Weird ways that children are treated in "TNG."

[Jayson1]

Have you ever noticed how they treated kids sometimes never felt really right? First example is "Cost of Living." You have a young kid sharing a mud bath with both his dad,his counselor and her mom? It doesn't help that both Troi's look like they are not wearing a top to their bathing suits. Plus this kid friendly place has a half naked alien in it and i'm not even sure what we are supose to take away from the fact that Laxania Troi goes naked at her wedding while Alexander is in the room. I know Betazoids have different customs especially with nudity at their wedding but I wonder how that plays out with their children or how it plays out with other cultures in the Federation.
Then in "The Bonding" and "Hero Worship" you have 2 young children who have lost both of their parents yet instead having a legal guardian to watch over them they get their own quarters?
In "Rascals" when Picard and the other kid shrunk adults choose to retake the ship they actually let Alexander help in the mission? You just recuited a kid for a dangerous mission which seems very iffy to say the least.
"Brothers" isn't so bad for the most part but the idea that 2 parents would leave their children behind to go on a sabatical seems very strange. Isn't that like a Wal Mart employee taking off for a month go to over to Europe and asking Wal Mart if they will watch over his/her kids while he/her is gone?

Jason

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Then in "The Bonding" and "Hero Worship" you have 2 young children who have lost both of their parents yet instead having a legal guardian to watch over them they get their own quarters?

Think of the Enterprise-D as being like a gated community. It's not like they're toddlers, but if they need anything, most of who's aboard is friendly. Perhaps the security team makes regular checks of them. They would eventually go live with family - this is just a stopgap until they can get there.

"Brothers" isn't so bad for the most part but the idea that 2 parents would leave their children behind to go on a sabatical seems very strange. Isn't that like a Wal Mart employee taking off for a month go to over to Europe and asking Wal Mart if they will watch over his/her kids while he/her is gone?

Starfleet is very accommodating.

What about two little kids breaking into the observation lounge in "The Last Outpost"? To paraphrase Ian Malcolm, "Kids will find a way."

 

[Prax]

how about the genetically enhanced kids being raised in a glass cubicle. Or the away team enthusiastically taking Wesley down to the sex planet.

I think the EMH "Kenneth" made a good Dad

 

[Timo]

Children are always treated weird - that's pretty much the definition (of either "kids" or "weird", depending). What other subject would divide people throughout history so sharply into "us vs. them" - or into "me vs. them", really - than the proper raising of kids?

It's a bit of a shame Trek never dared try anything as interesting with adults of the future. They seem to lead pretty mundane late 20th century US lives all - how about throwing in all-new taboos or at least one futuristic custom?

Okay, they have this clone-hating thing which is interesting enough. Much of the futuro-weird stems from obvious sources: no plot time available for showing caring, no budget for hiring loving parents, nudity always equals good etc. The burning desire to kill one's clone is a bit different, at most catering for the get-rid-of-loose-ends-before-credits requirement.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Stephen!]

i'm not even sure what we are supose to take away from the fact that Laxania Troi goes naked at her wedding while Alexander is in the room.

Perhaps people aren't particularly bothered by nudity in the 24th century.

 

[Timo]

"People" are - there's a strong nudity taboo in evidence with the main heroes whenever the subject of Betazoid weddings comes up. Although Deanna is probably ill at ease for completely unrelated reasons.

People with a problem: Worf (severely so); Riker (to some degree). The others, apparently not so much. But Gul Madred still apparently thought that forced nudity would be a way to hurt humans in "Chain of Command", suggesting his source material (supposedly not dating all the way back to the 21st century or beyond) still contains such a valid tidbit.

It's sort of funny that TNG so freely shows (although not to the camera!) nude kids, considering today's taboos in the primary viewership area. It's not as if I could share the contents of my phone camera in social media without getting shot by the authorities between each of the electrocutions and hangings. But here's one thing where our TNG humans aren't purebred Americans, and without in-universe comment.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[gillmanjr]

Maybe its because Picard hates children.

 

[Herbert]

"Brothers" isn't so bad for the most part but the idea that 2 parents would leave their children behind to go on a sabatical seems very strange. Isn't that like a Wal Mart employee taking off for a month go to over to Europe and asking Wal Mart if they will watch over his/her kids while he/her is gone?

Jason

I always found that odd but then again it's the future and a fantasy future as well

 

[Jayson1]

Perhaps people aren't particularly bothered by nudity in the 24th century.

Problem is when Kivas Fajo abducts Data he makes the threat that he would be more than happy if Data went nude if he didn't put on those new clothes but aparently that would go against Data's modesty setting so I figure being nude still is a problem with some people in the future.

