I was invited to be a guest on FOX 5 San Diego this morning to talk LIVE to talk about a recent incident about a young boy who ran onto the field in the middle of a Padres baseball game. There has been a lot of talk lately about whether or not the child is responsible for his actions, whether or not his parents should be responsible, or if even social media played a role in his decision to run on the field. There is a lot to dissect, so I wanted to further the conversation to the blog to go into more depth than we had time to do on the segment.
Why Would a Child Run on the Field Like This?
I believe there is a culture of entitlement among our youth today. Many children in this new generation are being raised in an ego-centric environment, where everything is at their fingertips, resulting in lack of respect for authority figures, rules and boundaries, and outcomes for their actions. Kids raised in this generation can be impulsive and lack empathy and therefore make decisions without thinking of the outcome or consequences – maybe not even having many consequences – so the behaviors are reinforced – or maybe even praised. The “live your life, chase your dreams, and take risks” comes at any cost like it’s deserved no matter what or who is in the way, instead of working for it and respecting others along the way.
Because a child’s brain doesn’t develop until they are well into their 20s, brain development may be a factor and could possibly explain how this could’ve happened, however, shouldn’t be the excuse. Because at the end of the day, we are socially influenced by our culture as well as our parental upbringing, and it’s a parents responsibility to teach their child humility, respect, accountability, right and wrong and cause-and-effect as well as set behavioral boundaries and consequences when needed.
Hero or Delinquent?
There seems to be two camps on this situation. Some viewers and responders are saying, “good for you kid. You only live once. YOLO!” And then there is another side who is outraged and asking questions like, “where are his parents?” Are they cheering him on? Did they suggest this behavior? Are they filming him and then uploading the video to social media? Others are angry and saying, “is he bragging about this?” People are wondering if the child has any remorse or regret or even any humility for his actions, but instead, in a separate interview appears to be prideful and entitled about the situation and even encouraging and inspiring others to also take risks. So now, this child is either being viewed as a hero or a delinquent and someone with bad behavior that should have a significant consequence.
Who Should Take Responsibility for These Actions?
I believe that learning certain behaviors, like these, start in the home with the parents. First, parents need to role model the type of behavior they want their children to have. If a parent is acting reckless or entitled, then those are the behaviors the children are going to repeat.
I also believe that parents need more limits, boundaries, and consequences in their home. Teaching their kids how to respect rules and be respectful to others in public, including to elders and authority figures, should be a priority. Furthermore, some parents in our current parenting culture are scared to give kids boundaries and are more lenient than ever before. They want to be their kids friend vs their parent. They are scared to say no and scared to give consequences.
Whether it’s their own anxiety, having a more hands off approach, or even rebelling from their parents generation of having to live by so many rules. Parenting looks a lot differently these days.
Does Social Media Play A Role?
These days it seems like everyone is trying to get their 15 minutes of fame by going viral on social media or famous on television at any cost, including breaking rules. Rules aren’t just suggestions, they are there for reasons, mostly revolved around safety.
If a child is praised for their actions on social media (or television) their behavior will be reinforced and other kids will likely follow in their footsteps…no one was technically hurt, so no harm, no foul, right? But what we fail to understand is that these behaviors, if reinforced through parenting and or society, will only spiral and continue to get more risky. Then the next kid comes along and wants their 15 seconds of fame and will maybe even try to top the last prank and do something even more extreme.
To watch the entire TV segment, click here!
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