When we were young we were so blasé about taking risks. We thought that living safe humdrum lives was the ultimate of boredom. We wanted excitement, adventure and risk.
That’s not so easy when it comes to allowing your children the freedom to experiment. We have seen the risks, seen friends die, seen the outcomes. The dangers are now clear.
But how do we find a good balance? Kids have to have freedom to grow yet we want to keep them safe.
This song focusses it for me.
“Younger Generation”
And no matter where their heads are they know Mom’s ain’t there
Cause I swore when I was small that I’d remember when
I knew what’s wrong with them that I was smaller than
Determined to remember all the cardinal rules
Like sun showers are legal grounds for cutting school
I know I have forgotten maybe one or two
And I hope that I recall them all before the baby’s due
And I know he’ll have a question or two
Like “Hey pop can I go ride my Zoom?
It goes two hundred miles per hour suspended on balloons
And can I put a droplet of this new stuff on my tongue
And imagine frothing dragons while you sit and wreck your lungs?”
And I must be permissive, understanding of the younger generation
And then I’ll know that all I’ve learned my kid assumes
And all my deepest worries must be his cartoons
And still I’ll try to tell him all the things I’ve done
Relating to what he can do when he becomes a man
And still he’ll stick his fingers in the fan
And “Hey pop, my girlfriend’s only 3
She’s got her own videophone and she’s a taking LSD
And now that we’re best friends she wants to give a bit to me
And what’s the matter Daddy, how come you’re turning green
Can it be that you can’t live up to your dreams?”