Before the 1960’s, most people watched television in black and white and looking back at what society was like fifty years ago, it seems like people looked at life in terms of black and white as well. Things were either right or they were wrong. There wasn’t too much in between. Some of the things we viewed as wrong were disrespectful children, smoking pot, and sex before marriage. Some of the things society viewed as right were children not talking back to their parents or teachers and conservative dress. If you want to look back and see exactly what society viewed as right versus wrong, just watch an old episode of Leave It to Beaver for some fun and a little proof.
After World War II, a new kind of generation was born in the United States. Because of the after effects of the War, the United States experienced an economical boom which resulted in high income jobs with unemployment rates at an all time low. Education was also enhanced by the government and universities and colleges were encouraging people to get a college degree. Education was cheap and was readily available. In fact, many took college courses to help get promoted and to open up higher paying job opportunities
Because of this lifestyle; many people became financially secure. This financial freedom allowed people to have more children and there was a significant increase in birth rates. People who were born within this period are called baby boomers. Baby boomers were born between the years of 1946-1964.
To me, it seems like things really changed during this generation. Dr. Spock came along and his book that became a child rearing bible for many people, and parents changed their approach to raising their children. It started to become in vogue for parents to be less authoritarian and more liberal in their child rearing approach. The result? The baby boomers themselves took this to an extreme when they began to have children themselves. They took this more liberal mentality and kicked it up a huge notch and moderation was taken to excess.
Baby boomer parents believed that their babies and then their children had the right to decide everything. This included when they got fed, what they wanted to eat, what they wanted to wear and what they wanted to say and do. The idea was children had the right to choose.For baby boomer children, things were no longer black and white. Nothing was totally wrong anymore. Everything was allowed or could be rationalized in some way. Parents couldn’t establish rules in black and white because it might hurt their child’s self esteem. At all costs, adults had to make children feel good about themselves. The idea came into popularity that parents have to “respect” their children.
The concept of respect is a great idea and children should be loved and respected, but it was taken to a rather ridiculous extreme. Respect for children came to mean allowing them to say and do anything they wanted. Baby boomer children no longer learned self control in their words and actions. This actually resulted in children feeling entitled and not showing respect for anyone else but themselves. Basically, baby boomer children became extremely selfish, self-indulgent, arrogant and demanding. Everything was about feeling good about themselves but for no apparent reason no matter what the cost.
We are now dealing with the children of baby boomers. They are being referred to as the millennial generation and now generation X,Y, and Z. Only time will tell what their problems will be. One thing that seems for sure is that the days of right and wrong/black and white are gone forever. You can watch “Leave It To Beaver” on MeTV.
