Foul mouthed kids in public areas!.

goodday jimbo
tried to ring mobile before but no answer left message with both ph # s if you are still interest about van

steve

The times are not changing as much as we would like to believe.

As disturbing as it is, bad language was not invented by todays young generation, and the older generation compaining about it, is nothing new either.

R.

You must remember that "your" generation created the atmosphere that "this" generation live in....

Who is to blame?

robak you are right and wrong, in the plden days bad language was a schoolyard, pub out and about in it phenomenon, not something at home, the shopping mall or elsewhere it is now.

I recall the early days of CB radio, bad language was a rare thing, today, as soon as I have someone else in the car and am near a town like Melb or Adelaide I turn it off the common channels or turn it off its full of $#@! and *&@#. Sad really

Yeah. It's a strange thing the evolution of situational language...

I'm as guilty as the next person, I mean I swear my head of - alot. Many years of working in "blokey" environments has helped form a nasty potty mouth on me. But I use that kind of language around the house, so does my wife (not to the same extent).

I think back to my grandparents and can't imagine them EVER saying some of the words that just come out of my mouth in normal conversation. I guess as the words become more accepted by people, the situations where they are used increase.

It does make me look twice and the CB is just rediculous on local repeaters, but really they are just words. They have a meaning like any other word, most of which are completly harmless. It is only our interpretation of the intent of that word that makes us offended by it.

If I were to YELL "YOU F$&^WIT!" at you you'd be quite upset or angry, but if I were at the pub and my best mate tripped over his shoelaces and I laughed while calling my him the same thing it'd have a completly different effect. I guess teenagers have a different interpretation of the word in the context in which they are using it to you or I....

I guess the other way of looking at it is like this: My grandfather would have probally at one time told one of his mates that they had a gay time last night at the B&B. If a kid today was to say that, he'd probally get beaten up! (to steal a seinfield line, "not that there's anything wrong with that!").

I guess like high fuel prices, times are a changen and we just have to get used to it.

iPod/MP3 players with their headphone/earpieces up loud in confined spaces really gets my goat too. Rude and inconsiderate. It's just a dog-eat-dog world now - you don't have to think of anyone else. Interesting thing is that if you do something THEY consider rude to THEM they WILL let you know. Incredible, insn't it?

Yep. All you hear out of the headphones is noise. That noise bouncing off my eardrums is no different to some person sitting there tapping me on the shoulder for the whole journey. Not painful, but really annoying!

Cracked up last night watching Spics adn Specs on the ABC, part of the quiz was picking songs that a young bloke was playing (too loud) on his ipod. It was done very well, and the young bloke (Hamish was his name I think) played the part brilliantly.

Cheers Andrew

Pity I missed it. I forgot it was on and I was trying to remember what I was doing to miss it - then I noticed my original reply to this thread was on Aug 23 at 20:55...right on Spick and Specks time.

Kids need toparents have boundaries and that's too much hassle for many parents. My dad set boundaries by telling us that if we used that word again he'd beat the living daylights out of us. He never did, but we knew what we couldn't say :))

F'loosie, I reckon a lot of it has been imported too with some of the films and TV shows. A mate went through Glasgow about 10 years ago commented at the time about kids and the 'F' word in the streets being common. I guess we all laugh at Billy Connolly but a bit of the heritage of his too.

Personal values as you say mean a lot, especially when they are lacking.

Dead right mate!!, And it does makes you wonder what really is happening with parental guidence at the younger age now?.

Yes John, I agree. I pulled some kids up for excessive swearing in public once and the kid apologised and said that they hadn't realized that they were upsetting anyone. I guess he came from a good background; these days I'd probably get assaulted by the parents if I said anything.
My parents used to tell us that just because someone else spoke/behaved like that didn't mean that we had to.

Footloose . I think peer pressure is a greater problem now as well,

Lets Just do it . .
.

Axle, sure is. Taken from the Sydney Morning Herald today;
"Magazines for teenagers have convinced their 12- and 13-year-old audience that they have to rip the hair from their nether regions before it's even fully appeared. Some states in the US now require parental consent before any hot wax is applied on or near the genitalia."
Once again that's just plain WRONG.

