One Princess on parade. One princess on the porch. A simple walk around the park or the neighborhood can demonstrate the way some parents indulge their children. From the three year old girl dressed in her princess gown who is commanding both her younger brother and her grandparents to so as she wishes, to the four year old who is given a ride in a wagon to play at the park, there are many families who have both the time and energy to make sure that there children get exactly what they want.
Removing all obstacles, these parents and grandparents may have the luxury of being able to have one parent or other family adult at home all of the time.
With Mickey in hand and two grandparents in two, the three year played on the park equipment. Sort of. To the outside observer the young girl simply appeared to be performing for her grandparents, as they clapped every time their granddaughter went down the slide and cheered every time she climbed the ladder. It appears that the days of children learning to play for the sake of play itself are gone. The days of an adult reading the newspaper on a park bench or having an adult conversation with another parent are interrupted by the need to provide constant praise for the simplest of tasks.
In complete contrast, of course, are the children who are left unattended both in the hour or two in the morning before school and the entire afternoon and early evening after school. In the summer these children who live in a single parent home or in a house where both parents work more than full time, lack the supervision that is often associated with a safe and healthy life.
Are You Raising a Skydiving Warrior or a Bossy Little Princess?
The challenge for schools, of course, is that both types of children, the pampered princesses and the latchkey children, end up together in the same classroom. And while these two types of students, and every variation in between, may bring diversity to a classroom, they also bring different kinds of behaviors. Used to getting her way, for instance, the princess kind of students can easily become frustrated when the class does not operate in the way they want. The children who spend so much time alone at home, of course, often find themselves frustrated that anyone is ever trying to tell them what to do.
As many as 69% of Millennials consider themselves to be adventurous, so it only makes sense that there are a number of these parents who are also teaching their children to seek excitement. The typical age requirement for tandem jumps is 18, but many parents lead a lifestyle that has introduced an adventurous spirit at a much younger age. And while this might lead to a life of tandem skydiving center adventures, at a young age these carefree adventurers may have a challenge adjusting to some kinds of classroom.
Today’s Educational Challenges Include a Wide Range of Diversities
In many parts of the country, school will be starting in just a few weeks. And while administrators and school boards might be concerned about national testing dates and graduation rates, classroom teachers are left to teach their assigned curriculums, while at the same time trying to reach children from every kind of background. From princess to pauper, there are very few public school classrooms in the country that do not have representatives from many different kinds of homes. And while some parents may be fostering a level of independence that may lead to future skydiving and other kinds of adventures, there are an equal number of parents who treat their children with white kid gloves. And while neither a jump out of airplane for skydiving and quietly sitting at home may be an issue later in life, the teachers who have children in their rooms who are heading these diverse directions can be faced with difficult challenges.
Today’s families have very different parenting styles from one another, but schools are still expected to reach the children from all of these environments, from princess to adventurer.