Why Children Have Parents

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Why Children Have Parents
by Dave Gibson, Guest Columnist

July 12, 2002

Dave Gibson We have all seen far too many images on the evening news of teenagers killing and maiming one another. Will anyone ever forget the horrendous scene at Columbine as hundreds of teenaged kids came streaming out of that high school, hands held above their heads, tears pouring from their suddenly combat-experienced eyes? Or the carnage which occurred two years ago, when a young man suddenly opened fire on a group of schoolchildren just outside the National Zoo in Washington D.C.?

Those are the heart stopping, headline-making incidents, the kind of events which are burned into our collective memory forever. However, there is also a tremendous problem with "petty" crime in our nation's neighborhoods perpetuated by bored teenagers. Vandalism, theft, fighting in the streets, and generally doing everything to make a complete nuisance of themselves... these activities performed on a daily basis by this country's undisciplined brats, create uncomfortable living conditions and help to destroy the very neighborhoods their parents worked so hard to create.

What is the problem? Why does it seem our teenagers are out of control as never before?... Because they are out of control! National police statistics state that almost all juvenile crime is committed between the hours of 3:00pm and 8:00pm, when parents are working outside the home and kids are left to their own devices. In fact, there has been a steady increase in juvenile crime over the last several years.

A great deal of these crimes are not being committed by those teenagers whom we normally suspect (poor, urban, living in bad neighborhoods). No, the majority of these hooligans are middle class, spoiled, white kids living in this nation's ever-sprawling suburbs. These "Gameboy" toting, credit card carrying, self-centered, "wannabe" thugs are the ones hurling profanities at their elders while perched atop their skateboards. They are also the ones filling this nation's juvenile court dockets, thus making it a problem for all of us.

So what has brought about this terrible condition in our nation's teenage population? Haven't these kids been given every advantage? Haven't they been given nothing but self-esteem boosts by our public schools? Is it television, violent video games, and movies? Perhaps it's MTV that is turning our teens into "pseudo gangbangers" and making them sexually active at an ever increasing younger age!

The moral climate in this country has certainly worsened over the last twenty years, but is that the fault of MTV? Undoubtedly, Hollywood contributes to the foul language and lousy attitude of American teenagers, but it is ridiculous to lay the blame for what has become of our future leaders at "Tinsel Town's" doorstep.

The ultimate blame must lie with the parents of those teens. Parents, who seem to have control of the family over to their children. Parents, who would rather be their child's "friend", than live up to the role of mother, father, and yes....disciplinarian! Parents, who have gotten out of the business of raising their own children, thus alleviating themselves of all responsibility.

It is these same parents who shift the blame for everything their children do from themselves, even from their children, to the fault of the media. It is obvious that children should not be watching filthy rap videos, in which talentless, ghetto thugs glorify violence and the exploitation of women, thus lifting themselves to the position of "role models". But is it fair for parents to blame the soul-less programming executives of MTV for the sins of their children?

This problem stems from something far deeper than MTV and only promises to worsen. Some time ago, parents stopped raising their children, that job is now left up to poorly trained, poorly paid strangers... day care workers now raise the young children of America. We are now seeing the first full generation ( who are now in their late teens ) who have been raised in day care, during those most formative years.

For many years, we enjoyed a very prosperous economy, our vehicles and our homes (like us) have become "supersized". However, we are now seeing one of the downsides to that prosperous period. Both parents are working, the job of raising the kids is left up to strangers. As parents work and enjoy all of the trappings that go along with that labor (many of which...earlier generations did without!), the children go un-checked, and really... unloved.

More today than ever, American teens seem to have no respect for their families, their teachers, the law, nor each other. In response to these ills, parents should examine their own actions, stop choosing the easy role of "friend" and take the more difficult role of parent, remove their children from the "kiddie kennels" and remember why nature had the good sense to provide us with two parents. ***

Image courtesy of staff files