Children In Charge

We have long left the decades of when parents were the leaders in their households. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that there aren’t parents who lead in the home. What I am saying is that it is becoming less apparent that parents are the guides for their children. There has been a slow paradigm shift drifting from parents to children in charge.

The Meaning of ‘Children In Charge’

We have all seen the evidence of the kids that are literally worshipped by his or her parents.

And yes I will use appropriate pronouns like He, She, Her, Him, Father, Mother, Sister, Brother, etc. Congress can play in the fantasy land sandbox with their friends. I’ll pass. 

You are likely familiar with the kids that rule the roosts! They seemingly have everything on planet earth that every child wants.  They have the most expensive clothes, newest $1500 iPhone, 2 ATV’s (without a place to ride them), a 1000 square foot bedroom with a 70″ LG TV on every wall, and a brand new car to drive even though the chap is only 12 years old.

Yeah, those kids. They have become the ‘children in charge’ of America!

Why Are Children In Charge?

This is the 64 million dollar question. There are definitely many factors that would have caused such a paradigm shift in America.

Allow me to offer a few reasons.

No. 1 The Push For College Degrees

You wouldn’t necessarily think that more education would be a leading cause of putting children in charge.

But it is!

In the 1990’s there was a significant push in the public school sector for all kids to ‘Go to college!’

‘Get educated!’

Teachers, guidance counselors, school principals would say things like, “You can do anything you set your mind to” and “You can be anything you want to be.”

The official slogan for the United States Army from 1980-2001 was “Be All That You Can Be In The Army.”

And it worked!

Are we not now paying the price for that mantra?

As a result, here in 2023, men can claim to be women and women can claim to be men with no questions asked. Where any thought or idea is reality.

Even if what is proclaimed is blatantly and scientifically false. And if one objects to the overt lie then that person is labeled a bigot, transphobe, xenophobe, (fill in the slur from the progressive grab bag of ‘phobes’).

How backward is that?

So kids leaving high school did venture off to colleges and universities.

Many went without any inclination of what they ‘wanted to be when they grew up.’ The professionals in the public schools across the country told kids that it essentially didn’t matter and all they needed was a college degree.

Promises Made But Not Kept

“Go to college” they said.

“It’ll be fun” they said.

“You’ll be wealthy” they said.

In addition to the college degree those same teachers and guidance counselors promised numerous job offers. Employment opportunities with 6 figure salaries. A dog named Cujo with a Ferrari and a condominium in downtown Chicago overlooking the Atlantic ocean. 

What a beautiful view that would be! Geography was not an aspiring secondary education field for many. 

Contrarily, many ended up without job offers. Those that had offers were well below the 6 figures promised by the uptight Mr. Hand back at Ridgemont High. Those were fast times!

Instead of the downtown condo, the hopeful big shot executives would have to settle for a job pouring coffee with a 1 room efficiency in their mom’s, dad’s, or the grandparent’s basement.

A long way from both Chicago and the Atlantic ocean. Not that Chicago is the best place for living these days.

This produced numerous amounts of young adults in the late 90’s and early 2000’s with worthless degrees in things like ‘Decision Science,’ ‘Popular Culture,’ and ‘Pop Music.’

Yes, these are all actual degrees handed out by colleges and universities alike.

All of the sudden, NASA wasn’t calling.

Vocational Trades Sacrificed

This higher ‘education’ move put vocational jobs on the sacrificial altar.

Vocational schools were less emphasized or eliminated. Those that would previously learn trades such as carpentry, small engine repair, auto mechanic, welding, electrical, etc. were heading off to college to major in Interdisciplinary Studies. 

The individuals that  were learning essential vocational skills were now being demonized.

Why you ask?

Because these trades didn’t require 4-5 years and $250k worth of a degree. They were led to believe it wasn’t possible to earn a living wage performing such peasantry.

It didn’t fit the narrative. “Go to college” they said. “It’ll be fun” they said. “You’ll be wealthy” they said.

Those that actually make the world go round were being sacrificed for those that don’t. 

If I were ever a contestant on Survivor and am forced to choose between the guy that can build a super shelter versus the dude that knows how to make a great latte, then the tribe will have spoken.

Say bye bye to the man bun!

This higher education Pyramid scheme has resulted in the drastic need for all types of vocational jobs throughout the United States.

Result Of College Degree Mania

The push for college degrees continued into the 2000’s and hasn’t slowed.

College degrees have become more expensive. By the same token they have also become more generic and dare I say ‘woke.’

General education studies have turned into ‘gender’ and ‘transgender study’ degrees.

What can you do with those credentials one might ask? This article says that with a gender studies degree ‘You’ll be on the right side of history.’ And that ‘It applies…to everything.’ Furthermore, ‘It’s relevant.’

Finally, here’s the best pitch, ‘Oppression knows no bounds.’

