We Have Become a Society of Disrespect: Why Parents Need To Accept Their Responsibility

At one time, probably around the years during which you and I were growing up, it was generally considered wrong to defy, mock or disregard authority. We had rules, expectations and consequences which were laid out to teach us what was required. While I think more often than not, we settled down to meet those guidelines, it's possible that the fact they existed made us realize that WE had responsibilities for how we acted.

Why then, does it seem that parents of today, for the most part, appear to be so insecure in setting boundaries? Are they so desperate for their children’s affection and friendship that they have developed into a society of enablers. Did the child screw up at school, fail to study, skip class before an exam? In our current world it seems far more common to blame the teachers, the other kids, “politics” and “the administration”, rather than taking a tough love approach. Does the gaming system get taken away, or the cell phone, to allow more time for homework and study? Often no, because fewer and fewer adults wish to be “the bad guys” and set limits and boundaries.

Giving children everything without any need to work for it or waiting to earn something means a life of instant gratification. Why isn’t the word “No” an option anymore? Because then there would be whining and struggle and the need for tough love, and it’s easier to shrug and just give in. And yet…..working for something that becomes more prized and valued due to the labor involved….doesn’t that mean more? I know it did for me and I can’t image what I might have become if everything had been handed to me. Why would you value something that took no effort to gain?

Here’s a question: if parents aren’t willing to teach their kids about responsibility and actions which have consequences, then where will they learn it? Answer: if they can’t learn at home from an early age what is right, wrong or unacceptable, they will never have respect for authority or anyone else. As parents enable the demands and refuse to set boundaries, are they at the same time shaping their children into little entitled monsters? What happens if these kids become a detriment to society rather than an asset? We will simply blame everyone else for requiring something from them? If the children of today grow up believing the world “owes them”, then begin to have their own kids, the cycle will only continue. I fear that we are rapidly becoming a product of our own indulgence and permissiveness; fostering and creating a society of disrespect.