't want our kids to be unpopular, so we buy them designer clothes and expensive cars. But what is all this getting us? Is there a return on this kind of investment?

It's leaving us with kids who are unhappy, aggressive, and lazy. Kids who end up at job interviews demanding ridiculous starting salaries, who refuse to start at entry-level, who have their parents write excuse notes to their college professors. When did no become a four-letter word?

I don't want Britton to fail, but I know she will. Many times. And she will face disappointment many times. And things won't always go her way, and life won't always be fair. And as a parent I must teach her how to handle it, not avoid it. I won't raise another member of Generation Me.