Would you agree that bad parents are society's biggest threat?

[trumad]

I shake my head daily as I witness clueless, selfish parents and their poor misguided offspring.

[classof56]

1. I'm sure you have tons of examples, but I know a couple of good kids.

My grandsons, 11 and 8, are with me for a few days and I must say they are pretty awesome. Not perfect, of course, but for the most part good, loving, polite, respectful and of course (a grandma's opinion) very smart. And their parents, I'm sorry to say, have had some relationship issues that have frequently resulted in a negative home environment. (I'm being kind here. There were times I wanted to smack them both! The parents, I mean!) But my grandkids are terrific, and while I fully understand that the next few years--those dreaded teenage ones--could create radical changes, right now I'm proud as hell of them and glad for the positive role I've been able to play in their lives. And this brings me to my notion that it does take a village to raise a child, and sometimes that village comprises grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbors, schoolteachers, a whole range of affirmative influences. We can all do our part in some small way, to offset the clueless, selfish parenting that is so prevalent, if we will. I've done it with kids other than my grandchildren and I highly recommend it. Our society can only benefit as we take steps to counteract that biggest threat of bad parenting.

Blessings.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

7. There are so many badly brought up kids around, not only in

terms of public behavior, although that's bad enough, but also in terms of being taught warped values: money is the measure of a person, sports are more important than learning, the arts are for wimps, you should be just like everybody else, children's wants should never be frustrated, children should always be the center of attention in every environment, etc. etc.

It's a rare occurrence to see children who have good public manners, have had their intellectual curiosity and artistic inclinations respected, are allowed to be indiviuals, learn early that "you can't always get what you want," and are required to step into the background when the occasion demands it.

[Poiuyt]

2. I'm thinking Poppy and Babs

[quiet.american]

3. The book "Bush on the Couch" agrees.

Who could have imagined such suffering and horror in the world could be unleashed from just a single case of parenting that decidedly left much to be desired.

[electron_blue]

5. :D

[Angry Girl]

4. U.S. kids have always been the most spoiled and ill-mannered!

Go anywhere else in the world and you won't find such terrible parenting skills as in the U.S. In general, U.S. parents have a sense of entitlement and a lack of consideration for others and they don't take responsibility.

Hey, wait! That's our government we're describing! Could this be related?

[SammyWinstonJack]

6. Broad brush there.

I never had a sense of "entitlement" that you speak of and neither did my sisters and brother, nor did my two sons and my granddaughter. sheesh! :eyes:

[Angry Girl]

12. I said "IN GENERAL" and, if you travel, you know it's true....

[SammyWinstonJack]

15. Oh Worldly Traveler, guess you have better knowledge

then I possess. :eyes:

[OKNancy]

8. No I wouldn't

I think most parents today are trying to get along the best they can. Sure there are some bad parents out there, but in the list of things wrong, I wouldn't say it was the most important.

Trying to make a living, worry about healthcare, foreign wars that tear families apart and many other things hurt society more than what is perceived as spoiling children or selfish parents.

In fact, there are too many children out there who aren't spoiled. A little more love and care by our society would go a long way.

I wish I could think of the quote about the younger generation written 200 years ago. Every generation moans and groans and thinks they were so much better than the one after them.

[Coventina]

9. You have a point, bad parents create bad future citizens

Hmmm.....


I had a discussion with an early childhood expert awhile back. She's done extensive work with Head Start programs. One of the things we were discussing is that Head Start children are tested to make sure they are making progress.

I said, "But little children mature at different rates, and sometimes a child can really change just in a few months, how on earth do they decide where a child 'should be' at any given time?"

She said it is a really frustrating process, to try to "fit" individual children into standardized boxes.

Then I said, "You know... who they should REALLY test is the PARENTS. There should be some sort of analysis of parenting skills."

She agreed with me.

[seabeyond]

10. bad parents hmmmm, how we judge. lol lol let me count the ways

well, firstly all kinds of circumstances create "bad". one person bad is anothers not. the childs individuality has a huge part in it. what our society feeds our children is a part. the enviroment of fear alone has effected children, and parent in raising children.

wow

bad parent.

hm

one could say i am a bad parent. i know because people have
my brother bad parent
my other brother bad parent
i could think of a few i could say the same.

but ultimately i see non perfection. it is how we deal with that

there are a lot of struggling parent making so little money, with such financial pressure, and add lack of education, throw in cultlike religion, and wow,.....a lot of unhealthy behaviors going on. that effect children. trying to put food on the table, totally exhausted. lack of sleep.

what a question

[movie_girl99]

11. I wholeheartedly agree

I get so discouraged when my son comes home telling me some bullsh*t that one of his friends says that their dad said. They're all bushbots and spew the same fowl shite to their kids.

I also resent people blaming it on being a single parent. My mom was a single parent until I was 15. She worked her ass off to provide a good home so she wasn't home as much as i would've liked but she was able to instill a good foundation early on.

[Ioo]

13. YES!

[johnaries]

14. Yes, especially parents who either can't or refuse to control their

children at serious, important events - such as the naming of a Supreme Court Justice nominee. Case in point:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4145874&mesg_id=4145874

[iconoclastNYC]

16. Yes. Yes. Yes

And bad parents beget more bad parents.

Thats why i advocate more public resources allocated to helping parents in need, especially single and dual-working parent housebolds. I did a huge post on this awhile back.

I was raised by a single mother and no father figure and anybody who tells you that this is not a disadvantage is in denial or lieing.

[Deja Q]

17. Yes, but most of those act out of self-interest; motivated by money...

which is also the whore of the self-interested.

[hexola]

18. Define "bad parents" ?

What a kind of scenario are you envisioning....?

[yella_dawg]

19. Poor parenting is a symptom

Television is the root cause.

Unplug the damned thing and start paying attention to your family. And life too, for that matter.

[merh]

20. Yes.

Of course, there are varied definitions of "bad" parents.

:thumbsup:

[jobycom]

21. Well, yes, but only because Bush, Bush Daddy and Reagan were bad parents

Bad parents were therefore society's biggest threat. Not because they are bad parents, though.