TEENS: do you ever feel looked down upon

[railroadyoshi]

Just a thought

Being twelve, I feel like I am getting a strange look from vet railroaders
(not to be stereotypical, I know some vets who have become some of my best friends-AND IM 12-haha)

Do the vets look down on us young modelers as if we are not serious about this hobby?

Teens: due you ever get this feeling?
Vets:What really is the deal about how we are looked at?

I hope I havent offended anyone, and im sorry if I did

Siddharth Agrawal

[howmus]

Hey railroadyoshi! As one of those old guys that has been in the hobby for close to 30 years and as a retired teacher, one of the things I really enjoy is sharing my layout with kids. I also like to help them out with ideas and info whenever possible. Us old guys are really no different than you younger modelers. We come in all shapes, sizes, and (Yep!) attitudes just like teens do. When I was your age my Mom once told me that as you get older you will find that your friends will be of all ages. I think that has been true for me. I have friends that are from your age up to over 90 years of age. Find and seek out those people that share your interests and will treat you with respect. Sounds like you are allready doing that. Good luck and enjoy your trains! [:D]

[jeffshultz]

RailroadYoshi,

You're young, and that's unusual in this hobby. So others aren't really going to have any experience in dealing with you. Give them time, listen a lot, and show that you aren't going to break their $300 locomotives (generally by knowing not to touch them).

They'll come around eventually. Basically you are going to have to earn a level of trust that most of us have gotten simply by living as long as we have.

And it isn't limited to model railroading either.

[cheese3]

I do not think so. I think they are happy there is young blood in the hobby. By the way I am 15. Feel free to IM me if you want to talk.

[railroadyoshi]

I agree with the earning the trust and how young people are unusual in this hobby.
I am glad to know though that there are lots of people very open to us teens.
Everyone is different.

Regards to evryone
Siddharth

[Anonymous]

My best guess is that the strange look you are getting is envy. You youngsters have your entire life ahead of you. For the people my age most of lifes big decisions have already been made. Your life is a blank book, ours have most of the pages written.

We also know, from having been there, that in a few years your intrests in model railroading will wane, you will become to busy writing those pages into the book of your lives. After a few decades some of you no longer young people will take back up the hobby and the youngesters of 2030 will be wondering why you are looking at them that way.

Don't think that when I said envy I ment we wanted the chance to live our lives over again. I can only speak for myself but I have to say that I would not even change the mistakes I made getting here if it ment I ended up somewhere else.

I don't want to offend you but I have to admit that sometimes people my age are a little amused remembering all the mistakes, screwups and awkward situations that we survived and that people your age are about to walk into head first like a closed patio door. Get back to me in 2030 and let me know if it is't true.

Good luck. Enjoy the ride and as that great philosopher Red Green says "We are pulling for you cause we are all in this together"

[Anonymous]

No railroadyoshi. I personally don't look down on younger model railroaders-as long as they're serious and into the hobby, I'll go out of my way to do everything I can to help them along. I think you'll find that same answer in just about everyone you ask this question.

Best of luck to you.

trainluver1

[Anonymous]

Heck, those old farts out there think they may know it all, but some haven't
climbed the grade yet.
I flunked MR #102.

[railroadyoshi]

Im glad to hear that so many are supportive of us as we are what will keep the hobby going

Bukwrm, im not offended at all
You have good points there

[cacole]

We encourage family memberships in our HO club, and have had members as young as 8 who are just as knowledgeable, if not more so, than the oldsters when it comes to both modeling and prototype railroads.

[Anonymous]

I remember being a teenage modeler (~1970's), most people found my "excess enthusiasm" amusing, but of course there were one or two who looked down their noses at me. Much of that may have been 'personal chemstry' as the psychologists say, but the friendly ones greatly outnumbered the 'grumps' so I just shrugged them off and enjoyed the hobby.

BTW I still look back at those teen modeling days as some of the happiest I ever had, and I had a lot less trains and NO LAYOUT at all, go figure...?[:)]

[railroadyoshi]

I feel justified and validated
Good to hear the support
KID POWER!
I wont get cocky
(also kinda amazed so many people responded-woohoo!)

[countershot]

i am 14 and i do not get weird evil looks, heck i have some good old freinds that let me drive $13,000 locomotives(#4004 4-8-8-4 big boy G scale only 25 made in the hole world) and they enjoy having me around.

[mustanggt]

I'm 17 and I never feel like I'm looked down upon. Just hope I can get trains running on the layout by this time next year! ( Graduating Highschool)

[MisterBeasley]

Most of the trains on my tracks are from the layout I had when I was your age. They've been in boxes for most of my adult years, but now they are slowly being pulled out, upgraded to Kadee couplers, lubricated and put back in service. So, I know exactly where you are, and all I can say is, "Welcome aboard!"

