Today’s times are changing quickly. Between social media and new definitions of family, children have changed. As a result,  many parents do not understand why their kids act the way they do. Kids today, unlike their parents, are swimming in technology all the time and are able to do anything from interacting on social media to playing games to doing homework. When most of our parents were kids, they only had a landline phone. They only got to call a friend once or twice a day. Our parents, for the most part, didn’t have a computer, nor did they have internet. Most of our parents felt that they were “living large” if they had an Atari system. Every generation is a new generation. Every generation has a different mindset.

“Our parents have not grown up exposed to the same environment we have, so we have different thought processes than them,” Eli Nix, senior, said.

When it comes down to it, every kid has something that he or she wishes their parents understood. While this is not a complete list, the following is a sample of some things kids today want their parents to understand.

1.We are not always on games.

Today most schools are changing their classes to technology. When we do not bring home a textbook and our homework is just on a laptop or tablet, it makes our parents think we are just playing games. Our parents do not understand that computers can also be used for work not just to play games or text our friends.

2. Different doesn’t mean bad.

Whenever we start dressing differently or start different habits it doesn’t mean we are turning into bad people. If we hang out with different people, it doesn’t mean we are going to turn into bad kids either.

3. We aren’t perfect, and we know our parents weren’t when they were our age.

We know that we aren’t perfect, but we don’t like to be told so daily. We know our parents were not perfect in high school because nobody can make perfect grades in school. At some point, there is going to be at least one grade that is not an A.

4. Just because we text another boy or girl, it does not mean we like them.

We have all been asked by our parents who the girl or boy is that we were texting. If we just say a kid in our class, they will want to know everything about them. If we are texting a kid in our class it does not mean we like them, we could be asking a question about homework.

5. We love to use abbreviations.

Whenever we are texting our parents and use abbreviations like jk, lol, wyd, or wya, our parents get confused. Our parents never know what we are talking about whenever abbreviations are used. Whenever we are texting grammar does not matter. We use the letter “u” instead of “you” in sentences all the time. To some of our parents’ bad grammar bothers them, but if we are texting it does not matter.

6. We really don’t know where all of our money goes.

Whenever we ask our parents for money we always get asked what we did with ours. We honestly do not know where our money went. We did not spend it on drugs or other illicit goods and services. We actually do not know where it went. We don’t keep detailed records of every Kit Kat and Dr. Pepper purchase.  

7. We actually do care what our parents think about us.

Sometimes it may seem like we do not care what our parents think, but we actually care a lot. We are constantly trying to impress our parents, but some of our parents never realize it.

8. We want our parents to be proud of us.

Most of us will not work hard unless we have a reason. Most of the time we just work to make our parents proud. The worst feeling in the world is letting our parents down.

9. We need some time to relax every once in a while.

School may not seem as hard and stressful as it really is. Whenever we come home, we do not want to be told to clean daily,  sometimes we just want to relax. We may not have a job, but school is just as tiring as a job.

10. We really do love you, even though we don’t always show it.

Even though most of the time it seems like we don’t love you,  we really do. Our parents may not understand everything, but we still love them.