That’s all fine and dandy and convincing motivation for woke ears! On the other hand it’s also woke rhetoric that does nothing to land a job with a gender studies degree. But UCLA will gladly take $200k to help provide you with a highly esteemed college degree to become the line managing barista at Starbucks.

Hence, the best chance for employment with a degree in gender studies is to get picked up by a super woke company. One that is willing to force gender ‘wokeness’ on their employees. Then you could give lectures every week attempting to explain that boys really are girls and that there really is no difference between them. In fact, absolute genders are myths.

At the same time you must fly the banner of ‘follow the science!’  A good minor degree would be in ‘semantical gymnastics.’

Cryptozoology: A Better Choice

You are better off obtaining a college degree in Cryptozoology. In the event that this occurs, then you could possibly team up with Matt Moneymaker and together finally gather conclusive evidence that the elusive Sasquatch is really roaming the forests of the Pacific Northwest.

Or in Cousin Eddy’s RV!

My bet is that company employees would much rather hear about expeditions on Bigfoot rather than another woke sermon on the numerology of gender.

Another employment option with a gender studies degree would be to get reabsorbed back into academia.

Do you know there are individuals that obtain college degrees who never actually work in their field of ‘expertise’? As a matter of fact, many somehow end up ‘teaching’ others on how to be ‘experts’ without ever having worked a single minute in the particular job setting or area of interest. 

Academia can be a strange and illogical world. Welcome to wokeness in 2023! 

This is one reason we have seen a paradigm shift in America where we have children in charge.

No. 2 Social Media

The era of social media has changed society in so many ways. That is simply a fact that cannot be refuted. 

It has given a platform for children to proclaim they are subject matter ‘experts’ even when it is obviously not the case. 

I understand that the idea of childhood celebrities is not new. I know about David Cassidy in the 1970’s (The Partridge Family). Ralph Macchio in the 1980’s (The Karate Kid). Jonathan & Jordan Knight in the 1990’s (New Kids On The Block). However, we have entered a time where social media has given ‘childhood celebrity’ a keg of 5-hour energy.  Children are standing in line waiting for a turn with the bong followed by the keg stand. 

All of the social media platforms and YouTube are literally at the fingertips of our children. And 10 year old’s are more adept at using the apps than most of their parents. 

James Charles

Children now get their influence from people like James Charles Dickinson and Joelle Joanie Siwa. Better known simply as James Charles and Jo Jo Siwa respectively.

As far as I know, Dickinson is not a distant cousin of the famous poet Emily Dickinson. He isn’t writing beautiful prose or elaborate poetry. He propelled himself to YouTube fame by giving tips on how to perform self makeovers. Who knew that males could become famous by showing women how to put on rouge? 

In essence, this is akin to the ‘news’ anchor playing physician and telling the world that 2 face masks are better than 1 and you better get the 8th booster if you want to avoid death from COVID-19.

But I guess men putting on makeup isn’t really a new thing.

1980’s hair bands were notorious for the malpractice. If you are of Generation X as I am, you can remember ‘Poison,’ ‘Cinderella,’ and ‘Twisted Sister.’ And who could forget ‘Culture Club with Boy George!’

That was a time to have stock in White Rain hairspray. By the way, Dickinson dropped his last name and goes solely by James Charles. He is now 23 years of age after starting his career at age 16. 

Jo Jo Siwa

 Jo Jo Siwa came to YouTube stardom after appearing on Lifetimes television series, ‘Dance Moms’.  She has since been followed by millions of children on social media.

Siwa proudly proclaimed, on social media of course, that she was ‘coming out.’ That is to say that she is gay. LGB has morphed into LGBTG into LBGTQ+. The alphabet mafia is strong. 

These two social media ‘stars’ are at the thumbs of millions of children. They influence children in many ways. I don’t think it is a stretch to say that many parents have no clue that James Charles and Jo Jo Siwa exist. 

I didn’t!

Their influence goes much further than makeup, dancing, and being gay.

Did I mention that James Charles was gay? I wasn’t sure if the makeup gig didn’t give it completely away.

In any event, they proselytize in a similar fashion the way the main stream media (AKA ‘fake news‘) do to the masses of adults.

To listen to these children, the main stream media, and watch HG TV one would be led to believe that half the country identify as gay.

To enumerate, real numbers show it is roughly 4.5% of the population. 

Charles and Siwa put forth a message to children similarly to what those guidance counselors had done in the 1990’s. 

You can write your own destiny. You can be in charge!

Social Media has been a vector for placing children in charge in America!

No. 3 Single Parent Homes

As of 2018, roughly 32% of children in the United States were living with a single unmarried parent. That’s about 24 million children.

What a familial disaster! 

In 1968, it was 13%.

Times they are a changin’!

In fact, the United States has the highest percentage of children living with single parents when compared to every other country in the world.

The United States in the lead! ‘Merica!’ 

Furthermore, 1 in 2 marriages end up in divorce. 67% of those who remarry divorce again. And 73% of those end up divorced a third time.

