(AD) Life was easier and more comfortable when our grandparents are children. |
In fact, in our grandparents’ generation, the society was much simpler and less sophisticated compared to that of our generation. It is therefore I believe that our grandparents’ life was a lot easier and more comfortable when they were children due to less intricate social structure which used to be agriculture-oriented in those days. Moreover, that is because their parents were not really demanding for their children’s versatilities in every respect. In our grandparents’ generation when they were young, most people were engaged in primary or secondary industries such as farming and manufacturing. In other words, children did not need to study so much or so many subjects from early mornings to late evenings without holidays due to various exams to achieve a higher and prestigious career in the future. For example, I can recollect my grandparents’ stories and adventures about their childhoods, camping, fishing, picking strawberries and flowers, catching bugs, swimming in lakes, sleepover in friends’ houses, and so on after school or during school vacations. It sounded more enjoyable, exiting and relaxing to me after all. On the other hand, these days, most parents strongly demand their children to be well versed in every single area and subject, forcing them to be more equipped with many skills and competitive to achieve a promising and prospective profession in the future. This is because these young children are living in such a highly intensified and competitive world, being demanded by both parents and society to prepare for their forthcoming appreciably complicated and complex job markets upon growing up. I have two little poor nieces in my country, Korea, for instance, they leave house at 7:30 AM, and return home at 9 or 10 PM from their private institutions such as piano, violin lessens, Taekwundo, ballet, math and English classes which their parents have all arranged for them on top of their kids’ regular school curriculums. It is so obvious to observe that these little kids always look exhausted and worn out after all. They often complain their parents that they need some break from all school works and the daily serial of the extra private lessons. In short, as mentioned above, our grandparents had lived rather comparatively easy, enjoyable and comfortable life in comparison with the one where our young children have to face and deal with every day, these days. It has been said that our grandparents did not need to study so much for many tests or be talented in all domains to master various skills since their life was quite easier and simpler at that time when they were young. |