These kids today...

When you've taken road trips, you've tended to do some strange things to cure boredom. You've played games, noticed obscure billboards or, if you're like my friends and I, you've listened to Radio Disney.\nThe station is known for playing pop hits geared towards younger listeners (as if radio isn't geared enough towards them already). We were treated to a kid who couldn't have been older than twelve singing a song about how he's "gonna give you all of my love," complete with a breakdown where he stops singing and does an elegant spoken-word portion that could rival a Justin Timberlake ballad.\nBut there's more to this station than its artists who are aiming to topple J-Timmy from his pop throne.\nA public service announcement from Radio Disney followed the song, advertising their campaign to have kids sign a pledge in order to spend more time with their family. Excellent, more family time! That's what Disney's about! Each child that signs the pledge promises to spend one hour a week with their family, which is great because it teaches them to ... \nWHAAAA?! One hour a week?!\nAre they serious? Do kids have such a hectic schedule nowadays that they have to sign a contract in order to spend one hour a week with their relatives?\nWell if that's the case, then let me use this forum to make a case for lowering the drinking age to seven, because it's obvious that these kids are working 65 hours a week in order to pay the bills, not to mention doing all that work around the house to make it look presentable for when their mother-in-laws show up. They deserve a drink to numb the pain of the rat race.\nBut I digress.\nOne hour a week? That's just plain sad. Kids have the fewest obligations out of any demographic, yet Disney seems to think that making them pledge one hour a week to their family is an accomplishment -- something that they can feel proud about achieving.\nWhen you're a kid your family is everything; it's all you know. Sure you've got friends, toys, video games and sports, but in the end it's your family you interact with the most.\nBut can you blame Disney?\nLately, it's like childhood is being compressed down to virtually nothing. Kids are pressured to do well in school in order to have a successful life, while being bombarded with a culture that's encouraging them to behave like adults. They're being pushed to mature at an earlier age so they can succeed at a later one.\nAnd parents get agitated at the 13-year-old girl on Jenny Jones who claims she's old enough to have sex.\nIf they're good at sports, eight years old isn't too young to get them ready to get picked in the first round in the NBA draft. I look at someone like LeBron James and see a successful athlete … but I also see an 18-year-old kid who's going to miss out on college while he's filming shoe commercials. This is a guy who's been told for years that he was going to make it and he didn't even have a diploma. There are kids playing pro tennis and golf at 16, being conditioned by million dollar coaches at huge facilities whose purpose is to pump out another Tiger Woods or Anna Kournikova.\nThings have changed since we were kids. Before, a weekend was the time to spend playing catch with your dad, but now it's valuable conditioning time with your personal trainer.\nI can't blame Radio Disney for their efforts. \nMaybe they're shooting low because they have to.