The idea of the American family sticking together is rapidly declining. Marriage is nothing more than glorified dating for much of America.

These things should not be so.

How does the single parent home allow for children to be more in control?

Typically, the single parent is working. They commonly struggle to get by. Working paycheck to paycheck is common. Especially in Joe Biden’s inflationary America!

Not having a spouse to co-parent with makes it even harder. Often they harbor some guilt from a failed marriage or relationship resulting in the current circumstance. Therefore, it is much easier for the single parent to cave to every want and need of the child. 

This ultimately can lead to a lack of respect on the child’s behalf. It starts at home and then metastasizes like cancer into the community.

Couple that with community wokeness. The offering of participation trophies to everyone who signs up to participate in any sport or activity is now the appropriate woke response. This began mainly with the Generation X parents (born in the early 1960’s-70’s). Now it appears everything is also allowed to be co-ed. 

We have William Thomas who became Lia Thomas and went from a collegiate ranking in the 400’s as a man to number 1 as a ‘woman.’

No ‘Tough Love’

Teachers and coaches can no longer effectively mentor children with tough love because it’s portrayed as mean. Men that act like men or are too ‘masculine’ are viewed as thugs. As if that can really be true! The new term is “toxic masculinity.”

The progressive left must add new terms to their dictionary on a weekly basis it seems. 

While America continues to construct effeminate limp wristed males that can’t so much change a car tire, China is steaming ahead. 

Even if mentors attempt to convey tough love to their pupils, they are met with a level of wokeness Rip Van Winkle couldn’t fend off. Parents have the “You can’t talk to my child that way” mentality. 

In time, this has spawned multi-generations of entitled narcissistic brats who believe that all humanity should bow down and listen to their wisdom. By all means, they will let you know with their latest YouTube or TikTok escapade.

As if we really want to hear Cardi B talk about her anatomy and degrade all women everywhere.  

Further reinforcement for this behavior came before the beginning of the internet in the 1990’s. Sesame Street began catering to children in this way. Cartoons and sitcoms fell in line.

Calling Punky Brewster!

Disney has also done its fair share in making authority figures out of children.

What a role model Miley Cyrus has become!

But instead they press on! Pushing narratives that the police, teachers, and parents are all dumb and just don’t get it. The child can do no wrong. Sinful? Never! They are innocent, smart, creative, and innovative. 

Children are always correct regardless of how moronic the statement was that just bounced from their mouth.

Our children have become embolden.  Children are in charge!

No. 4 Children Raised By Grandparents

This has become like the child in a single parent home on steroids. Saying that grandparents spoil grandchildren is not an Appalachian stereotype.

As of 2018, about 2.9 million children or 2% of the population are being raised by grandparents.

This is typically because of unusual and sad circumstances. Children raised by grandparents are 6 times more likely to have had a parent or guardian serve time in jail. 

They are 4 times more likely to have lived with someone who has a drug or alcohol problem.

It’s difficult for grandparents to rear children…again. Especially decades after they had done it the first time.

One study showed that grandparents raising grandchildren had lower education, lower household income and a large portion of them were single caregivers. Also, many of the children are with the grandparent(s) because they were ‘too difficult’ for their parents to handle. 

These circumstances commonly lead to further coddling and enabling of the child. I certainly do not want to paint with a broad brush because there are several success stories where people were successfully raised by their grandparents. 

Children In Charge: Is It Really Positive?

To this end we find that children today have been given authority in places where they clearly have none.

Today, children are certainly more tech savvy than many adults. They can post on Instagram, TikTok, and even start their own YouTube channels. In fact, many children believe they will make millions being the next ‘Chad and Vy‘ or ‘AG Overseas Fan.’ 

And this is a definite because they have been groomed to think that if they just ‘believe’ then it will happen.

It’s like a terrible collision between Joel Osteen and Tony Robbins.

While some of what they say may be laced with some truth, the fact is that much is loaded with sensationalism and fantasy. You walk away feeling good.

But the chances are you actually left with less money in your pocket and they wound up with more in theirs. It’s an odd type of Ponzi scheme. A thousand times worse than a late night infomercial trying to sell you a vacuum cleaner. 

Generations Y and Z are brilliant. They are smarter, extremely diverse, and more woke than any of us old fogeys. We need to lay our old bones aside and let 13 year old’s take over the world.

It seems we have allowed that to occur in Washington D.C. deep in the halls and swampland of Congress.  

We have children in charge and it needs to stop! 

The Result

Doogie Howser, MD was a 1980’s sitcom that portrayed a genius teenager turned physician. Since when would you listen to a 14 year old ‘Doctor?’

Turns out the hemorrhoid he said that you had was actually a festering rectal cancer.

He prescribed some Hydrocortisone 1% cream to apply to the affected area twice daily.

Preparation H is far from the cure. But it was a simple childlike mistake!