Child Disipline

Today’s young children and teenagers are in a mix of controversy. Ever increasing is the number of young parents and teenager’s parents, a majority of these parents, single or not, are having to work all day putting forty or more hours in per week. The children of these working parents are in a headfirst spiral of anger and trouble. These children are finding baby sitters in TV and video games finding role models from within these false babysitters. What impact is this having on today’s children? What are today’s youth learning more morals and manners? Today’s children and teenagers have an ever-increasing loss of respect for adults and elders acting out more and more. But this troubling trend it just not effected by TV and video games, it roots are taking hold in many other forms.

It all boils down to discipline, was the child told right from wrong, was he/she taught manners and how to respect elders do they know to listen and obey, to clean up after themselves, to be patient and not to be selfish. It is the responsibility of the parents to teach their children these morals and guidelines. If the Child becomes unruly and acts out it is the parent’s duty to punish the child accordingly, taking action that fits the crime. What is causing all of the issues in teens and children today? In 1954, Gallup asked Americans asked parents about teenagers getting out of hand, wondering what are the main reasons for their acting up?" Linda Lyons (2004) found that the most common responded were that:

o Parents not strict enough/not enough discipline/don't exercise enough authority

o Parents’ fault/improper home life/no home training/don't set proper example/broken home/lack of supervision

o Parents have outside interests/not enough interest in kids/not home enough/neglect/lack of parental love

o Children have too much freedom/late hours/freedom too young

o Children have too much money/too many material possessions/pampered/too many places to go and too much to do

o Parents both working

Fifty-two years ago those were the answers by parents whom a majority of only had one parent in the household working, without family distractions that include: videos games, the internet, and cell phones. Fifty-two years ago things everything only one in about ten children were trouble makers causing parents problems everyday. Ask anyone between the ages of twenty-five and thirty what home live was for then around the age of five to seven, how their life was different of lives of today’s young children.

Families have move from the farms to the cites for better jobs, leaving behind the hard work that the farm taught and the mentality that you have to work for to get what you want. Children went to school then came home and had chores and homework to do, ate at the table as a family and talked about how everyone’s day went.

Things are different now with seventy percent of married mothers working outside of the house today. Mom and dad are forced to spend less time with their children and that lives them vulnerable to temptations and peer pressure. Gone are the breakfasts with pancakes and eggs in the morning, now replaced by a Pop-Tart. Children are receiving less interaction with their children everyday and when they do spent time with time even if the child would do something bad or against the norms and values of their culture the parents are hesitant to discipline the child. They blame themselves for not being there and the child just wants attention, which is the reason why they are acting out of line.

Missy is a young girl who just turned five in December who had load of energy and is very smart. Missy is know to have sudden out burst of screaming and yelling when she doesn’t get what she wants, or will not listen and do thing that are asked of her until threats come into effect. Missy wakes on one morning and finds a package of cookie dough in the refrigerator; she eats half the package and then tells her mom that she found it in the fridge. Missy’s mom tells her she has to out it back but she doesn’t, telling her mom that she isn’t done with it.

Who is to blame for Missy’s actions in the morning? It is the easiest to say that it is her own fault and should know better then that. That is true at her age she should know right from wrong and know something like that would get her into trouble. But her mom never punishes her, Missy runs off to go find something to do other then get ready for school and her mom just puts the dough back in the fridge. So it is Missy’s mom fault then, she is the one that has slipped with the discipline of her child. Where are the set rules that Missy needs to follow so she knows that what she did was not the right thing. Now you can’t blame Missy for the way that she is, all she has learned while growing up is things like this is ok to do.

Is Missy’s mom a bad parent? That is in the eye of the beholder. Maybe she is a bad parent and when her daughter acted out causing trouble she tried to please Missy any way she could just to get her settled down. Maybe Missy’s mom is trying the best she can just to get by. Now we have to look at the bigger picture and see how Missy and her mom fit into society’s structure.

Missy’s mom isn’t rich she is a single parent barely getting by. Her father helps out and is a part of her life but she only