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In Reply to: its simple really posted by a parent on December 01, 2003 at 04:29:30:
That is an interesting post. Mostly, because I actually have tried discussing some of these topics with Family young people.
Sometimes I've been surprised by how well they have been able to carry a conversation. But, very often I've been surprised at the total lack of exposure to other aspects of our society.
I learned early on not to waste my time by bringing up references to current events, unless they were some kind of earth shattering event like 9-11. Making reference to characters on TV brings a blank stare 100% of the time. But, they do seem to see some recent films.
My wife has a good sized collection of books, and they are drawn to these. Sometimes the parent will allow us to loan a particular book, sometimes not. It seems more likely that we can loan a classic than something contemporary.
A few years ago a Family youth, a female probably 14 years old engaged me in a very detailed discussion about business and finance. Apparently, she was doing some kind of a report for her home schooling. I was very pleased with the level of the questions, and that she came up with good follow-up questions on the fly.
Discussions regarding current politics produce very little, if anything.
When I have been exposed to these young people, I have just tried to do my best to be as normal as possible, and talk about normal every day things. It is always interesting to see what subjects they can discuss and which they can't.