Jason

 

[Nakita Akita]

Have you ever noticed how they treated kids sometimes never felt really right? First example is "Cost of Living." You have a young kid sharing a mud bath with both his dad,his counselor and her mom? It doesn't help that both Troi's look like they are not wearing a top to their bathing suits. Plus this kid friendly place has a half naked alien in it and i'm not even sure what we are supose to take away from the fact that Laxania Troi goes naked at her wedding while Alexander is in the room. I know Betazoids have different customs especially with nudity at their wedding but I wonder how that plays out with their children or how it plays out with other cultures in the Federation.
Then in "The Bonding" and "Hero Worship" you have 2 young children who have lost both of their parents yet instead having a legal guardian to watch over them they get their own quarters?
In "Rascals" when Picard and the other kid shrunk adults choose to retake the ship they actually let Alexander help in the mission? You just recuited a kid for a dangerous mission which seems very iffy to say the least.
"Brothers" isn't so bad for the most part but the idea that 2 parents would leave their children behind to go on a sabatical seems very strange. Isn't that like a Wal Mart employee taking off for a month go to over to Europe and asking Wal Mart if they will watch over his/her kids while he/her is gone?

Jason

Sometimes I think the nudity hang up is more of an American thing.
There are nude beaches in a lot of countries. Also nude parks in Germany.
Everyone in those places seems pretty relaxed about it.

 

[Stephen!]

To some extent it happens here. For example, at one of the high schools that I went to, after PE classes, in year 10/11, people would shower in their shorts or underwear, rather than strip naked.

 

[Nakita Akita]

To some extent it happens here. For example, at one of the high schools that I went to, after PE classes, in year 10/11, people would shower in their shorts or underwear, rather than strip naked.

Lol!
That's funny!
Who takes a shower in their clothes?
Was it a mixed sex shower room?
I was on the Army, I could just see us all standing around showering in our clothes

 

[Stephen!]

PE classes were split into separate genders. People were probably just self-conscious about their bodies at 14/15/16 years old.

 

[Timo]

Sometimes I think the nudity hang up is more of an American thing.There are nude beaches in a lot of countries. Also nude parks in Germany. Everyone in those places seems pretty relaxed about it.

Also, dedicated, carefully separated nude beaches in the Nordic countries (and you might get in trouble just going topless, too, unless it was one of these special beaches) - it's not universal naturist bliss even hereabouts.

However, this doesn't mean kids would need special beaches to go nude. Or even beaches in general - it would be fairly odd for somebody to comment negatively on 'em little insta-nudists even in a department store or a library or whatnot.

And I can't think of many things more icky than taking a mud bath with clothes on... Of course, kids are big on mud, and on icky, but I can't see even them willingly combining the two for fun.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Nakita Akita]

PE classes were split into separate genders. People were probably just self-conscious about their bodies at 14/15/16 years old.

In my school, ya had ta get naked for showers. The teacher made sure.
I took gym class, age 13 and never again after that!

 

[Nakita Akita]

Also, dedicated, carefully separated nude beaches in the Nordic countries (and you might get in trouble just going topless, too, unless it was one of these special beaches) - it's not universal naturist bliss even hereabouts.

However, this doesn't mean kids would need special beaches to go nude. Or even beaches in general - it would be fairly odd for somebody to comment negatively on 'em little insta-nudists even in a department store or a library or whatnot.

And I can't think of many things more icky than taking a mud bath with clothes on... Of course, kids are big on mud, and on icky, but I can't see even them willingly combining the two for fun.

Timo Saloniemi

I'm surprised at that for the Nordic World.
I would think everyone would be soaking in the hot-tub then running out and jumping in the snow!
Or is that just a 'romantic ' myth????

 

[Prax]

There's nude beaches in the US, too. I've been to Miami beach. And there's nudist camps, but I would never go near one. Ick!

 

[Prax]

I'm surprised at that for the Nordic World.
I would think everyone would be soaking in the hot-tub then running out and jumping in the snow!
Or is that just a 'romantic ' myth????

Only if they do it while wearing helmets with oversized horns on them.

 

[Nyotarules]

Perhaps people aren't particularly bothered by nudity in the 24th century.

The rest of the galaxy is not a complete reflection of present day American or Earth culture.

 

[Stephen!]

In my school, ya had ta get naked for showers. The teacher made sure.
I took gym class, age 13 and never again after that!

At the first high school I went to, I showered a few times in year 7 / year 8. In year 9, when I was 14, I was getting comments over lack of body hair. So I'd pretty much had enough of public showering after that.