Before I start, I give a disclaimer - I am not a parent, so my substance is observation of those who are, and my own experience with children. Also, I was homeschooled by a patient, loving, and self sacrificial mother, and disciplined to be a responsible, young man by a father who lived a God-fearing and faithful life. As always, take with a dosage of sodium.
This title I chose is deliberate - for this is an attitude rampant when concerning children. I will leave this claim open-ended, for my readers to refute who have a differing perspective. One of my peers in college, describes children customers at his retail job to be "little, spoiled monsters who knock items off the shelves purposely. It bugs me to have to clean up their messes. I know it is the parents' fault, but they ignore this behavior - it is easier to fault the kids."
I would agree for with the frustration felt - too many times the parents appear clueless for how to curb their offspring, and petition the child to "Stop it!" with vague threats of punishment. Words, merely empty threats, the child and parents eventually make it a charade - mutually ignoring an expedient and effective solution. Parents live in fear of their kids, not wanting to traumatize them through correction, which could cause "physical and/or emotional abuse." Kids live in the delusion that their actions don't have costs and consequences.
The problem is cyclical - Somewhere along the "Me movement," there arose a generation of kids told that they were important, to trust their feelings and emotions (unreliable and fickle though they be), and that they "could be whatever they wished." These kids passed unchecked through a system that promised no limitations. Their parents trusted the state to instill a proper education. In knowledge, they were raised, common sense and work ethic were left out.
These children didn't realize the importance of the sacrifices made by their parents, the small skills and virtues that adults must factor into their decision making. They weren't trained to be parents, instead, society informed them that their patriotic duty was to generate wealth. Enter the job market, make money, spend on goods and services - keep the economy's cash flow running in its cycle.
The village would raise the children, just procreate and send the results into the system. Parenting is a personal relationship - one in which the parent leads and guides their child through the steps that the parent once underwent. It takes commitment, dedication, patience, determination, wisdom, and compassion to strengthen the bond of trust and responsibility. A teacher, no matter how skilled, can't guide each child as though they were his or her individual responsibility to train to succeed and thrive.
This is running long, I will continue my train of thought tomorrow...
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