Todays Youth, Where/When Did It All Go Wrong?

Within the last 10 or 15 years it's started to decline and its because power has been taken away from authorities such as the police, teachers, some parents that want it and the good citizens of this country.

Children should have no rights other than the right to a childhood, an education and to be kept from serious harm, that's it. All of this human rights stuff is just a load of old balls!

I had a great childhood, but I knew my boundaries, and if I ever stepped out of them I was rewarded with a sharp, precise slap around the legs or the arms. I was never beaten with a belt or or a slipper, but threatened with the slipper many times.

Whenever I got a bit cheeky in school, the mere threat of a teacher calling my parents (or anyone elses for that matter) was a sure fire way to bring me into line.

I wasn't allowed to hang around in precincts, if I wanted to go anywhere, I was dropped off and picked up (car or bus) and god help me if I was seen anywhere in between.

How do parents regain control? Do you really think the parents of these type of young thugs really want control? These are the same parents that think England somehow owes them a living.

These same parents that are workshy, draw benefits, stroll through life talking how much poverty they live in, but most own a car that they don't tax nor insure, most smoke and drink, most have Sky TV, this is what they think is living on the breadline.

These kids claim that they do this becuase they are bored.... fooking bored!!!!! They have far more than I EVER did... I used to draw a chalk hopskotch for christ sake and that along with a skipping rope used to entertain me all bloody day.

Remember in the UK when you used to have a licence to have a dog... well any idiot can have a child.

The way forward, licence people to have children... easy! And if they have them out of licence, remove those children and give them to decent folk who can't have kids of their own and give these poor babies a chance in life.

Sometimes I see little babies, with mothers with fags hanging out of the ends of their cheaply made up mouths, swearing and swaggering and their shirtless chav fathers, and I think that those poor bloody kids don't have a chance!

Ah... feel bettter now.... now going out for a late lunch and try not to get mugged by some little hoody wearer!

When I was a child, my parents were very strict and so were the head teachers throughout my schooldays. Some of the discipline was good, but some was unwarranted, although it's true to say that it certainly kept me on the straight and narrow. In addition, from a very early age my parents taught me to have respect for other people and their property. I always thought that I would be a little more 'relaxed' when I had children of my own and I was, although I still kept what I thought were the sensible disciplines and good manners were high up the list. Now my children are parents, and their tolerance seems to be stretching that extra mile, so it seems that each generation of parents is becoming more and more relaxed regarding what they consider acceptable behaviour. It seems that a lot of present day parents are frightened to be parents, they want to be 'best friends' with their children. I believe that as far as social behaviour goes, the key words are respect and responsibility, and if children aren't taught these things at home from a very early age, how can they learn? In addition, there's the enforced lack of discipine in schools. When a child is at school, the school becomes that child's guardian. But the school isn't a family - it's dealing with children en-masse and therefore needs to be able to exercise discipline in order to keep control. I know that some children from perfectly good homes can still go down the wrong path, but this has been true since time began. Being a parent today is a like being in a minefield and I don't envy those trying to do a good job. But it is just that - a job, and not to be taken lightly; it's hard work, but can bring many rewards. There's some great youngsters out there and the times they are achanging, but please let there be more respect for one another and ourselves!

Well, today's youth suffers more deeper problems than those of the past generations. Drugs(addiction), Sex(higher % of teen pregnancy), Money(money on gamble/drugs), Family(rebellion common in the past but never been so interior and shocking before, School(peer pressure, bullying, etc), and Personal(common with school like loneliness/unwanted, badly treated by drunk parents) and that stuff somehow gets them to look at life another way. Many don't care about other people no more. Some don't even lets seniors/veterans sit in the front seats of the bus. Youths these day have changed their view on life which causes them to make big changes.

I can see that you're from Great Britain. I don't know how they act over there, but I can tell you a great deal of how they act over here in the U.S. and what went wrong. I am qualified to answer this because I teach high school English and have done so for nine years, most of them in a smallish agriculture city in California.

Some of the kids are disrespectful, I believe, for one reason: parents. If they were taught the difference between right and wrong, if they were actually parented instead of being plunked in front of the television, computer, video game, movie screen and other high tech entertainment, if they were taught to respect their elders and other peoples' opinions, and if they were not absolutely spoiled by being given every luxury item known to mankind, . there would be many more polite young ladies and gentlemen.

This is not to say that all teens are violent, profane, destructive and mean-spirited. If I had to give a percentage based on my students, I would say 25%. However, it's those 25% that you REALLY notice because they're the ones always getting into trouble and they're the ones who are at the center of attention. The good kids who treat people right, do their classwork and homework, do volunteer work, and are mature young people get pushed to the background or overlooked.

I think that most parents do try to do the best that they can; however, they're so stressed for time that they end up either giving in to their children when they throw a temper tantrum or they end up giving them luxury items that parents would have made the kids earn with their own money 20-30 years ago.

