Sticks and Stones

One of my children began to sing a naughty (not really) rhyme today in the car that I recognised from my own childhood.  I heard one of my boys say "You stole that from me!"  The other boy responded, "No, Tom Davis made it up."  I wondered if I thought it was new when I was seven in 1977?  Of course my children could not believe it when I knew the rhyme, and I added that I heard it when I was at school.  Not only is it difficult for them to believe I was ever seven, but even more hard to understand is that I was ever naughty enough to recite a cheeky verse.  OK, they probably do believe the last one.
We were sat around as a family the other day discussing the differences in behaviour in schools from the 1970's and 80's to the 00's.  I think this discussion stemmed from one of my older boy's law class where they discussed corporal punishment.  Our kids could not believe that teachers where ever aloud to hit children.  John gave an amusing account of having been given the slipper.  The children sat with mouths open.  Points raised by the children about changes today were: 1. Drugs.  John and I didn't encounter drugs until college days.  When I say encounter, know about, not experiment with;  2. Gay issues.  Again, something not encountered until college for both John and I; 3. Teen pregnancy.  I am sure statistics would probably say differently, but I am not sure much has changed there;  4.  Alcohol abuse.  Not much change.  5.  Smoking in school.  I actually wondered if that had become better.  There seems to be less teen smokers around than I experienced in school; and 5.  Bullying.  Eternal problem.  So, other than a couple of things, I guess I have realised that things are not as bad as people sometimes make out.  Are our children having to cope with more than we had to?  Well, they don't get the slipper for being late for school.  Some things have changed.  They are still sharing the same jokes and cheeky rhymes John and I used to hear.  Some things stay the same.