Time and time again, adults tell children to act their age or act more mature. What they fail to realize is that children are exactly that: children. Though kids should be more responsible and mature, it is difficult when adults continue to treat us children as lesser-than beings. My parents, personally, have not exactly told me to behave more like an adult, but they have said, countless times, that I need to start becoming more responsible and acting mature because I am “not a little kid anymore.”
It has occurred on the news when adults, specifically baby boomers, feel disrespected by the term, “boomer.” They feel as though millennials and Gen Z’ers should treat their olderldergeneration with more respect, and the term “boomer” simply was not respectful. However, there have been several counter arguments. Such as: “boomer” is just short for “baby boomer.” It is almost like an elder telling younger people not to call them by their name because the elder finds it offensive and disrespectful.
Another example of adults aiming specifically at the younger generation is the fact that answering a question could be considered talking back. It is aimed at the younger generation because many adults believe it is a given for children to respect their elders. Now, this idea may be true in some cases, but not every elder is deserving of respect. Of course, I respect my teachers in school, but I wouldn’t do every single thing they said just because they were older than me; such as fetch them a pint of milk.
My parents are not agonizingly strict, but they do make the imminent future very apparent to me. I am close to entering high school, and my mother, specifically, wants to make sure that I join clubs and am at the very top of my class. Sure, this is ideal. However, it becomes annoying and frustrating when I hear it constantly. Though, being reminded, for me, drives me to work. Only sometimes. When my mother puts in nicer words.
Adults need to realize the sheer impact that their words, or their silence, have on teens and children. The words that come out of their mouths no longer are simply words to us. They are knives. And each of those knives is being thrown at us teens and children and it makes us weaker. Words speak louder than actions, and the older generations need to realize that. Especially during the teenage years where teenagers are still figuring everything out. It is so difficult to go through changes, such as becoming more sensitive and being brought down by heavy words. Respect is earned, not automatically given to elders, and it’s time they realized that.