After awhile, the kids start feeling entitled. Many of my students are given cars at their 17th or 18th birthday which are nicer than mine (I drive a 2003 VW Jetta). Many of my students are given $300 Motorola Razr cell phones. Many of my students run up astronomical cell phone bills, and the parents pay for it. Many of my students have iPods and have huge music collections. Many of my students wear $60 jeans and $100 tennis shoes, all courtesy of Mom and Dad. But they will gripe if I ask them to buy a notebook and pens and pencils.

I

Somebody with what was considered great wisdom, in the 1950's decided that punishment and children did not sit nicely together.

Years later that has developed into disrespectful kids coming from disrespectful parents and grandparents.

Notice if you will how young people today and some of their parents take no responsibility for their actions and don't understand the simplistic cause and effect outcomes of behaviour.

Prolific bad behaviour is reasoned as 'they had a deprived background' well, I would argue that very very few people could be considered deprived in the UK, we have a welfare state, and its up to us to make our lives better. Not having a Playstation is hardly deprivation (unless of course they have become essential items to life), not having the latest mobile phone or trainers or car or bike (I could go on) is hardly deprivation. But these things are stolen by 'deprived' kids!

Oh....I'm getting angry now...I'll stop...

So how do we bring it back?...Make people responsible for their actions and stop making pathetic excuses, I have 2 small boys, both of whom know that what they do, can effect what they get and what happens to them...so how they go about things is their responsibility in the long term. I currently take responsibility for them as they are too young...but that will not be forever and they already know this.

it started when we as parents lost control of our own children, if you swat one on the butt (and no i don't mean beat ) cps can be called, school cant discipline them or the parents raise hell, then you have the music the kids are listening to, the message in a large part of the music is just negative (some of it is beyond negative to the point of being crude). then they get home from school or wherever and they lock themselves in their little dungeons they call a room and "chat" or whatever and rarely interact with a real person outside of school. i would venture to bet that if a family really kept track of the time spent together as a family in just a single week it would really be an i opener. its our responsibility as parents to raise our children not our neighbors or the schools. i am a divorced father of two and i check on them every night and help with homework if they need it, sometime maybe just a ride into town for a cold drink and ask how the day went. if we as parents dont give them the love and respect they deserve or have earned they willfind it somewhere. (gangs, boyfriends, girlfriends etc...)

children have to know there is a stable place to go and communicate their feelings, thoughts etc.... our job as parents is to guide so when the time comes to make decisions and were not around, whether or not the decision is right or wrong at least we (parents)have instilled the ability to process the thought and not just act on it.

(sorry for rambling)

oh gosh who do we blame easy to blame the mum and dad huh

many good parents out there have to sit and watch there kids go wrong

if they go to try and discipline the kids are on the phone screaming to the cops

but there are some parents that don't give a dam that there kids are out of control and the government they are to blame as well the judges sit listen to a sob story that the youth had a hard life so the youth walks from court with a fine the parent has to pay so the youth has smiles on his face because guess what he can go and do it all over again

respect

shaz

I'm a teenager but I dont consider myself unruly and all the rest of that! I have seen though firsthand what some teenagers think is acceptable behaviour and its not! I'm probaly gna get morons eamiling about this answer but its because some parents just dont give a ****! They let their children do what ever they want, go out and get drunk in parks, they give their children anything they ask for, money, games, music, wen it comes to it cars or bike, and then these children have no respect for the society and go out and harass people that have more than them or people that are vunerable! It started when parents stopped giving a **** about their kids and thats what went wrong!

It started in the 1950's. Over a number of years a box came into the corner of most sitting rooms. The family life started to disintergrate. No longer sat around a table to eat and talk. Sat in front of a screen showing us what we did not have. Church and Sunday school and the youth club were forgotten. Morals declined in the 60's and 70's. Teachers who thought how great to let the kids call us by our first name. That was the start of discipline going out the door. National Service gone nothing to replace it so kids left school onto the dole. Things have got even worse since New Labour came to power. Police are more interested in targets than the people who commit crime. In my day the local copper knew everyone and everyone knew him and he knew who did what. Now they are visions in cars not wanting to stop at incidents incase they go over the end of shift with the paperwork. Europe has introduced laws as well as Labours 3000 that allow kids to run wild. Who is to discipline children. The government will not allow the parent, school , police or the courts. So kids run wild ,do drugs and commit crimes in the knowledge they may never get caught and if they do thanks to Blair they get away with it. Some time soon someone is going to have to say enough is enough. It stops, discipline and respect has to be brought into kids lives. They will never grow up to be responsible adults if we allow the status quo. It will be hard but it will help save our nation that Blair and his croneys are destroying.

Its goes back to the interference from the state and federal government. When they took away the rights of parents to discipline their children. Defacs, Department of Family and Children Services, agents were not handling cases where they knew there was abuse, broken arms and starvation of children. They decided to lobby to stop people from disciplining children to cover themselves. The line is fine, you can spank your kids but you can not leave visible signs, red marks bruises etc. Some case workers are overzealous, as a slight red mark that will be gone in a few minutes, gets you a charge of cruelty to children. So in turn people don't risk spanking their children. The ending result is a youth who does not recognize consequences for his or her actions. The ending result is the increase in criminal activity.