"The Adults Are Always Right?"

THE ADULTS ARE ALWAYS RIGHT?

'Clean your room! Don't do that! Stop watching that stupid television, don't you have a book to read? Didn't I tell you to clean your room, do you want to be a slob when you grow up? Go to school, don't you have school today? When I was a kid . . .'

Welcome to the lives of almost every teenager in North America. To most parents, when the above words are spoken, they expect to see their teen rush at the opportunity to serve them. The above words mean something to them and they think it means something to us teens. They don't understand that the words go in through one ear and out through the other. Does a German understand the words of an Italian? No! Does a Chinese man understand the words of a Greek man? No! The reason, they are two completely different languages.

Kids in America (film)

Greek Roma kids from Aspropyrgos, Western Attica.

Kids Cubby Houses

Now although parents and their kids speak the same language, parents don't understand that we tune out of English when we want. If we know something is going to be asked of us and we don't want to do it, we turn our brains into 'Nag Mode.' To define Nag Mode, is simple. Every syllable that comes out of the mouth of an adult is heard as 'nag.' For example:

Adults say: 'clean your room! .'

Kids hear: 'nag nag nag!'

Adults say: 'Stop watching television.'

Kids hear: 'nag nag nag nag nag nag nag.'

They think of us as being lazy, and irresponsible, selfish and useless. Some adults quiver when they hear how we will one day run this world. What makes us lazy, the fact that we watch an hour of television after a hard day at school, before eating dinner and doing our...