KIDS TODAY

Today I just have to laugh when it comes to child rearing experts. I just want to know where their wealth of information comes from? I also want to know just how many of these so-called experts have kids of their own? It seems to me in today’s world with kids that people are actually following what these geniuses are saying, which to me would explain why there are so many problems with kids today. I see so many kids today that seem to have no direction in life and for that matter don’t care about life and how their actions affect their future. What happened?

Today’s society has lost its grip with what worked in the past when it comes to child rearing, at least in my opinion. I see today’s kids as electronic couch-potato junkies with no imagination, manners, or values. Kids are focus on the material things in life and their heads are filled with the everyday supply of violence from television, games, and everyday life. Who’s to blame for this? Well parents for number one. Today both parents for the most part have to work outside of the home, which leaves most kids either at home alone or at daycare. Then you have the other type of parent who is at home but just doesn’t care what their kids are doing. I also believe Hollywood is to blame for how kids are today with the on slot of horror/gore movies, violent programs, and the glorification of celebrities that have drug problems and those that brake the law (what great role models they are). Video games are also to blame with Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, and Dead Rising with the object of the game to shoot as many bad guys as you can (What a great concept, lets teach target shooting to imbalance kids so they know how to go out shoot people or steal cars).

I for one would love to see the return to what I call the Mayberry days, where crime rates are low, kids are outside playing with friends and in before dark, and kids know that if they got in trouble there would be hell to pay for their actions. I would love to go back to when parents knew where their kids are at all times, we knew that when our kids were out they are safe, and kids spoke to adults with respect and had manners. I would also love to go back to where a crack on the butt wasn’t called child abuse but discipline. Back when we had the Mayberry days life just seemed to be better for kids.

Today we have child rearing experts that tell us, when are kids are breaking the rules we need to sit down and have a talk with them. Great idea, but what if you have a child that doesn’t listen to one of your chats, then what? Tell them to go and sit in a corner, restrict them, or take away privileges? What if that doesn’t work, then what? When I was growing up I knew as a kid if I didn’t listen to my parents I got a crack on the butt, it got my attention and made me think twice before repeating the same offense. I will state, I am against child abuse and there are people out there that feel a crack on the butt is a form of child abuse, but a simple crack on the butt was the standard back in the days of old and I certainly don’t see masses of adults today that got a crack on the butt suffering from it. I just believe when all else fails that sometimes a good ole crack on the butt doesn’t hurt; it just will get the kids attention (so shoot me for my belief, it didn’t hurt me and I didn’t feel abused by that growing up).

Growing up we didn’t have internet, video games, and our parents didn’t let us veg out in front of the T.V., we had to go outside, do chores, or get our homework done, basically we weren’t allow to be lazy. I see too many kids running lose, staying out all hours of the night, and glued to the boob tube for hours on end. Somehow we as parents have to get a grip on raising our kids. Family values to me seem to be a thing of the past and that is sad. We need to get back to those Mayberry days for the sake of our kids and their futures. We need to instill values to them and teach them that when they do wrong there are consequences. There is more to life then material things and a hard days work never hurt anybody. If we don’t, then the kids of today are going grow up with no compassion for life, no imaginations, and expect to get whatever they want without working for it, and finally violence will not shock them. Do we really want that? I know I don’t and will do everything not to let that happen to my kids. I want my kids to grow up and be productive law abiding adults with morals and respect for others. So instead of listening to child rearing experts, I think I will go by the way I was raised because in my opinion my parents did a damn good job.