'Blueprints' for success
Kids keep their dreams alive with unusual online posts
SANTA FE, NM-Lots of kids dream about their future, but a group of New Mexico kids is taking ...
Below is an excerpt from Patty O'Sullivan's book, Parenting at WARP Speed (to be published later this year) which brings an understanding of 21st century kids, a recognition and appreciation for who they are and practical ways to communicate and build relationships with them.
21st Century Kids - Puzzlement or Amazement?
Kids! I don't know what's wrong with these kids today!
Kids! Who can understand anything they say?
They’re disobedient, disrespectful oafs!
Noisy, crazy, dirty, lazy, loafers!
Kids! You can talk and talk till your face is blue!
Kids! But they still just do what they want to do!
(Bye, Bye Birdie,1963)
These lyrics look like they could be applied to every new generation of kids. The ever-transitioning teen years are heralded by statements of rebellion as exhibited by clothes, hair styles, music, and slang; each generation breaking away from the herd to establish their identity. However, today’s youth have shifted the paradigm to fast forward and there is no turning back.
21st century kids are a breed apart and virtually a new species.They are more puzzlement than amazement for the significant adults in their lives. Results from my on-going study of 21st century kids showed that there were twice as many things that bewildered than astonished. So, what makes them different from the Boomers, Hippies and Yuppies of previous generations?
The answer is technology. Kids born after 1982, know as Gen Y or Millennials, were raised with technology.The newest generation of kids, known as Gen Z (or more popularly called the iGeneration) are an accelerated version of their predecessors, which includes our present day tweens and teens.
Functional MRIs reveal that being wired to the computer and video games for long periods of time have created new pathways in the brain. These kids can use both sides of their brains simultaneously.They see short cuts and easier ways of problem solving.
As adults, we tend to get stuck in “back in the day” mentality with the hope it will spur kids to appreciate the olden days and learn from them. For 21st century kids pre-technology is part of the Dark Ages.The era of being compliant is but a speed bump to these lightening- fast cyberspace travelers. We can not sit back hoping that they will grow out of it and conform to our norms. If we fail to recognize the differences and the evolution of a new species, we will be doomed to frustration and lose the heart-core of our connectivity with kids.
The Puzzlement: What do kids look like from inside our world? The way we were as teenagers wasn’t perfect. It is challenging not to compare our generation to theirs. Often, the viewing and evaluating of kids is with our “generational eyes”.So, what bugs adults about 21st century kids?No manners, spending less time outdoors, entitlement, disrespectful for authority, no hope for the future, no boundaries, difficulty understanding consequences, piercings and tattoos, music, more influenced by media, materialistic, short attention span, more physical aggression and early engagement in sex, drugs and alcohol.
The Amazement: What does it look like from inside their world?
24 x 7 availability of food and customized entertainment (cell phones, iPods, computer/video games)
When wired (connected to technology), images change every 2 to 7 seconds, which heightens the adrenalin rush.
Over 3 million new words and phrases added to their lexicon/slanguage since 1999.(www.urbandictionary.com )
Global connectivity
Instant access to anything they want to know
The new language of texting and the disappearance of the hand-written word
Not limited by linear thinking*
Rapid, facile hand-eye coordination
Information does not equal transformation.Healthy relationships equal life-enhancing transformation. So, how do our kids want us in their lives? A way to access the HOW is by knowing what they want. . . . (The chapter includes: what kids want, what kids want us to know and ways to bridge the chasm of disconnection.)
*Capable of lateral thinking, which is the ability to use both sides of the brain simultaneously on multiple processes and tasks.May look to us as if they are leaving steps out, they are, they see shorter and better ways to solve problems.
If you would like to be notified when the book is available, just drop us an email.Please go to Contact Us.
A Testimonial from Scott Degraffenreid, Social Network Analyst, author of "Understanding the Millennial Mind", I believe the work of Envision Your Future is grounded in a clear understanding of and an abiding commitment to the fullest potential of today's young people, who are so often misinterpreted and unfairly labeled.
Video - to see a 5 minute video of Dr. Patty giving the workshop "Teaching 21st Century Kids" and the Parent/Teen workshop, " Communicating with your teen RU Ready" click on this link Parenting at WARP Speed
21st Century Kids 
