Where is the Respect?

Among our youth there is an alarming rate of disrespect and carelessness. It seems to be getting worse and worse. One of the biggest fallacies I hear is “Times are changing, things aren’t the same as they used to be.” While technology and trends are constantly changing and improving, the world has overlooked their parental responsibly. While it is true our physical environment is changing, the moral values should remain intact. However, children talk to their parents with openness and degradation as one might refer to as a “sailor’s mouth.” They ignore structure, rules, and disrespect themselves as well as their elders. Now, there is a two-parted reason to this complex behavior. The role of primary caregiver, and the role of the child.

The first part has nothing to do with our youth and everything to do with the parents, and the primary caregivers of the younger generation. In the current day and age rules are openly disregarded. Behavior is viewed as “normal” teen rebellion. However, can we really overlook the problems with our youth as petty and just “sowing their wild oats?” Or, is this just an excuse that adults use because they don’t want to deal with this issue? Do you honestly believe that our children are better off with varied rules and minor consequences, if any? The children today know how they are acting. They know their behavior is wrong and they don’t care. Why? The obvious answer is because we let them. Children act out because they have no consequences and because they can. Take the example of a two year old throwing a tantrum. There are two outcomes. The first being, letting the child know by some form of discipline that their behavior is unacceptable, and you are the boss and you make the rules. The second outcome is giving in to stop the behavior with the response to the stimulant the child wants. While this is an example of a young child, it is relevant to the behavior of the teens today. You see, their behavior started when they were a toddler. Their actions were rewarded with the second outcome listed above. From their rebellion as a mere infant, the cycle had begun, taking on more complex and bigger “tantrums.” They learned from their parents and caregivers that if they threw enough of a “tantrum” the adults would give in and they would get what they wanted.