I couldn't agree more with the past 3 or 4 posts. Harlock, I think your second to last post was especially insightful, and ryknier, you deserve credit for just bringing up such an explosive topic.
Just to add my own little story: When I was a kid, I got the wooden spoon. 'Nuff said. Now I see the way parents deal with troubled kids and I shake my head. A year or so ago my little cousin, then 5 years old, picked up a wiffleball bat and cracked my uncle in the back of the legs with it. WHAM! Right behind the knees. His dad walks over and says, "Now why did you do that? Tell me why you did that?" And Im thinking, WHY?? WHO CARES WHY!!! I would've gotten a beatin' for doing something like that.
The problems with troubled kids don't always start with the parents, I'm sure there are very good parents out there whose kids just fell in with the wrong crowd etc., but to let this kid degenerate to this point and then act surprised at what he did and try to blame some cop... feh.
Just to add my own little story: When I was a kid, I got the wooden spoon. 'Nuff said. Now I see the way parents deal with troubled kids and I shake my head. A year or so ago my little cousin, then 5 years old, picked up a wiffleball bat and cracked my uncle in the back of the legs with it. WHAM! Right behind the knees. His dad walks over and says, "Now why did you do that? Tell me why you did that?" And Im thinking, WHY?? WHO CARES WHY!!! I would've gotten a beatin' for doing something like that.
The problems with troubled kids don't always start with the parents, I'm sure there are very good parents out there whose kids just fell in with the wrong crowd etc., but to let this kid degenerate to this point and then act surprised at what he did and try to blame some cop... feh.