Made the move - follow me on over...

Gen X Mom is moving this weekend!

I finally got the key to my new blog!  Saying goodbye to Blogger and hello to Wordpress!  Follow me to my new place.  Unfortunately I can't take my Google Friends with me, so make your way on over there.  Click here to find me.  If you are not seeing my new blog yet (it looks a lot different), come back and check again soon.  They say it takes a while for the whole world to get the change!  I will be waiting!  Lots of interesting topics to discuss!

Packing bags and moving

Even though it seems I have disappeared, I really haven't!  I have been busy packing up and moving out to Gen X's new home on wordpress.  I am excited about some new features that are possible over there!  Soon it will be ready!  I have some Gen X topics I am eager to get talking about.  I will keep you posted!  Stay tuned!

While I am packing here are a few old topics to maybe get you thinking again...

To tell or not to tell

The new trend in sleepovers

The Talk - at what age should you talk to your kids about the birds and the bees?

Plan B - should your teen need your permission?

Lots of moms would shriek at the site of a Playboy Magazine in their son's room, but really that is peanuts compared to finding the morning after pill in your daughter's room.


I remember hearing about the girls in high school who would be having abortions.  I never quite understood how that all worked thinking could they really just go somewhere and have an abortion?  Didn't they need their parents to know about this and consent?  It all just seemed too easy to me.  Still to this day I really don't know how they went about it...didn't ask.


Today I think things have gotten even easier for teens.  I will first say that I certainly don't think the morning after pill is the same as an abortion.  I have no problem with this Plan B pill and think it can be good for certain circumstances.


What I do have a problem with is the accessibility of the pill to teens.  At 17 year's old a girl can go into a drug store and buy Plan B.  This is without a parent's consent, without anything.


I guess on the other hand you could say they can go into a drug store and buy condoms too, and we don't think all that much of this.  True.  But plan B is a medication.  A medication that doesn't come without side effects.  From what I have heard it is not like taking a simple aspirin and can be dangerous.


There is also the issue of Plan B making girls less likely to think twice as it is very easy to 'fix' it.


Not to mention, as a mom I think this is not encouraging parental involvement.  Are we not supposed to be encouraging kids to talk to their moms?  This skips over that step entirely.


What do you think?  How would you feel if you found out your daughter had taken the morning after pill without you knowing about it?  Do you think teens should have this so readily accessible to them?

Dignity - is that a word?

I am the first to admit that I am a pretty private person.  The whole blogging world has been a step out of my little bubble that I usually live in.  But isn't there a line?  Do some people just not care how much they divulge about their lives?  Are they just not thinking or do they just not care?  Of course we have all the technology of today with social networking and blogging where people will post personal information and pictures without sometimes thinking twice, but what I want to talk about today tops the cake.

When I was pregnant I, like many other preggo mom's out there, loved A Baby Story on TLC.  But come on!  I cannot in my wildest dreams ever imagine going through labor on national television.  There they are right there legs spread wide open pushing a baby out, on TV!

Is there any dignity left in the world?  Is there some million dollar prize that I don't know about that these people are getting for doing such a thing?  I personally don't think I would even do this for a million dollars.

Do you know anyone who has exposed it all on national television?  Would you do this if you had the opportunity?

Drinking with your kids - good idea?

We all have come from different upbringings and who are we to criticize the way a friend was brought up, but as a kid I always found it strange when I heard how a friend would have a beer or glass of wine now and then with their parents.  I still see this today.  Some parents believe that allowing their teens to drink with them is a good way to teach them to drink responsibly.  They think that if they have a taste of it now and then they won't have the desire to over indulge when they are not with them.  They feel if they as parents, are showing good behavior, the teen will copy this behavior.  Let me tell you, these people that I knew as a teen certainly found ways to over indulge!  Who were they kidding!