Zero tolerance.

F'loosie, not sure which is the most wrong, having magazine articles about it, the waxing, or States in the US requiring parental consent.

Oh, was it the SMH reporting it? Some cases it may be better to get it hotter. Trucky used to talk about control of the gene pool. Haven't seen that comment of late.

I was in the supermarket the other night, a young parent with a 3 - 4 year old girl She (parent) spoke to that dear little girl like I wouldn't speak to a Dog.

Couldn't believe my ear's and I thought I had heard it all.
So if a dear little girl say 4 year old is spoken to in that manner what hope has she got.

Regards Scoof

Scoof:

Yep, seen it far, far too often as well. Makes me want to weep.

We cannot expect our children to respect others if we do not respect our children.

Mike Harding

Mate it was like she couldn't be bothered with the little child.

Some people would give their right arm to have a little child.
Some shouldn't breed .

Scoof

The mother of that dear little girl is probably frrom the older segment of the foul-mouthed generation we are discussing here.
This is where the lack of common respect for their peers and anyone else leads....

Then there are those who see their kids as a means of govt income...via my taxes... grrrrr.

I am proud to say that feedback from places that my children have gone to, have usually been positive. It takes a lot of effort to raise good kids into good adults. they will be 18 and 15 in November. My work is nearly done...:)

Ahh Footie the Govt must always shoulder blame what a load of piffle, they have zero control about things such as an urchin bad mouthing in the supermarket.

Bonz, I have to disagree.
It's a culture thing not an individual kid . If Govt policy removes parental control then yes, they have to shoulder some of the blame. Ask any teacher or welfare worker. Piffle indeed !

I dont think govt policy removes parental control, it never changed the way I brought up my children and they are hardly foul mouthed urchins. Parents never have control "taken" away from them, they give it away, and the balance of control quickly moves to the kids. Take that glimmer of control and add a sliver of counsellor rights knowledge and you have the beginnings of delinquency.

Its not the govt policy I reckon, its surely cultural, but the people drive the culture I think not the govt, unless you are talking at a very high level, after all we all didnt pork Juni Morosi did we?

Yes but they are your kids. My kids are exactly the same, even though they are now grown up, people tell me what wonderful people they are and how I must be proud of them etc.
However we aren't representative of the population. Sadly.
Kids learn from their peers that they have rights given to them by Australias' signing of the UN charter. These rights apparently include being able to complain to a Govt agency of social security. One unsubstantiated complaint can often result in the removal of the child from the home. The net result is a living allowance and unsupervised kids doing their own thing. In effect the Govt has divorced these kids from their parents.
One recent publication of a housing refuge organisation suggested that they had dealt with 68000 homeless kids.
As a group I'd suggest that they are probably over represented in the courts as they get a bit older.
Another are where the Govt must shoulder some of the blame is the crass commercialization of childhood. Deregulation of media IS a Govt responsibility.
Look at the laws applying to kids. Even the police are scared to do anything unless the kids have done something serious, when it's far too late.
All Govt agencies are well aware that when dealing with children, their ass is on the line. As are parents.
I note that a recent court decision said that it's ok to smack a child. Court decision ? Yes. Another Govt instrumentality.

Gday
Good move ...I used to be the quarter master of the Suva Sea Scouts...great job and rewarding.

all those little blighters going sailing and camping .

oh my someone pinched my thoughts and typed them here

Do you think 6 of the best will help? The spoilt behaviour you speak of i think comes from advertising directed at children. They get young, impressionable children to pester their parents to buy their product. The company then have a loyal consumer of their brand for life.

I don't think it's solely a discipline issue, it's a consumeristic society issue as well. Convincing kids to want things that they don't need. Advertisers treat the children as adults giving them 'choices' they wouldn't usually have.

Barnesy

Quite possibly because it hurts. Not disagreeing with you as the whole issue probably has more than one cause and certainly when I was growing up there simply weren't the things available (including a heap of disposable income to spoil me). The point for me was that discipline also meant that if you pestered your parents you got a clip around the ear or a boot up the clacka because NO was NO and not a maybe or worse I might traumatise the poor kid by saying no - certainly would never have contemplated telling my parents or teachers to get stuffed. Each generation tries to do better for their kids but unfortunately I think we have gone as far as we can go as they are just plain spoilt by the good life we have given them.

