What's wrong with our youth? Is it a psychosocial disorder? Is it the parents?

[ISUKappa]

Originally Posted by cheerfulgreek

I'm open to other opinions, but that doesn't mean I have to agree with them.

But you're trying so hard to show us we're all wrong!

Teach them well and let them lead the way? lol o.k. Whitney Houston. You could have kept that lame remark.

That was the point, genius, it's called sarcasm.

And this is what you're not understanding. Teaching them well is part of the problem. We're not. Diminishing adult and parental authority over children is a growing problem. Parents are increasingly losing control of their kids, because they work long hours and have little time to spend with them. A lot of parents have relinquished authority for disciplining their children to the school, and the crazy thing about this is parents aren't supportive of the school's disciplinary decisions.

Problems within the family, such as divorce, domestic or sexual abuse, frequent relocations, and fragile family relationships as well as lack of awareness or involvment in childrens lives have a huge impact on todays kids.

I know the point you're trying to make, but you're still generalizing a heckuva lot. I kind of hate to pull the "when you're a parent, you'll understand" card, but seriously, it's way, way different when you have kids of your own. Not to say that adults without kids can't see where parents come from, but parents have a BTDT mentality.

My son is two. He's in the middle of toddlerhood. That means defiance and lots of tantrums as he attempts to assert his independence and learn boundaries. As of now, we haven't had to spank, and maybe we never will, but it takes a lot of patience (of which I don't always have a steady supply) to deal some days. How do you balance discipline with letting him figure out the world around him by himself? It's hard. And, in my opinion, those decisions only get more difficult as children get older.

We can all give anecdotes as to how our parents did such and such and, see, I turned out fine. My parents spanked, they were a two-income household and weren't always able to attend and support me at every single activity I was involved in. I think I turned out okay (except for that stint in a Mexican prison - joking!). That doesn't mean someone in a similar situation necessarily turned out the same, though. Each person is different and needs different parenting styles (even within the same family).

And, how do you reconcile Helicopter Parents? Some would argue that over-parenting can be just as, if not more, damaging than under-parenting.