I am sorry, but I just don't get this.  I am all for a little bit of freedom so as to not create a child who goes wild when they finally do have the freedom, but I can't imagine hanging out on a Friday night drinking beer with my teen.  Is that really a responsible parent?  How is it showing responsibility to teach a child that it is okay to break the law?  Is this just an excuse for bad parenting?  What kind of role model is this?

Do you think this is a way to teach responsibility or irresponsibility?

Where did the simple life go?

Does the simple life really exist anymore? I think it is now more of a cliche than anything else.

Look around, what have we become? Sure, we all love the finer things in life, but has it gone too far? Do we not appreciate what we have and always desire more? Go back a few, well maybe about 50 years. The majority of people didn't have what we have today. The 'rich' person was few and far between. People thought of this person as someone out of reach and their material things as something that only 'rich' people have. Today everyone wants to be that person. So many people want everything. People feel they are entitled to have everything. They are not happy unless they do.

It is everywhere. Greed, desire, want. It is so easy to get caught up in the 'want' way of thinking. The word 'want' and the word 'need' have sort of meshed in the last 20 years. The desire for larger houses, better cars, decorating like in the magazines, and I could go on. Who do we think we are?

Do we really 'need' these things. No. Do we 'want' these things. Yes. I hear people saying things like, 'I need a new quilt for my bed because it doesn't go with the color of the room'. Do you really 'need' a new quilt or do you 'want' a new quilt? Of course you don't need a new one. Not unless you have no other blankets in the house to keep warm! When did we start thinking this way?

With the way the world is today I think a lot of people need to take a step back and rethink. Think about the difference between 'need' and 'want'. This is hard thing for some people to come to terms with. I think the best way is to put yourself in a different place. What if you or your husband or both (whoever makes the money) suddenly lost your job, you are running out of money to pay your bills, you may have to give up your house. This is all too often the story of lots of people these days. Put yourself in that situation. Is that new patio set that important anymore? Do you now look at your house differently? You now want more than ever to just have your house (the way it is). All of a sudden it is such a beautiful house full of memories, something you would do anything to keep. You now don't care about the new furniture you want because it doesn't match perfectly with the curtains or the redoing the kitchen because the cabinets are not the right color.

We have to start thinking about the important things in life and not the materialistic things. People say this all the time, but are they really doing it?

Where am I going with this? Well, how can we teach our kids the value of a dollar and the important things in life if we do not do this ourselves? No wonder kids 'want' the new iPod because the new version is now or the $200 boots because, well just because. What happen to the simple life? Will it ever be back?

Dating in today's world - is it history?

Friends with benefits.  Some people say this has been around for a long time.  But, just like everything else...this is becoming more popular with teens.  The Urban Dictionary defines friends with benefits as, two friends who have a sexual relationship without being emotionally involved.  Typically two good friends who have casual sex without a monogamous relationship or any kind of commitment.

When I first heard how this type of 'relationship' if you want to call it that, was gaining popularity with teens, of course I had to dig deeper...and all I can say is...oh my god, now this?

I came across an article in the New York Times (read this here), that left me in amazement.  This article made me realize even more how much relationships have changed since we were kids.  Dating as we know it is a thing of the past.  It is now all about 'hooking up'.

Lots of parents encourage their kids to not get romantically involved at a young age...hang out with your friends...have fun...you are young.  I think this is great advice but now I am starting to wonder.

These kids are doing just that, but of course are taking it to the extreme.  The New York Times article reads, "Having close friends of the opposite sex makes romantic relationships less essential.  Besides, if you feel like something more, there is no need to feign interest in a dinner and a movie.  You can just hook up or call one of your friends with benefits."

When we were in school wasn't a girl called, oh something like a slut or a tramp for being this way?

Are we as parents and a world for that matter condemning this?  Should we be encouraging monogamy and relationships instead of always 'safe sex'.  I wonder if the world has become so caught up in 'safe sex' that we are not doing enough to explain further about emotional relationships and morals?