A grumble about the youth of today!

PolarSkye said:
DQ - thanks, I think, but - not sure how to take that . . . were you being (ahem) snarky?

My original point was that most of the "rest of the population" are also delightful.

Supernanny I am not ;).

P
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Please take it nicely - I was not being sarky at all. Its nice to hear a proud mom and 2 lovely young ladies in the making - they have been bought up properly!
x
 
Dancing Queen said:
Please take it nicely - I was not being sarky at all. Its nice to hear a proud mom and 2 lovely young ladies in the making - they have been bought up properly!
x
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In that case, DQ, my heartfelt thanks.

Thing is, my girls are not necessarily unique. That was my original point. Yes, there are some obnoxious children about - but IMHO they are in the minority.

At the risk of flogging a dead horse here, I strode into this debate to make the point that not all (indeed most) teenagers/children are perfectly lovely and, as the mother of two of the blighters (who certainly have their moments) I feel teenagers in general get a bad rap (and that irritates me).

Off to eat my ribs, pork belly, coleslaw and corn now . . . ;).

P
 
Great blog and spot on! I understand that you are not down on all young riders, just what you have witnessed. I too hate watching people stay in the saddle after a turn in the ring. I'm new-ish to riding, but it is common sense to dismount and take care of your horse. To be fair, adults do it too.
At my yard, some of the children stay on their pony long after a hack, just chatting and shouting to each other. It's painful.
I will be watching out for your next blog - and good luck with the Thoroughbred :D
 
I must be one very lucky mum. My 15 year old daughter is not only my best friend but is totatlly dedicated to the welfare of our two horses. Today she is working with sole charge (but mummy is watching!) with 4 eventers and 4 showjumpers as well as her own two. The day started at 7 am and she will be lucky to finish before 7pm. In return she will get a lesson on her own horse and she is more than happy with that. Shows can be more stressful because of nerves but she would never think of leaving without thanking the show officials. Yes, she is a member of the Pony Club and all of her friends are equally as dedicated & delightfully polite. I do agree that there are some children that I see around horses which either need a motorbike or euthanasia but thats probably a bit extreme!
 
Another lucky mum here, or perhaps, as with our horses we reap what we sow:rolleyes: Put the work in and you will produce the results you would like to see, kids that know the meaning of respect for their family, animals, friends and society as a whole. My older girls and 8 yr old son have been shown the boundaries and know how to behave, but it has taken hard work. Yes they can kick off at home, but I know I can take them anywhere and will get comments on their good behaviour and treatment of their horses and ponies.
As for pony Club am afraid we have avoided our local one, was totally unimpressed by how unprofessional the DC was by discussing something she shouldn't have about my OH which was relayed to me, put me off big style.
Just dont get me statred on why SOME of the youth of today are like they are:D
 
JessandCharlie said:
It's not just the youth, and not all youth are like that. Lots are, but so too are lots of adults.

:(

J&C
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This^^^ I have always taught my children manners, and they always do me proud. However I have also taught them respect has to be earned no matter what the age so if an adult is rude to them they have my permission to be rude back....I don't do the whole respect me because I'm because I'm older...I expect people to treat my children with respect...unfortunately it seems to be the elderly population round hear that struggle with this consept.
 
alwaysbroke said:
Another lucky mum here, or perhaps, as with our horses we reap what we sow:rolleyes: Put the work in and you will produce the results you would like to see, kids that know the meaning of respect for their family, animals, friends and society as a whole. My older girls and 8 yr old son have been shown the boundaries and know how to behave, but it has taken hard work. Yes they can kick off at home, but I know I can take them anywhere and will get comments on their good behaviour and treatment of their horses and ponies.
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I agree with this completely. I was the first of my group of friends to have a baby at 24 and I know that things were said as to whether she would end up a little gob*****e. Well my mum does tell me to ease off sometimes but there is no way on earth that my 4 year old would ever kick off in public, yes she is a typical child at home and does push it sometimes but she loves her ponies and even at her age, she makes sure that certain bits and bobs are done. She checks water, helps poo pick, helps untack etc and I wouldnt let her have the ponies if she didnt. As soon as she is old enough and I trust the big chap with her I will give her pocket money to groom him too.

I personally cant wait for PC camps, in fact what is minimum age to ship them off?lol I think a week away learning more about what she loves would be fab! Oh and are you allowed to go abroad whilst they are there? I am joking I promise!