You couldn't have chosen a better hobby. Model Railroading teaches us about mechanical engineering and electrical engineering, mostly, but you'll get a touch of chemistry when you're painting an glueing, and probably some computer science as the hobby goes more and more digital. After spending my middle school and high school years workin' on the railroad, I was ready for an engineering career starting at MIT, for which I give my experience with Atlas, Athearn and the others a great deal of credit. Without it, I would never have had the practical experience that came from my railroad. And now, I'm back in the cab, and I find that I'm really enjoying the artistic side of the hobby. Hydrocal castings are a blast, and getting just the right combination of paints to give me the color and texture I want is more satisfying than I could have imagined.

[Anonymous]

Shoot I am 34 and feel looked down at the LHS. I had to return a curved turnout that I miscalculated the radius required and I got that "did you pick the wrong code" statement.
Oh well

[Anonymous]

I take my kids with me sometimes to the model railroad club. Not long after i joined word got back to me that someone had said it wasn't a kids club. I still take my kids with me, and they always behave(so far). I also always tell them to remember where they are and ask before they touch. Even though we are members i tell them to act as if they are guests. They both know at the ages of 8 and 10 that they have to earn some respect from the elder members before they get a lot of freedom. So far they are doing great, and making me proud. I know eventually they will make a mistake, on my part i hope it's not too serious. I'll pay for the damages and so will they with extra chores etc. It's all part of growing up and we all do it. Sometimes we just forget where we came from.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by railroadyoshi

Just a thought

Being twelve, I feel like I am getting a strange look from vet railroaders
(not to be stereotypical, I know some vets who have become some of my best friends-AND IM 12-haha)

Do the vets look down on us young modelers as if we are not serious about this hobby?

Teens: due you ever get this feeling?
Vets:What really is the deal about how we are looked at?

I hope I havent offended anyone, and im sorry if I did

Siddharth Agrawal

When I first got into MR. I was much younger then you! And YES I did get very strange looks sometimes. Now that I'm much older I understand why people would give me those looks. People sometimes get nervous when they see young kids around and/or running trains. Most of the time its because they think you will break something or run a train at insane speeds or break their engine. Once they see you a few times, It will go away. They will see that you are mature and you will earn their trust. Don't worry about it. Have fun with your trains! [:D]

[tatans]

All us geezers have to do is remember what it was like a hundred years ago being a teeny-bopper--some adults couldn't care less, others were complete bully jerks, just like in real life, just respect yourself, you'll be O.K.

[Anonymous]

i'm 13 and alot of people on this forum (like my friend Ken Larsen) appreciate my comments. I am in no way looked down upon.

[Anonymous]

I'm 14 and I usually get enthusiastic looks from older modelers. As teens we're the future of this hobby.

[selector]

Some adults are very poor parents, and are probably the ones, hopefully a very tiny minority, who look down on you because they don't have time for you. Makes you wonder how they treat their own children! In other cases, it may just be your own misperception of their reaction to you. We all have limitations based on our experience, or lack thereof, and some people have had (recent) bad experiences with young folk.

Also, we older folk forget what our own youth was like oftentimes, and we become intolerant of the exuberance and energy of the younger generation. We are into the hobby because we like the control, patience, and relative quiet of our trains. Perhaps younger folk operate their trains in a way that brings anxiety, especially to those older guys whose finances are limited by meagre pensions, and who are afraid that you might damage an irreplaceable locomotive.

Some people are bossy and enjoy lecturing, or they may only want to remenisce about fond memories of their own learning experience. That can seem to be like getting talked down to, and is annoying, to be sure. Perhaps an attitude adjustment on your own initiative might make such exchanges richer and more rewarding for both of you.

Also, some people have made it a point to learn how to relate to others so that they feel they are being treated as an equal. It is a studied gift, but so few people ever take the time to master the various techniques of making a person feel welcome and valued. Some have to bluster and bully in order to feel important; your best bet in that respect is to avoid them.. an old person who is grumpy and untrusting may very well be hard to 'retrain'!

Your question is provocative, and has generated what I would consider to be a very positive response. I hope you see it that way. [:)]

[GDRMCo]

Well I dont feel looked down upon pretty much cuz I'm 6' AND I'm only 13.

