WHY LEARNING TO ADULT SUCKS

...and shame on society for making it worse.
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Maybe like me, you’ve been helping someone to ‘adult’.  Taking them by the hand and walking them through bureaucracy, banking and all things that can no longer be avoided.
 
Welcome, to the big, bad world.
 
Yesterday we walked away from an encounter with a public service and my fledging adult commented that they really thought when I had reexplained my question clearly that I would get a clear and accurate answer…..
 
…. But no.
 
Welcome to bureaucracy I said. 
 
My fledging commented that the people behind the counters looked so grumpy and unhelpful.
 
‘Yes’ I said.
 
And, wait we are getting closer to the ‘shame on you’ moment.
 
We were opening a new bank account.  The person helping us was going through the standard questions, and then it took a left turn.  They then started asking my fledging about other people in the house.
 
My trusting, innocent fledging started answering.
 
At this point I sat forward and said ‘do you need to know this?’  ‘is this a legal requirement?’
 
‘…no’.
 
I turned to my fledging and said – 
 
You do not have to answer this.  This is private information.
 
So the SHAME on society?
 
I (naively) thought that we (society) had tightened up the banking industry.
 
Where is the clarity?
 
The sentence that says ‘I am going to ask you some questions.  These ones we are required to ask you by law; these ones help us contact you and are the minimum we need to manage your account; and these ones are optional’.
 
I think it’s called….that’s right – informed consent.
 
Or in this day of letting it all hang out on social media is informed consent still an important concept??
 
STOP taking advantage of my precious fledgings by bamboozling them; assuming they know things they don’t; and capitalising on their innocence.
 
The example I have given is just one, out of many I could give.
 
SHAME on you society.  My fledgings are precious and I ask you to help them, acknowledge that they are still developing and not take advantage of them.