Kind regards

ummm - i would hazzard a guess kids today have seen quite a bit on the internet....

Sadly, they often have !

Not all smokers throw their butts on the ground. That's just like saying that all people who chew gum spit it on the path, it uneducated and unfair.

I have to walk past your stinking filthy polluting car while it's driving through the car park too. Man I wish those people would just walk to the shops instead of driving their stinking poisonus cars past my house all day long. Why don't they think about my kids! You know they'd be much healthier if they walked to the shops, probally add 10 years to their life!

Think about it.

Jeff
I didnt say that all smokers throw their butts on the ground

Sounds like a bloody good plan to me Mr Fawlty.

I simply fail to understand why anybody would live in this beautiful country and bag the chit out of it in favour of some god-forsaken chithole (Lebanon etc). If they DO want to do that, fine, let's fill up a couple of 747's with 'em on a one way trip.

Those 3 things you've listed should be the very basic requirements; and I could think of another 50 to add to the list too.

Just try to do the same in reverse........fly over to Lebanon, Afghanistan, Iran, even Japan, China, India etc....arrive there and immediately hold your hand out for an amount of cash and medical services etc etc......see how ya get on. Nah; we are far too soft as a nation!!!

I agree with multiculturalism and can see all of the benefits it brings Australia. But i can also see the down side. Doesn't matter what you think of Hezbollah or Israels response, or Australian governments stance. But the recent war over there had many people from both sides protesting on the streets in Oz. A strong and definite line should be drawn now to prevent any two ethnic communities from coming to blows in Australia. That would be totally unacceptable (as were the Sydney riots).

Barnesy

Off the track a bit but it's interesting that whenever Johnny shows a 'hard line' stance on boat people his approval ratings go up. Is it his way of always keeping his ratings up?

Yep, I can't understand why we've become the parking lot for such people.
"Please Explain". :)

I think it comes down to a question of time and place.......

I work for a large bank. One minute I could be talking to a truckie client and every second word he says starts with "F"......I reciprocate with similar language so that he feels at ease with talking to me.

5 minutes later I could be dealing with a wealthy octagenarian woman and I have to put on all the heirs and graces befitting such an important person. When I talk to her, butter wouldn't melt in my mouth.

Same thing goes with these kids on buses etc. They need to remember where they are and the fact that their conversation/s might be overheard by people who may not want to listen to such language. I'm no prude either and can swear with the best of 'em.....but I don't swear over the UHF nor in public places etc....... Maybe some would call that "double-standards".....I choose to call it "being sensitive to your surroundings".

Appropriateness isn't something that children learn by osmosis. Adults are more sensitive to it, but children need to be taught by their parents. And with a large part of the parent population not giving a you know what, then Heuston we have a problem.

The fact is footloose that pre-adolescent children cannot be expected to truly understand situational language. There brains have not developed to that extent yet. That is why my 9 year old is NOT ALLOWED to swear FULL STOP.

Even though I swear around him, he knows he's not allowed to. He will be able to make situation judgements when he's older and he has a greater understanding of what other people's feelings are.

Children under the age of 10 (even up to 15 sometimes) very rarely have the comprehension that what someone says or the body language or expression shown by them can actually be different to how they really think or feel, making those sorts of judgements very difficult and easily messed up by children.

Children do actually absorb a huge percentage of what they learn, especially things in a social context. Of course if their parents are setting the "wrong" examples then they are going to be learning things the "wrong way". Of course wrong and right is set out by society as a whole, so who knows. What might be right in one socio economic area may be frowned upon by another.

Just like the indigenous boy who got sent to the principle for saying "Miss, I need to go have a piss". At home, that was normal, at school it was outrageous.

Hmmm ..... I said that at home once after hearing it in a public toilet when I was about 7 ........ wish I hadn't said it!

LOL, my parents were the same, I used to get in SO much trouble if I was heard swearing. But look at me now, it really made bleep all difference in the end! ;-)