Does it seem like kids are getting weirder?

bebemama

I don't remember children having so many issues when I was a kid or when I worked in childcare in my young 20's.  Now quite a few kids on our street get some sort of therapy, have some type of diagnosis.  I also feel like I am reading more on here about sensory disorders and other issues.  I see this in my friends kids as well. What is going on. 

I even had this fleeting thought this morning that it has something to do with evolution.  hmmmm. 

emilykristene2006

I don't think kids are getting weirder. Just finally getting a name for issues that people might have had all along.

 

DandelionMom

We have better medical care now so these things are being diagnosed.  I think this is a good thing.  50 years ago my DD with celiac disease would have been labeled "delicate" and wouldn't live very long. 

Now she's healthy and growing but is "weird." 

bebemama

I hope the usage of the word "weird" isn't offensive to anyone.  That isn't how I meant it.  Just seems like a lot of the kids I am around have unusual behaviors.  Maybe thats normal for a tot.  

emilykristene2006

DandelionMom:

Now she's healthy and growing but is "weird." 

She's not weird. She's loved!

wellfleet04

I think it's a few things, some related to kids and a lot related to parents.  I think there is a real mentality among parents these days of "If my kid is not ahead, they must be behind."  That, combined with the constant barrage that "Early Intervention is key" pushes parents to seek out some kind of label/therapy/diagnosis for their kids, when a while ago kids would have just grown out of it or been a little quirky. 

 I'm not saying EI and the like is not a good thing, clearly it is, but at least in my experience I know SO MANY kids who were in EI (including my own DD, and I was exactly the parent I just described) who were just fine, maybe a little slow in some area or whatever. NO WAY were all of these kids truly "delayed" or needing therapies. 

I don't think the kids themselves have changed, I just think the way we label and "treat" them has.  Sometimes for good (like Dandelionmom said) and sometimes unnecessarily, IMO.

skyblonde

Nah, kids are the same, like PP said, there are just names for their weirdness now.  My DH is 35 and was diagnosed as ADD at age 25.  He had a horrible school experience as a child-because back then, no one knew what his issues were or how to help him overcome them.

mlm1128

I think alot of it is parents being more sensitive to subtle things.  In the past alot of theings that are now issues were literally just chalked up to kids being kids.  Hell, like pp said, my dh was JUST diagnosed ADHD about 2 motnhs ago after years of trying to figure out why he couldn't sit still and concentrate on certain things.  He's 34.

DandelionMom

bebemama:

I hope the usage of the word "weird" isn't offensive to anyone.  That isn't how I meant it.  Just seems like a lot of the kids I am around have unusual behaviors.  Maybe thats normal for a tot.  

I didn't take offense. 

ak1234

No.  Some of it is things that pps mentioned...

Part of it is parents just don't want their kids to be average.  My mom is a retired educator (special education) who does some consulting...people would rather "label" their children than have them just be average.

 

 

DandR

ditto ak.  It gives parents something to talk about or "blame" their child's bad behavior on.

Also---I think its like a lot of things when you grow up, you notice things more applicable to your life.  Who knows how many "weird" kids there were when we were in highschool...it didn't matter.  But once you have your own kids and start talking to other mom's and hearing things, then you think "huh? seems like EVERYONE has this or that!" just like when you buy a brand new car and then you see that particular model everywhere you drive.  It was always out there, but now that you are invested in it, you notice it everywhere.