There is a reason that we talk so much about discipline, and child behavior so much. This is because it is important to do as good a job in parenting as possible in hoped that it will keep our children on the straight and narrow through childhood and into adulthood.
But can all the parenting in the world prevent some of the bad teen issues we are seeing in the news right now. News of gang rapes, rapes in middle schools, setting children on fire, and girl on girl beatings are the extreme in bad teenage behavior. Whenever I see such a thing, my first impulse is to ask, where was the parent? But is that really a fair question? Well, yes, and no.
Yes, you do have to call for parental responsibility when kids do reprehensible things because good parenting will reduce childhood stress that can lead to violent behavior. Good parents can teach and insist that their kids not alienate others as we know that excess bullying and alienation can lead to school violence. Good parents will teach kids coping issues and not model violent behavior so their kids will not act out in that way. Good parents will recognize and lessen stress at home so that kids are not pushed to the brink of violence. (Find out more about teen stress and violence at abouttoburst.com)
No, you can’t blame parents for all of their kids transgressions because some of these issue are due to chemical imbalances and mental health issues that the parents have no control over. There may have been past incidences of violence toward that child that were also out of the parents control. Read more about teen violence at Focus Adolescent Services website.
It’s just not a black and white situation. While parents can take preventative measures by giving their kids the best care possible, they cannot always prevent what they cannot see. Still, one has to ask themselves, are some parents ignoring what is right before their eyes?
~If you liked this you should also read my other posts at the home blog, the homeschooling blog, the parents blog, and the frugal blog. You can read my recent posts here.
Helping Kids Deal with Violence Around Them
Can Parents Protect Teens from Dating Violence