Seriously though, I took her out of her preschool early as I was so unimpressed by the way the other children and parents acted, they had a fun day and ponies to ride and the way these kids ran around the ponies and the parents let them...Lolly kept going up to them and telling them to be quiet, it was so funny but she was getting really upset. The woman who owned the ponies left early in the end for fear of them kicking out and her getting sued.

It is such a shame that there are so many "naughty"/ignorant children out there that then create a bad name for them all, I do blame the parents and the fact that we are not allowed to discipline our children for fear of social services getting involved...if you visit A&E now with a child, they treat you like a child beating criminal until you prove otherwise!
 
Its really mostly down to the parents, if you teach your children that if they want a pony then they will be the one who gives up their time and socialising to look after that pony as i was told when i first got my own pony (after 4 years of loaning on a livery yard, which teaches everything) and now with my horse i am always the one to look after him and sometimes (if im lucky) i get the help of parents or boyfriend :).
The yard i am at is really big and runs its own 'pony club' where they not only ride but have to look after the horses and the yard all day learning lots of things about horsecare, tack, riding and general yard duties. They can be very helpful around the yard but can forget sometimes that running and shouting around horses is stupid.
However when ive gone to shows theres always the few that are a picture of 'spoilt brat' that has too much money spent on it for minimal effort of the kid but these 'brats' can be made by parents who only care if they are winning and that gets handed to the kids that they should be winning everything and thats all that matters.
I was taught that yes its great to win but do your best and be happy with that. Not all youths are bad :) honest!:p
 
I am young, approaching my teens and fair enough may not be perfect but I always look out for my horse's welfare. I was shocked to see when helping my mum and her friend at a local ODE steward for the cross country girls and boys of all ages coming through the finish on a steaming, sweaty pony that is blowing like mad wander around on the pony's back without loosening of the girth or getting off! Either that or standing around talking to friends instead of walking their pony around, the majority were good but there was a few that we even had to tell them to get off their pony! In some cases my pony is still walking after coming through the finish while I am getting off, running up stirrups and loosening the girth. I must include though that most 'pony clubbers' are taught about horse welfare and are usually good.
 
Being 19 and been around horses all my life, from what I've seen of other people when I've been out and about the saying "The Apple never falls far from the tree" couldn't be more true. Mum never had her own horse till she was 34, I was lucky that mum bought Murphy for us to share just after I turned 16 - I've had loans in the past - (it didn't turn out being a share but thats besides the point) all throug my life i've been told "You're not having one till you can look after it yourself". And sure enough thats what I've done. I also had drummed into me that so long as when you go somewhere you thank the judges and expect to not get over the first fence/be place then anything you achieve is a bonus. I'm always exstatic when we actually get over the first fence, let alone round the course. But on the other hand I knew a girl whos mother drummed it into her that she HAD to win, so thats exactly how she was with the pony "You've got to win" if it didnt win she used to throw the almighty strops, but her mother wouldnt talk to her either :( Can't really blame people for being that way when they actually arent taught anybetter
 
Whilst i agree with a lot of what some posters have said there are some really nice polite kids out there too, and i feel very sorry for them getting lumped in with the "ne'er do well" types.

I don't have children of my own but have come across some lovely teenagers through horses. Hard working, polite, kind, kids who live for horses and are a credit to their parents.

I can think of about a dozen teenagers I have had the good fortune to meet through horses who completely blow all the stereotypes out of the water. Some are still at school, some are growing up fast and are now off to uni.

It isn't just horsey kids either, my friend runs a youth group at a church, and my brother in law a football club and they all know lovely kids, it is just a shame that it is the hoodies who get all the attention.

In fact i think perhaps part of the problem is that teenagers are expected to be louts rather than nice kids........ imagine how you'd feel if you were constantly treated as a potential monster....... :(
 
My 4 year old just did me proud and proved that not all children are bad. We were cooking dinner during that rain/thunder that just flooded us and she looked at me and said "my poor ponies need their rugs mummy, I hope they are alright. Shall we go and give them a cuddle, I think they are scared of this thunder" bless. Dont lose faith in the young, they will keep us when we are old!
 
nicolenlolly said:
My 4 year old just did me proud and proved that not all children are bad. We were cooking dinner during that rain/thunder that just flooded us and she looked at me and said "my poor ponies need their rugs mummy, I hope they are alright. Shall we go and give them a cuddle, I think they are scared of this thunder" bless. Dont lose faith in the young, they will keep us when we are old!
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Bless her how lovely.....

I work with children as well as having my own and the majority of them are lovely......any that are less so are always a product of the adults that the poor kids have the misfortune to be influenced by...Always said that I would work with either children or animals...adults are much harder to like!!!!
 
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