Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Are today's parents too lazy?

One of the things I've been noticing over the last few years is that when out in public at Wal Mart, a restaurant, or whatever, most kids seem to be out of control.  My parents sometimes remark to my sister and me saying "Oh, if you had done such-and-such when you were that young, we wouldn't take you out" or "we would have punished you on the spot."  I'm not talking about simple kid stuff such as constant whining or being full of energy, but things like talking back, running off, and throwing tantrums while parents just ignore it.

At work I see this ALL the time.  I've even had some parents tell me that they just give up saying it won't help one bit when the child in question is only 6 or 7 years old!  My parents have told me that when they were young, their parents kept them in line by using the belt.  My parents rarely used corporal punishment on my sister and me, but we did get grounded and had certain toys and video games taken away when it was called for.

From stories I hear from my friends who are new parents, they don't even do that.  Even my girlfriend says the same thing about her younger brother who has no respect for anyone, sneaks out of the house, and smokes weed in the house.  What I want to ask is why parents today are so soft? What is it that makes them so lazy and not actually parent and raise their kids?

What do you all think and what are your experiences with this?

26 comments:

  1. Short answer: Yes.

    Long answer: Yessssss.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ugh, this drives me crazy. Like my boyfriend's dad can't control his little brother... No, doesn't try to control him. He says "Boys will be boys" and "He's just a little kid" but he never gets given out to for bold things he does, so he literally doesn't know that what he's doing is wrong! He was never taught. It just makes me so sad to think that he will grow into an adult never having been taught manners or social conventions. I would hate my parents if they hadn't taught me all the things that they did about the world. A child isn't born with the knowledge of right and wrong as this guy I'm talking about seems to think! Sorry, this subject really riles me up lol! Followed!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This likely has to do with the declining of average age of parents over the years- but probably more so with society not being as strict and religion-bound; which I personally think is a good thing, regardless of repercussions such as this.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Parents really are becoming more apathetic, I think. My dad whooped me occasionally, and I'd also get the occasional verbal evisceration, but mostly I was pretty well behaved when I was younger.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I don't know, maybe raising a kid today is much more different 5 or 10 years ago :)
    I remember I had to watched after my little sister when I was 8 or 9 years old and I didn't find it that so hard. my little sister listens to my every word. but today? I have a niece and she's so hard-headed and as much as I wanted to hit her, I can't :(, maybe because the world is changing so fast and the kids were being influenced. haha

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yeah... My parents are pretty lazy whenever it comes to me asking them for a favor... But whenever they need a favor, I have to jump on it right away. :(

    ReplyDelete
  7. No, Legitcheater, not only in America, I live in Ireland and it's just as bad.

    ReplyDelete
  8. All parents all lazy, specially when you're already grown. They just don't bother because you're not a little kid anymore.

    ReplyDelete
  9. my thoughts? wheres my belt? COME HERE SQUIRT!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Well my parents are far from lazy in terms of providing for the family.

    ReplyDelete
  11. i do feel parents are becoming more and more complacent with their child's bad behavior..

    ReplyDelete
  12. When ever I see this it makes me not want kids

    ReplyDelete
  13. Well, some people believe in a laissez-faire approach to parenting which obviously doesn't work. but many people seem to think the only alternative to that is beating their children to discipline them. well, there are ways to keep kids from acting like jackasses without beating them, but apparently some people haven't figured out how to simply TALK to their kids.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Parents nowadays are lazy, just look at the youth of today.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I think every generation thinks they were better behaved when they were kids. We just forget as we age.

    ReplyDelete
  16. parents don't care because children push may more than they did back in the day so now parents just give up.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I don't think it's much different today. There are good parents and not so good.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I work at Walmart, so I see herds of kids like this with no control and no supervision.

    ReplyDelete
  19. My sister and I were both disciplined pretty heavily; if we threw a tantrum or something, we'd be taken out of the store/restaurant and spanked. I think that motivation is what makes good parents. You have to be willing to sacrifice your shopping trip or time in the restaurant to make sure your kid is behaving.
    My aunt and uncle hardly ever discipline my cousin (he's 6), saying "boys will be boys," then they wonder why he won't listen when they DO tell him to do something. It's all about consistency.

    ReplyDelete
  20. My mother is so lazy e.e Long string of boyfriends had to discipline me.

    ReplyDelete
  21. totally too lazy - most people are

    ReplyDelete
  22. Little kids will be little kids...but in today's world, if a parent so much bats a "disciplinary eye" at their kid, DCF will show up at the door with the police and cuff the parents and remove the children from the house.

    ReplyDelete