大女兒寫Blog為Y世代說項，名為我們Y世代。文章的論據尚算中肯，也並非一味辯護。我們這些baby boomers對Gen Y為何會有這樣多負面的看法，並非單是代溝及價值觀引致。日常聽到不少Gen Y活生生的例子，豈只啼笑皆非，簡直是可悲。GenY不諳人情世故，不懂待人接物。更甚的是不能自立，缺乏承擔自己責任的意識。原因甚多，我只講一個：都是父母的錯。
父母對子女呵護備至，事無大小，一應周全。飯來張口，衣來伸手，有甚麼問題都由父母頂上，怎會不變成好逸惡勞的子女。父母也要懂得放手，給子女獨立的機會。4歲還不會縛鞋帶，到了6歲可能會學懂，但到了8歲還以為蘋果是一粒粒白色的，怪不得上大學的迎新也有父母相伴隨，由父母發問。一切問題都出在過分照顧。不讓子女承擔責任，到了踏足社會的時候，誰來照顧他們呢？在工作上要履行責任，根本沒有責任感，又怎會肯付出呢？在家中慣了理所當然一切由父母承擔，不論貧富，這樣栽培出來的Gen Y，不是父母的錯，是誰之過？
True Story 1
My younger daughter attended a 3-day-orientation in Melbourne last month before she started work. Flight and accomodation were provided. All the new employees stayed in hotel with twin share. New colleagues were from all over Australia and New Zealand. When her male colleague went to his shared room at the end of the day, he was amazed to find that the roommate's mother had occupied his bed. The roommate migrated from Taiwan was from NZ. The young man did not make a fuss even though unable to secure a bed for the night. He just slept on the couch of his classmates' room. I wonder when one day this young Taiwanese man is getting married, does the mother also stay in his room?
True Story 2
My elder daughter's classmate is a manager in HK. One day her team member went to her to tender her resignation. The manager asked her why. She said, "Mummy said the job is too tough and the pay is too low." The manager grimaced and jokingly asked the resignee to bring her mum to see her.
Hi Bill,
回覆刪除To a degree, I believe the poor image that Gen Y has in current society is both the creation of themselves and also partly their parents' creation, no side is completely faultless.
What I do think is a reason for some parents to be so protective of their children is because of the experiences that they themselves have gone through in life. Most Gen Y parents probably grew up in much tougher times than their children, so they might not what their kids to go through the same process. Furthermore, the parents grew up during a period where kid's mental and morale wellbeings are not as important as today; something that they didn't enjoy and hence don't want their kids to miss out on.
I am not saying that the parents are right in being protective, as it only makes the child too soft, if not, seen as useless to others. But the previous generation's hands off approach might now be considered guilty of neglect by the public.
Personally, I also agree with the old method of bringing up kids, as I have seen too many Gen Y's come through work who lacks the capabilities and attitude to manage themselves, let alone do work to a statisfactory level.
But Gen Y's are also guilty of other criticisms, such as being disloyal to their employers etc. I suspect that that is because most Gen Y's entered the workforce just when the GFC happened, and since then, the economy has not improved, how much optimism do you expect from such a generation, it is also why the Occupy Wall Street was such a big hit with the younger population. That said, I do not believe that any previous generation owes them, life goes on.
Anonymous,
回覆刪除My blog on the subject is not an anatomy of the Gen Y problem. It is just a wake-up call for the parents who have unconsciously spoiled their child to the extent of no return. My peers and myself and our parents all suffered poverty in the aftermath of WWII. We had less psychological problem back then. We found our path of growth rather independently and without the luxury of close body protection.
There is nothing wrong when our livelihood and standard of living improved, we try our best to protect and provide materialistic satisfaction to our young ones. It is not a matter of “my mother-in-law treated me badly and now I become a mother-in-law, I get my revenge by torturing the daughter-in-law”. It is only a matter of when the protection should come to a halt. Over protection ruins their life, deprives them the quest for independence.
It goes without saying Gen Y is also largely responsible for their infamous image. I do not want to elaborate on that. I can only see the matter from the view point of a parent and urge others to rethink what they have done wrong. It may be too late to say now but perhaps when we have to take care of Gen Z, we should try to preserve more of the traditional value passed on from our wiser ancestors.
Bill