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

[UGAalum94]

Violence and amorality/immorality isn't new, but you can find studies that show that rates of arrest and incarceration for girls particularly have increased.

I think the nature of media, especially the internet, may make us more aware of news stories we wouldn't have heard about 20 years ago, so some of our sense of an increase may be because we just hear about more, but there's data that points to a trend too.

[DSTRen13]

I work in retail at the moment. I don't know how parents were, but wow ... Most of the ones I encounter make me cringe. Still, I can't imagine that each generation doesn't have its own parenting issues. Maybe it is the drugs.

[luv n tpa]

You need a license to drive, but anyone can have kids. Parents.

I just love the things I have seen from years of babysitting, albeit not necessarily violent behavior being referenced. When I was a kid, we went out side to play, amused ourselves. You could give me a 6 inch piece of yellow string and I'd have a blast. Nowadays, kids will sit and stare at me asking what can they do next. I have to lay out a $30 craft that will be destroyed in 10 days. They just don't know how to entertain themselves anymore.

One family just decided not to deal with their girls yelling and screaming. My first day, I was told to give them candy if they got upset or fresh with me because it would make them stop.

Last semester, I had a mom who actually asked me to teach her kids things. Fine and dandy. Apparently I was teaching them the word "no" because they had never heard it from their parents before. The son also, I swear, must've had ADHD. I would drop hints to her about my cousin with similar symptoms, and she'd reply with something like, "Well it's a good thing my son would never behave like that."

The girls I have now are so refreshing and .. normal. They have friends that come over from time to time, however, that are not even close. Just today I had to teach one of their guests that ripping things out of someone else's hand was wrong. "I want it. It's mine. I'll tell my mom and you'll be sorry." Seven years old. Mom comes by to pick her up, "Oh. Well she doesn't like to share. Nothing I can do."

WHAT?!