ANSWERS: 29
  • I know it was never true before that to look upon the portrayal of the American family on Television would give a clear picture of the reality of American lifestyles. But lately I wonder if we have not seen a sea change in lifestyles. MTV regularly shows willful disrespectful, vengeful, and violent thugs run amok on their society. Jackass and Bam are two fine examples. I believe that portrayal, while extreme, becomes more and more normalized. Then comes the day you go to the mall and get mugged by hooligans.
  • Kids dont need discipline, They need attention and guidance. Iron glove makes them more violent. If you hit your son/daughter does that guarantee that he/she learned something?
  • "Honey, stop that." "Honey, please stop." "Stop, honey." "Honey, stop, please." ad nauseum. Sometimes I wish i could discipline other people's children, because running around yelling is not okay in a library, and "Stop, honey, please" is not a way to make it stop. "Honey, i don't want you to do X but i trust you to make the right decisions" would only work if you have already instilled the Fear O' Mom's Disappointment in the little stinker.
  • If they bother to raise them at all and not just let them grow.
  • We have lost out children to the will of the state. If you physically dicipline them your child can call DCF or better yet you can go to jail. You set limits on curfews, demand they go to school or demand respect, children today will fight you. I learned that you don't try to be the childs friend but their parent fron day one. They will have plenty of friends but only one you (as their parent).
  • Yes I do. Part of the reason is so many people looking for bruises. A child these days can scream abuse and before you know it your locked up trying to explain to the judge what they didn't do.
  • Absolutely! I have to explain to my son too often that 1. I don't care if the other parents let their kids (fill in the blank) 2. You are MY son and my rules apply to you, not the rules of the other parents 3. If they were my kids the same rules that apply to you would apply to them. It's like the parental (lack of) skills undermine the parenting that other parents do. Too many kids think it's OK to be a brat and their parents not only allow it but stick up for their kid when they do misbehave. Take control parents, you are the ones in charge, not them.
  • Yes because all the damn liberals have just about outlawed samcking your kids around a bit. If I want to smack my kid (I don't have any) in the fanny at the supermarket, I should be allowed to without fear of being arrested or having children's services get involved in my life. A little bit of punishment seemed to work fine for decades, if not centuries. The last 20 years has seen a big decline in children's behavior.
  • Yes, but they should. The times are changing, and children won't succeed in the world with out more freedom :)
  • I was not abused as a kid, but I FEARED my parents DISCIPLINE . yes if we were bad we got spanked, I still loved , respected my parents and grew up ok. learned to respect my teachers, elders, and the law. parents of today are not disciplining their kids enough, and it shows more and more.
  • most do yes,mainly because a bunch of idiots have forced the governments to "protect" the jerks that are now going around shooting people at school and malls and rob banks without even a thought of getting caught. when I was growing up,I got a fair amount of spankings for running away and just being a brat,but by the time I was 10,I knew better to watch my actions,I grew up loving my parents and lived with them all their lives,and it was me that paid most of the bills after my father retired. wake up,without disipline,you are growing more Hitlers.
  • I 'know' that the parents of today in the society I live in generally raise their children with less discipline than the parents of the past have raised their children.
  • Yes, they do. There is a lot less discipline today than when I was raised.
  • Definately.
  • they are NOT ALLOWED to discipline their kids ...with soooo many dogooders and so called child psychologists and government departments spying on them and sticking their bloody noses in and then these same wankers then have the hide to blame the parents when the little shits get into trouble ...thats a damn joke !
  • Children suffer no consequences anymore. They are always being saved by their parents and friends from feeling the effects of their actions. PArents just get mad but don't withhold anything from their kids besides well-deserved discipline and training.