[twhite]

Actually, as an old fart, I'm both surprised and very pleased to see how many younger modelers are on just this forum. I'm an ex-high school teacher, so I've spent a great deal of my life around the younger generation (at least three of 'em), and it's rewarding to see the enthusiasm that happens when they decide on something they like. And not just model railroading. That enthusiasm in turn makes ME enthusiastic. After all, my generation didn't invent this wonderful hobby, even if some of us tend to act as if we did. What we did was to take the hobby to a newer level, and the younger hobbyists, God willing, will take it to the next level.
Look down on younger model railroaders? Not THIS old fart, LOL! You guys are as welcome as can be in my book!
Tom [^][:D][:D]

[canazar]

I am 30 and I get the long "nose treatment" sometimes. I think the biggest one for me when I get the little attitudeo f some dont trust you cause your young, is have to earn your stripes. But that is true with just about anything in life. Sports, jobs, freinds etc. Put in your time and your best and it will work out for you.
Some, just come across that way even though they maybe just waiting for you to ask and could be great guys. Then there is the small segement that are just buttheads and think they know everything and brush everyoen the wrong way. They are dorks and nothing you can do will impress them, dont evven waste your time. As this thread should show you, they are plenty of folks willing to help, guide or encoruage.
if you run across some long noses, just move on and make sure you thank the ones that help. There are plenty to help in this hobby, and most people will remember, we all started out as "rookies" , "newbies" or "FNG's" at some point in our lives.

Good luck,
John k

[Anonymous]

I'm happy im not the only 12 year old on the forum.

DRew

[davekelly]

Canazar brings up a good point. Although it may not seem fair, as a younger person you sometimes have to earn the respect of adults and always remember to thank those that help you. You'll be surprised at the reaction. I'm trying to teach my 11 year old to do that - he's pretty good about the doing that and the reaction he gets is amazing. Showing appreciation (even if it's a "I tried that method you showed me about mounting couplers and it worked great - thank's for the tip!") is a sure way to earn respect among adults. It reminds us of what things were like when we were younger (it wasn't that long ago - honest!) and the difficulties and challenges that were there. Adults can sometimes be weird people. They'll appear to look down on you - and then suddenly there's a bunch of them fighting in line to help you with a problem.

Is this effort worth it? I've been involved in a R/C car racing club and have begun to get involved with a dog agility club - both nearly all adult. The "jr" members, once they've shown maturity, interest, respect and politeness have all been treated like adults. I also think they have received more than share of advice/tips/assistance etc. from the most experienced members!

Yes, sometimes we adults stereotype kids and that is wrong. On the other hand - show that in your case the stereotype is wrong and I'll bet you get big time rewards!

[cwclark]

you are going through a very tough time in your life, trying to fit in is a hard thing to do at your age especially with the old geezers...throughout your life you are going to meet people that you're not going to "click" with, but on the other hand you're going to meet people that will become life long friends that you can count on...i was a scoutmaster for 8 years and each and every boy that came through my troop had their own identity and personality and not all of them got along together if put in one big group... each one of them eventually found another guy or group of guys in the troop that they got along with and they usually hung together and became real good friends... it's going to be like that your entire life..don't worry about it if you can't save or befriend the entire world, but instead, consentrate on the one's that will be your friend and share with you your unique interests...it's only a matter of time before you'll realize who your friends will be to share things in this hobby and when you do realize who is your friend , it's not gonna be so bad after all...Chuck

[trainboyH16-44]

I do occasionally get looked down upon, but it can also go the other way with things like DCC.
Matthew, age 16

[selector]

I agree with all that has been said since my last post. If I may be permitted to add to it, I can recall making dumb mistakes all through my life. A mature person learns to regret, but also to profit from, those mistakes. I think the overbearing adults that youth encounter are being protective of both themselves (they don't want to relive their mistakes), and YOU! They do it by warning you, or lecturing you younger guys, about the risks and dangers that you might encounter if you do X, Y, or Z. They mean to be kind and helpful, but sometimes they come across as indifferent or condescending.

Dave and Chuck are wise. Every organization has its 'pecking order' because all creatures relate to order and leadership. You DO have to put in your time, and earn your merit badges. They are signs of respect for what the organization (or hobby) represents, as well as indicators of 'competency'. We need to be licensed to drive cars to show respect and competency for the benefit of others as well as ourselves, and a hobby will require that same regard for learning whever humans interact on common ground...or turf.

I can remember wondering what adults though of me when I was your age. Sometimes they told me that I was doing well, other times I got a kick in the pants. That won't stop when you get to be an adult, by the way. Your bosses will give you both pats on the back, and swift kicks when you don't measure up.

Gee, I have gone on at length, so, thanks for reading yet another long-winded opinion.