Young people are so lovely these days

I always loved having my DDs friends at our house when they were teenagers because they were such a lovely bunch.And now allin the 30s its still a pleasure to hear how they are doing and see them occasionally

So did we. They're in their 40s and 50s now but we still love to see them sometimes.

What a lovely thread.I always loved having my DDs friends at our house when they were teenagers because they were such a lovely bunch.And now allin the 30s its still a pleasure to hear how they are doing and see them occasionally.
And I regularly litter pick ,and yes some youngsters drop their rubbish, but it makes me cross when I get comments that litter is because 'those youngsters' don't know how to behave. The worst offenders I've seen are adults in cars just chucking stuff out of the window. And don't get me started on fly tipping which is inevitably some van driver if the sheer amount dumped is anything to go by.

Young people are surprisingly resiliant

I was in M&S wanting organic bananas. A young man was unloading them on to the shelf. I said how much netter they tasted and he said when he could afford it that’s what he would buy. He then went on to think of how much better it was for the growers and the environment. He’d obviously seriously considered it all. I was very impressed.

How they are at home and with extended family may be very different to how they are at school or out and about Look at all the problems caused by drugs From what I hear teachers don’t find the kids easy by all accounts some parents seem to back the misdemeanours of their offspring

I think the country was more violent when I was coming of age in the eighties. People are rightly concerned about knife crime and drugs in the inner cities, but there was actually more violent crime in the eighties. Football hooliganism, nightclub and pub brawls, violent youth cults like skinheads, people being attacked because they looked different, these were a fact of life in the eighties.
Looking back to the eighties, I was beaten up for nothing at a bus stop because two young men didn't like what I was wearing, and a year later was attacked by a skinhead for supposedly getting in his way on the pavement. Also I can remember being in a pub and someone smashing a glass in a man's face for nothing. Fortunately you hear far less of this nowadays.

I agree Mojack and Gwyllt I don’t see anything different now from forty odd years ago or longer, just that most of the lovely ones seem to be related to people on here!

There always has and always will be the good the bad and all those in between

Majority of young people are nice. That is nothing new,same in my day..It's always the few that give the rest a bad rep!.

Ah how lovely,but I know what you mean. I have 3 granddaughters ranging in age from 16-20 and they are all so kind loving and respectful when we are together whether that’s in or out.

Peaseblossom

That's an insult to what you think we were like when we were young. There are a lot of lovely young people yes, but a lot of horrible ones. We didn't have all the stabbings years ago for a start, and people on scooters snatching phones. I think the world is horrible now and I won't be sorry to leave it. I have two beautiful grandchildren of 4 and 11 and I worry so much about what kind of world they're growing up in.

All the stabbings? Knife crime is going down now, maybe too late for some but it definately getting better.
People on scooters snatching phones? I have no experience of this except hearing it is rife in London but when I go I see noe evidence for it.
Horrible things may be happening but in between we have had a long and settled period of relative peace compared to many places in the world.
The young people we talk about were similar to us growing up in the 60s hoping for an end to wars and give peace a chance etc etc.
This is such a positive thread I don't want to throw it off kilter. Life is tough for kids just now and they will be inheriting pretty much the mess we made for them...

That's an insult to what you think we were like when we were young. There are a lot of lovely young people yes, but a lot of horrible ones. We didn't have all the stabbings years ago for a start, and people on scooters snatching phones. I think the world is horrible now and I won't be sorry to leave it. I have two beautiful grandchildren of 4 and 11 and I worry so much about what kind of world they're growing up in.

...except the ones going around stabbing others

So good to read these posts.
My granddaughter is 21 and has always been happy to be seen with both sets of grandparents. We've attended school events in the past and spent lots of time with her, such a privilege.
She's recently asked if we can go on holiday together.

What a wonderful post, OP! I agree - the young people I meet, for the most part, are kind and respectful. The teen girls are so poised compared to my own experience as an awkward, self conscious teen ( plus we were not well off which greatly matters.) The ones who aren’t respectful are struggling, and I think CoVid was hard on mental health for young folks. I’ve noticed though, more careful and kind attention everywhere since CoVid but maybe it’s because I’m glad to be alive, and very, very grateful for assistance, especially when offered cheerfully in public. Go Teens!

I’m so, so pleased to hear you all saying this, I thought it was only my wonderful 14 year old granddaughter! 😉 She likes me to go to all sorts of things with her and is very happy introducing me to her friends. She said to me just now, “I was holding Grandad’s hand in Tesco” and what she really meant was she was looking after him!

I agree absolutely about charming, helpful young people.

I'm having a barn dance here in my big retirement village in Milton Keynes, and my London based grandson texted me to say that tho he can't make it in the evening, could he come in the day to help set things up? Isn't that lovely.

Incidentally, if anyone wants to know more about "villages" like mine, don't hesitate to message me...

I agree absolutely, except the rhyme wasn't quite the same..

There was a little girl, who had a little curl,
Right in the middle of her "forrid",
When she was good she was very very good,
But when she was bad she was horrid.A.

Anyway, I am having a barn dance here in my retirement village, and my lovely London grandson, age 27 says he can't come but could he come to Milton Keynes earlier in the day to help set things up? That's so good, isn't it...

If anyone wants to know anything about living in a big retirement village, don't hesitate to message me.

Three of my GPs were dead by the time I was 5, the last by 18. My parents were in their 40s when I was born, so I was more or less brought up by old people! There have always been lovely, considerate, polite young people. Sadly it's the others who claim attention by the media.

M0nica

I am reminded of the nursery rhyme

There was a a little girl, who had a little curl
right in the middle of her forehead
and when she was good, she was very very good
and when she was bad she was .

I think that the fear and respect that kept young people away from older people in the past has gone and each can be as spontaneous and loving with each other without feeling awkward.

Unfortunately I think, for those for whom it goes wrong, there are many more of them than in the past and some of their behaviours are far more violent and malevolent than in the past.

Well said 👍😻

What lovely things to read…I am so fed up with all the young/teenage bashing. On the whole I do so fully agree

I think young people are lovely. I managed to corner a you g man on black hoodie and mask on an unlicenced motorcycle recently, told him to take care of himself and wear a helmet! He was very polite and said yes, that's what his. Mum said too.

My GD1 who is 20 was quite a petulant teen but around 18 she began to change. She is an absolutely delightful girl now. We don’t see her very often as she’s at Newcastle Uni but as she’s home we will see her sometime over Easter.

Last Friday, late afternoon, I took the bus from Flensburg to the Danish border, as it is the bus that brings me nearest to my home.

By the time we were about ten minutes away from the Danish border, there was only the bus driver, a colleague of his, who was on the way home after his shift, and myself in the bus.

Between two bus stops the driver braked, opened the front door, and asked an elderly lady walking past using her rollator, if she wanted to take the bus. She said no thanks, as that would mean going all the way up to the border, and it was awkward getting herself and her rollator onto and off the bus.

Out jumps that young man, who was not driving, as says, "oh come on, I'll help you on and off, that jacket you have on, doesn't look warm enough to me." She agreed and he helped her to a seat in the bus, lifted her rollator in, secured it, and said to the driver, "You can drive on now."

The driver turned to me and said, "I'll just make a little diversion, so Anna-Maria gets all the way home." and drove down to the sheltered accommodation, where his friend help the lady, I now know is Anna-Maria off and right up to her front door.

Then we took the usual route up to the border, where I got off.

I thought it was so kind of them both. I don't know what the bus company might think, but I am certainly not going to tell them.

What a lovely upbeat and heartening post Lickygirl3. Thank you.