Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Sadening Stats that Should Not Come as a Surprise


Katie was reading through one of her teaching books and came across these stats. As much as I have studied youth culture and church culture over the last four years I cannot help but become sad when I hear stats such as these.

- The Average Child receives 12 minutes of attention each day from his or her parents

- By age 18, most American have spend more time in front of the television than they have with friends or parents

- The average adolescent spends more then three hours alone everyday

- Loneliness is the number one problem of the elderly, many of who are afraid to venture out of their homes or apartments.

Wong, Harry K. and Rosemary T. Wong, "How to Be an Effective Teacher: The First Days of School" Harry K. Wong Publications 2005, pg. 76

The sad part is that these stats are no different within the usual Christian family. It is no wonder that our teenagers are leaving the church in droves after high school and our elderly are held up within dying churches or elderly homes. I guess by the time that most adults have grown up they have completely bought into a consumerist culture which convinces them that their wants and desires should be at the center of all of their choices, leaving their children and parents to care for themselves.

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