  • Yes... I DO think so. My parents time, they were taken out to the woodshed and spanked (thrashed is one term) to "within an inch of their lives" for major punishments. MY generation got spankings, were sent to our rooms (no TVs, what were video games?, no radios... All we could do is lay there and think about what we did wrong); spanked, with everything including a belt, switch, yardstick, wooden spoon, etc.; got our mouths washed out with bar soap; etc. NONE of it was considered ABUSE (at least in our house). (No spankings were more than 1-2 whacks, the soap was much more PURE than todays, so wasn't poiseonour, etc.) We could also be spanked in school for misbehaving. But also, about that time, Dr Spock's Baby book came out, and he recommended less severe punishments. When I had kids, child abuse was becoming more visible, and we were AFRAID to use many of the above punishments. (My wife would HUG my kids, saying "Ooohh... Child Aboos...", until I pointed out that all it would take is for the kids to tell a teacher "My Mommy Aboosed me this morning" for us to be investigated and possibly lose them.) We still spanked (bare hand, one or two whacks only), but used the TREATS of even more - like the punishments WE got. Meanwhile, there were lawsuits. firings, arrests and jail-time for school personnel (or any OTHER person in an authority position) for spanking kids. AND, laws against child abuse were passed, disallowing many of the punishments WE got and were giving. Now? This next generation has MUCH less discipline. Spankings and such are ABUSE PERIOD. Child Services have to weed out punishment from abuse, and meanwhile keep the child safe. Even then, parents CANNOT punish their kids the way WE were. Hell, there are times even sending a kid to their room (ESPECIALLY if they don't have TV or Video Games or Internet or Radio) where the parents could STILL get arrested for child abuse (cruel and unusual punishment). Some reports and arrests for abuse are pretty much frivolous. I am NOT saying that children should not be protected from abusers or over-zealous punishers, but when a kid actaully plays outside and gets bruises by roughhousing with a playmate a doctor or school personnel see, they are REQUIRED to report those bruises to Child Services as possible abuse. The news gets hold of the story and the family is ripped apart as the kids go off to a safe home to live, while the parents are investigated thoroughly. AND because of the publicity, many adults and families are ruined for life. We've done this all to ourselves, and I understand it's to protect those who are abused, but I think there are times, at least, that they've drawn that line WAY too low. Less discipline? Yes. That coupled with fewer people attending church (with their kids) where kids can LEARN it, and with so many single parents and those with both parents working are a major problem. What's that get us? Gangs, kids who steal and kill each other, and TOO many who don't really know what's right and wrong. (Sorry for the long post. Sometimes things just get me worked up. And not being ALLOWED BY LAW to discipline your child as you see fit - VERY short of ABUSING them - is one of them.)
  • The saying Spare the Rod,Spoil the Child comes to mind and im not suggesting people hit their kids with rods but kids get away with blue murder...a 12 year old girl turned around and called her mother a old slag just because she wouldnt buy her some sweets,if she was mine right or wrong i would have slappped her right across the face.
  • I displine my child when she deserves it. "Spare the rod spoil the child" is the saying.
  • Yes-I grew up as a cops kid in a small town, if my dad didn't see me do it, his fellow officers would, so you learned fast to be good, and a good spanke on the fanny never hurt any kid. Sure there are those parents out there who have gotton carried away and beaten the kid up, thats wrong but thats a right way and a wrong way to teach you kids. Mine knew when you went into the store, find your pockets, look don't touch and stay by my side. and in the resturant NO yelling, no running in the isles, eat your food in peace. and if you want things, earn them, there were always chores to do, for money. Todays parents have had their rights taken away because of some very bad parents and those few who believe we should let our kids do what ever they want cuase we might break their spirt, if we punish them in any way. well wah- wah its time for people to wake and realize that kids needs discipline and order in the lives and its not going to hurt them and make them better people
  • On the most part yes, but it also depends on where the parents are from.
  • I don't think...I know. While I was a student-teacher I was told, that the children are always right even when they aren't. I think that carries on through their life. They are lied to by adults, with sunshine blown up their ass until they are thoroughly convinced they can do no wrong because their faults are not corrected with discipline. As a result, we are raising a generation with no established boundaries and behavior benchmarks. And we wonder day after day where all the violence is coming from these kids. But, it isn't the parents faults either, ask them it is television, video games...all of which the parents seem unwilling to ration or control.
  • Yes, I do. I feel that part of it is, as many are saying, the laws saying they cannot do much that they used to. Part of it is pressure from society to NOT punish them and to give them everything they want. And part of it is, to me, the fact that so many parents are 'absentee', and not by choice. Both parents have to work, they cannot dictate that they work while the kids are in school, so, often, kids are raising themselves. Especially in single-parent households. And show me any human that can raise itself and do a good job at it. There aren't any. There is also, as a child gets older, what I call the 'intimidation factor'. Children learn quickly which buttons to push to intimidate the parent. Threats of calling protective services is often where it starts. Actual physical intimidation is a factor often, as well. And gang influence. Parents that ARE there, end up afraid to discipline. Great question!
  • It seems that kids today are more empowered to do as they please by the lack of it and are great manipulators.
  • No doubt about it.
  • seeing parents useto beat the shit out of their kids, yes, yes i do.
  • most are to lenient but not my mom; I'm 16 and being raised by a single mom. My mother is really strict especially about things like dating; parties, grades, activities I'm involved in; ect. She has very strict guidelines I must follow and actually it's made me a better kid and I respect her more than my friends respect their parents. I'm on the honor roll and on my way to law school after graduation. I believe if my mom wasn't strict; I would be more like my other friends; partying too much and not caring about grades.
  • Every parent wants their child to be discipline abeyant. But the outside atmosphere,culture,trends are equally trying to affect child s mentality.Whatever child see outside ,weather it's right or wrong ,try to imitate!This action then reverses parents effort to make the child tomorrows 'gentleman'!Spending less time with children is the other factor.The more the ideal time a child get,the more the chances that he/she will act in his/her way!

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