Kidscorner

Thursday 18 August 2011

Instant gratification



I dropped my children of at school this morning because the rain poured down. I started pondering tonight and thought I shouldn’t have done that. I deprive them from the change to learn that they won’t melt from a couple of rain drops. Our kids and actually increasingly our entire society are getting used to instant gratification.  We don’t work for anything anymore; everything is made easy for us.

When we don’t want to cook we go to get a pizza, quick and easy, when we fight with our partners we easily think about breaking up instead of hanging in there and working on our problems. I read a story about a couple who couldn't afford to break up and decided to safe first and wait a year. They are married for 45 years now.
When we want a new TV we get a loan and buy it instead of saving up for it first. It even happens among the Dutch all the time these days.
When we want to talk to somebody we don’t go to them anymore but grasp our cell phone
We get influenced by sales people because they know about our weakness for instant gratification

With increasing health problems and an economic downturn some of us are forced to make the choice to delay instant gratification.
For our younger people this will be a lot harder as they are not used to it at all. I think eventually it will be a lot better for everyone when we toughen up a bit, and feel proud when we achieve something after some hard work, which will make us grow. What do you think?

(Talking about instant gratification instead of going for exercise I had too much food in the last year to relieve my stress. Have to do a lot of work now to get it all off again. Time to toughen up.)
Arohanui Marja


Harvest

We must not hope to be mowers
and gather the ripe gold ears
Unless we first have been sowers
and watered the furrows with tears
It is not just as we take it
This mystical world of ours
Life's field will yield as we make it
A harvest of thorns or flowers
Goethe

4 comments:

  1. I absolutely agree,Marja. When I got here, the kids got taken and picked up every day, rain or shine. I talked it over with Hubby and they started walking back and forth. A few weeks later, the school sent home a newsletter that urged parents to let kids walk to learn how to respect traffic.
    We are teaching our kids that you have to work for things you want. One isn't learning very well, but the younger one is doing famously!

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  2. When we want a new TV we get a loan and buy it instead of saving up for it first.

    Exactly, I remember one time when I was about five years-old my grandparents television finally died and they did without one for several months. They only bought a replacement when they could buy it outright and they shopped a couple of weeks looking for the best deal.

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  3. All through grade school my children were driven to school, because I was a Catholic school teacher who taught at their school. But during middle school, they walked to school. In the olden days, I walked to school from K-12. There are very few schools whereas kids can walk. You are lucky to have one.

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  4. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the picture of the little boy going after the coffee cake. My mother used to make that luscious cake all the time. The topping was a mixture of corn flakes, coconut, butter and brown sugar. It was soooo delicious, especially when eaten warm from the oven.

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Thank you!!