When did life in America change? There was a time when a child could ride his or her bike up and down the street without fear of being accosted. What changed?
If you ask me it all started when Dr. Spock introduced the concept of "Spare the rod, spoil the child." This concept created a belief amongst young people that their behavior and actions had no consequences. It also fostered a sense of entitlement which has eroded the American work ethic.
Because of this effort, there is this blatant disrespect from the youth of today. I think my generation was the last generation to actually respect their elders. We had rules. We had structure. We had curfews (usually everyone was indoors by the time the street lights came on).
There was a time when a child ate what they wanted, ran for the sake of running and laughed until tears ran down their cheeks.
Today's child is too sophisticated too soon. Heck some of today's children have children of their own. There is this whole counter-culture with parents and children being friends and sharing clothing.
There is such a rush to grow up for kids today. I guess we didn't learn from history as children today are becoming parents much like those in 1600 through early 1900s. The biggest difference being that the children of those days married young, raised a family and worked the farm. There is no reason for the alarming number of child pregnancies today.
Grandparents and parents are being co-dependant. They are accepting and embracing the malignant behavior of their children and grandchildren. Grandparents are taking over parenting duties from child-parents who don't want to be bothered with the responsibilities of being there for their child. They look the other way when theft is uncovered, when drugs are discovered and when fights and disagreements are escalated. In some occasions they even join in.
Parents have to go back to being parents with consequences for children who don't want to behave. It's funny, in those days there was no need for Ritalin and there was no such thing as Attention Deficit Disorder. Kids were enterprising in those days gone by. You would build clubhouses, go-carts and bicycles. You earned your own money. You knew your neighbors, you mowed their lawn, raked their leaves and shoveled their snow.
As a teenager, I even remember looking out for the neighborhood kids. I remember telling my neighbor that her kids were playing with matches and she appreciated it. Why? Because the the actions of her children had consequences.
If you ask me it all started when Dr. Spock introduced the concept of "Spare the rod, spoil the child." This concept created a belief amongst young people that their behavior and actions had no consequences. It also fostered a sense of entitlement which has eroded the American work ethic.
Because of this effort, there is this blatant disrespect from the youth of today. I think my generation was the last generation to actually respect their elders. We had rules. We had structure. We had curfews (usually everyone was indoors by the time the street lights came on).
There was a time when a child ate what they wanted, ran for the sake of running and laughed until tears ran down their cheeks.
Today's child is too sophisticated too soon. Heck some of today's children have children of their own. There is this whole counter-culture with parents and children being friends and sharing clothing.
There is such a rush to grow up for kids today. I guess we didn't learn from history as children today are becoming parents much like those in 1600 through early 1900s. The biggest difference being that the children of those days married young, raised a family and worked the farm. There is no reason for the alarming number of child pregnancies today.
Grandparents and parents are being co-dependant. They are accepting and embracing the malignant behavior of their children and grandchildren. Grandparents are taking over parenting duties from child-parents who don't want to be bothered with the responsibilities of being there for their child. They look the other way when theft is uncovered, when drugs are discovered and when fights and disagreements are escalated. In some occasions they even join in.
Parents have to go back to being parents with consequences for children who don't want to behave. It's funny, in those days there was no need for Ritalin and there was no such thing as Attention Deficit Disorder. Kids were enterprising in those days gone by. You would build clubhouses, go-carts and bicycles. You earned your own money. You knew your neighbors, you mowed their lawn, raked their leaves and shoveled their snow.
As a teenager, I even remember looking out for the neighborhood kids. I remember telling my neighbor that her kids were playing with matches and she appreciated it. Why? Because the the actions of her children had consequences.
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