What are some things that children used to wait for, but are no longer common in today's society?

I apologize in advance for the long answer but this one struck a nerve.

Not all, but some kids are being raised to feel as “peers” to their parents and equals to any adult with no hierarchy of respect built in to help balance out their natural impulses. We all thought in our heads of the mean things we would say to an adult in charge who angered us if we only dared…today there is no hesitation. Kids need to learn to navigate the world and being part of a community with boundaries is an important part of that. If they can't learn to manage their natural impulsively with adults in their childhood, they'll cuss out a boss and get fired or hit someone too hard in anger and go to prison.

They don't have to wait for much of anything in this instant phone/internet world where the scenes change so fast onscreen that kids brains become accustomed to firing neurons, receiving stimuli and processing info so quickly that a normal human teacher's speech and movement in a classroom is almost “slow motion” in comparison. Class can certainly be “boring ” compared to that and they have trouble concentrating, sitting still and following along. I am not qualified to diagnose but I personally wonder if many attention deficit diagnoses aren't actually the true disorder but seem so due to this phenomenon.

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Now kids have every privilege an adult has but none of the responsibilities. Many are their own boss in their households, they don't have to do their homework if they don't want to because parents aren't backing the teacher up and they eat sweets as part of their daily diet as opposed to a treat or dessert (the food companies even add sugar in non-sweet daily staples where you wouldn't expect it to be).

Now, even when they are old enough to have the responsibilities that go with adulthood they don't want them. They've had all the same privileges for so long, why would they be ok with someone piling a bunch of crap like work, rent, paying for food and entertainment on them now just because they turned 18, or 21 or 28?! They still want to be treated as children not responsible for their actions because there never was an incentive on their part to grow up.

Children used to eagerly wait to become older so that they could enjoy the privileges they perceived adults to have…staying up late, eating sweets or whatever they wanted, not having homework and being their own boss, among others. In the past kids worked toward achieving these goals more quickly by demonstrating that they were responsible and capable with chores and being “big” (helpful). We all wanted these “privileges” until we got them of course. Being “big” in reality came with bills and certain responsibilities that we never saw our parents do behind the scenes. Then we longed for the relative carefree years of our youth.

Is the saying "nice guys finish last" true? Can good intentions always lead to positive outcomes?

More recently, there has been a shift in not only parenting styles but in children's exposure to and access to previously considered “adult themes”. Most were in bed before non-family programming came on and children and adults had completely separate social circles and activities where the two worlds didn't often meet outside of the family structure. (A study found 12 years old is the average age of first exposure to porn on the internet today but that's a whole different post) That's all old fashioned now and a mute point, however, the change has created a difference.

The boundaries used to start at home with parents. Then, when they were no longer enforced at home, the boundaries existed at schools. When parents refused to allow teacher's to enforce behavior consequences there, they found the final boundaries in law enforcement. Children need structure and schedule for optimum growth and health. They want to know there are boundaries because that makes their world feel safe. In their hearts they know they should not be in charge so they push and act out to find who is. It's the ultimate imposter syndrome for them and it's sad.