This week on Heroes at Home Radio, we spent some quality time talking to two dynamic ladies (Annie Fox and Sarah Newton) about the generation differences as well as character development with children and teens. It was enlightening for me as well…being a product of Generation X and being raised by a single parent.

I can recall viewing relationships as “sacred” and something to strive for in my life. While I did not have a father in my home, I saw how my mother struggled and decided that one day, I would indeed have a healthy marital relationship.

In talking to Sarah Newton from Gen Y Guide this week, she pointed out that unlike Generation X, Generation Y kids view relationships a lot differently. They are not necessarily driven by the desire to have a monogamous, two parent home ideal existence. They embrace alternative relationships much more freely (i.e. same sex marriages, co-habitation without marriage, etc.) Also, Generation Y has a more “I am entitled” feeling and attitude than those in Generation X.

Have we, as a society, created this almost selfish posture in our young people today? Have we somehow through our own preoccupation with work, life, striving to get ahead, forgot to instill certain values and attitudes in our kids?

Now, there is nothing wrong with our young people being more open-minded and embracing and accepting the differences in others. However, we have to make sure that they do not become more obsessed with “me” (the individual) and less focused on “us” (the community at large). Also, Annie Fox talked about parents not relinquishing authority with their kids; that parents must maintain a certain amount of control, but not at the expense of being disrespectful to the child.

Maybe if we all exercised respect to each other (parent to child, child to parent, families to other families, etc.) we could have a Generation Y that is both open-minded, progressive, and accepting…but also less focused on self. Hmm…something to ponder!

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Blessings!

Traci

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Hi everyone! This is my first blog post and I’m really excited to let you in on what I’ve been working on lately, especially my podcast Heroes at Home Radio. Heroes at Home Radio is dedicated to providing single parents everywhere with inspiration and motivation by featuring other single parents who have not only survived being single parents, but who have thrived and gone on to be great successes. We also feature parenting, psychology and financial experts to give single parents the resources they need to realize their dreams.

This month we interview two AMAZING women:

September 16th, 2009: Annie Fox
Annie Fox is an author, educator and online advisor for tweens, teens and parents. She has written books such as “Middle School Confidential”, “The Teen Survival Guide to Dating and Relating” as well as “Too Stressed To Think.” Join us as we spend some quality time with Annie Fox!

www.anniefox.com

September 26th: Sarah Newton
Sarah Newton is a UK based professional, who has spent the last 14 years immersed in the culture of children and teens. Sarah helps parents, schools, and companies connect, engage, and motivate young people in a way that gets long-lasting results. A recognized thought leader in this field, Sarah is passionate finding practical and useful ways to allow people to guide the behavior of the next generation without crushing their spirits. Regularly appearing in the media, Sarah is best known for her 8-part TV series, ‘My Teen’s a nightmare – I’m moving out.’ Join us as we speak to Sarah Newton and hope a little of her expertise rubs off on us.

Learn more about Sarah at www.genyguide.com.

Listen to recent and past shows on our Heroes at Home Radio podomatic page.