Реферат на тему
«Problems of the children and the youth»
Подготовила: Димитрова Надежда Александровна
учитель английского языка МОУ СОШ №3
г. Ртищево Саратовской области
Content
I. Problems of the children and the youth
a) Tweens and teens problems
b)Beating children will be a crime
c) High - tech and children
d)Internet addiction
e) A generation gap
f) The problem of love and friendship. Suicide in the young
g) Family problems
h)New anti-drugs campaign for young people
i) Teenagers kill
II. Conclusion
I. Problems of the children and the youth
a) Tweens and teens problems
Everywhere people are rattled about children and young people, who are described these days as "difficult", "rude", "wild" and "irresponsible". Only some people say that they will grow up to make their country a better place. But in all communities the problem is in the centre of public.
For kids from 8 to 14 a new term "tweens" has recently been coined. They are no longer children nor yet teenagers, just between - tweens. They are said to be the largest number in this age group in recent decades and a generation in a fearsome hurry to grow up.
Instead of playing with Barbies and Legos they are pondering the vagaries of love on TV serials. Girls wear provocative makeup created specially for tweens. Now they have more opportunities than ever because the world's economy has been booming. They are accustomed to a world of information and they will probably be the best educated generation in history. A substantial majority go to college.
Children have got an insatiable desire for the latest in everything - from slacks with labels so that everyone will know that they've got the latest stuff - to CDs. To parents and teachers they can be a nightmare, aping the hair, clothes, and makeup of celebrities twice their age - and they are not always helped to get through a confusion of life in a steady, productive way.
Of course every kid's story is unique and there are certainly lots of youngsters who sail through these years with few problems. But many tweens even with sympathetic and supportive parents say that they feel pressurized to act older than they feel. Ann, who is 10, regularly tells her mother all the things she is worried about - her nightly three hours of homework, the kids in her class who are already pairing off. "I am already doing what some people in the 1800s were not doing until they were full-grown adults. I get up at 6.30 every morning, go to school and have to rush through all my classes, come home and work on my homework, walk Luna, the family dog, twice a day, do chores, I like skating, so I go to ice-skating lessons, watch a little TV, talk on the phone, practice playing the piano. If I am lucky I get to sleep at 11 and then the entire ordeal starts again".
It is difficult to cope with all the things children must do, but some parents try to coach and support them in homework, for example, and are sometimes trapped into doing it.
Nowadays tweens and teenagers have more marketing than ever. There is always something new they want. A lot of money goes to clothes; kids their age desperately need to belong. Almost 50 years ago when girls talked about self-improvement they were thinking of doing good works or doing better at school. Now everything comes down to appearance. They think that having the right "stuff is the quickest way to acceptance”. And their influence goes beyond their cupboards. Tweens – Leonardo Di Caprio fans – were a force behind a phenomenal success of "Titanic". They account for a large percent of CD sales. Children have a say in all kinds of purchases – from soft drinks to cars. But why do they have so much to say.
Guilt is one factor. Parents who are not around much often try to compensate by buying their kids almost everything they ask for. There is also a bridery theory – a new CD can buy co-operation in a hectic week.
Children's influence also grows out of a dramatic change in family relationships. Now people treat each other like members of a group, rather than sons and daughters, mums and dads. If parents ask "What do you want?" or say "I am interested in your opinion”, kids may grow up with a false sense of power and may end up spoilt and unhappy because they are not going to have their way all the time. Letting kids have their way means that it is necessary to set limits.
Children are exposed to adult things from birth. The pressure to act like grown-ups starts at home. Many kids are children who grow up single-parent homes. Too old for child care and not old enough to travel about town on their own they are often alone in the afternoon with only the computer or TV, which sucks up most of their free time. Parents try to regulate the number of hours kids watch TV and monitor films. Experts say that the rush to grow up is due to popular media - tweens magazines and TV shows. Being raised by single parents as well as watching TV can also accelerate the desire of children for being independent and creates behavior problems.
But the electronic universe is more comforting than the outside world that can be scary. Most children do not belong to any clubs and just hang about after school. They are worried about being kidnapped by strangers. Besides, friends are becoming increasingly important during these years. At school and colleges there are cliques who decide what is "cool". ............
