today's twenty-somethings

Al Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, is a very smart man. I don't generally read his blog because, let's face it, I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT! and I'm okay with that.

However, on Facebook the other day, he referenced the Times Magazine article entitled, “What Is It About 20-Somethings?” and then wrote a response. It is a phenomenon that is sweeping the country. Steve and I have talked about with our friends who have kids in their twenties and we all feel about the same way. Why aren't they more interested in getting on with their lives? What are they doing?

The article and subsequent reflection from Mohler goes on to discuss how many of us (40 or 50 somethings) were married, mostly with children, jobs, mortgages, etc. by the time we were in our mid-twenties. Basically, they are suffering from the "failure to launch" syndrome. They are putting off making commitments until much later in life meaning that they move more, change jobs more, and generally don't get themselves into position to become productive adults until much later. Why do you reckon that is?

Here's what I think. I think that today's twenty-somethings are afraid. Afraid of failure, rejection, and blows to the self-esteem. Why? Because we have raised them to be so. We protect them to the point that they cannot fend for themselves. We reward them for small things when they need to learn to find intrinsic rewards for doing the "right thing". And, we bail them out of scrapes both big and small without making them suffer the consequences of their actions. They simply cannot cope without the safety net that has been provided up until now.

I'm not a proponent of marrying young or starting a family before they are emotionally ready to do so, but I do believe that we do our kids a disservice by not allowing them to burst into the world full of enthusiasm and to be knocked down a time or two. Most of them need the maturity that being knocked down teaches them, anyway.

We have to begin when they are children to lead them toward adulthood so that when they are face-to-face with it, they can embrace it and learn to enjoy it. I know for us, this has been a challenge that we are dealing with now. We see where mistakes have been made, and are working to correct those (read--pushing a little harder!) along the way in an effort to help the next generation of twenty-somethings that come along.

It's an interesting read found at: http://www.albertmohler.com/2010/08/23/why-arent-emerging-adults-emerging-as-adults/ that you may enjoy....or not, depending on where you stand on this issue if you have a stance at all!