One can't question the impact of
heredity. Nor reject any argument
that the way a child is raised molds
them into who they become. If you
disagree, I suggest you get out and
frequent places that families frequent.
You'll quickly acknowledge the harsh
reality that the next generation are
young Philistines.
I adore children. enough that I sired
four myself. However mine had some
semblance of an education in table
manners. Today parents gleefully enjoy
watching as their babies fling debris
across the restaurant. Also they revel
in listening to their tots hit new decibels.
While seemingly a dose of parental
pleasure, I can assure you that the rest
of the paying diners do not agree.
You see, as society lowers it's standards,
children are dragged through the muck.
While that may seem harsh, trust me, it's
the truth. Whenever I interact with families
I am impacted by childish behavior that
frankly is unkind to all especially the
untethered and indulged child. One can't
understand how any parent assumes it's
pleasurable for anybody to listen to their
child wail in church. In my day one took
their noisy baby outside. Today parents
seem to assume their child's cries are
preferable to the homily. Are they nuts?
Somewhere along the way the paradigm of
power shifted. Satisfying and indulging the
needs, wants, desires, and schedules of our
children seems to be our raison d'etre. And
while I'm certain the kiddies love all of the
attention, what they truly crave and need is
structure. Parents have a responsibility to
raise children "in the way they should go".
To achieve that requires assuming the role
of teacher, authority, protector, leader.
Somewhere along the way our generation lost
it's mojo. In our rebellion many of us decided
to be our children's friends. While my parents
were not perfect, they raised me quite well. I
was loved and knew it. Plus every lesson in
demeanor and manners benefitted me greatly.
So, I'm begging all parents of terrifying tots -
Grow up
so that your children can
grow up properly!