Juvenile “Rights”
Do Kids Really Have Them?
For too long, particularly in the United States, the ongoing dilemma of whether-or-not children under the age of 18 have so-called “rights” is in the air. Isn’t it amazing, that we, as parents are responsible for our children until they reach the age of 18 and are considered an adult - but, every day, those 18 and under feel they they have the “right” to do as they choose? Perhaps because we as adults ‘allow’ children to disrespect, dishonour, talk-back, not be held accountable - our children are growing up into a generation of ‘me & now in synonymous terms’ and to hell with the rest of society!
Before you think that I don’t have children, I do - 3 boys, ages 29, 26 and 21. The two oldest boys live in North Carolina the youngest one with me. It’s amazing what happens when a parent will not force their children to grow up and become responsible adults. Responsible… a heavy word!
You would think, that a parent who speaks of their child in the above manner has no feelings for them, or is cruel and unkind, and of course - what happened to the ‘unconditional love’ part? Understand that I DO love my kids - I just may not like their actions!
Too often parents refuse to see that their children are hellions. If their child gets in trouble, it is ‘not MY child, they would never’! Well, honestly? Wake up parents… they DO, and they HAVE.
Kids today - in spite of what they may tell you - really don’t have it any harder than children did generations ago. What is harder on our kids are the expectations that we as parents put on them! Does your child REALLY have to be involved in every sport out there? Does your child at age 5 HAVE to have designer clothing, shoes, the latest in PC’s, cellphones, you name it? Absolutely not! Instead of teaching your children responsibility and the reward of earning something on their own for themselves, you are teaching your child that “mommy and daddy will give you whatever your precious little heart desires sweetums”.
Please parents, get a grip here! And you know? If you find yourself getting defensive over what I have just written - then you are doing exactly what I have just written!
Plain pure and simple.. children today do NOT have “rights”. If a school tells them they must wear this or that - then these are the rules, and these rules are to be followed. If a child is dropped from a team because of poor grades, then what right do you have as a parent to go to the school board and demand that your child be reinstated? Absolutely NONE! Your child knew the consequences of his/her failing grades! If your child mis-behaves in the classroom setting, and gets punished by detention, or the principal’s office, then stop going to bat for them - stop insisting that “kids will be kids” or “oh, he’s just a boy” (or girl). If you want your child to have “rights” - then you need to make sure that your child takes the responsibilities and the consequences - whatever they may be - along with those ‘rights’!
Too often in society, we “protect” our little babies (sarcasm intended here folks). If a 16 year old commits a crime, how often will the news industry report the name AND a photo of the teen? Absolutely never! For some unknown reason “they” seek to “protect” this teenager! Personally, I say it is time to stop that nonsense! If a child - regardless of their age - commits a crime, then that child’s name, AND their parent’s names need to be posted for everyone to know. Stop protecting the kids - because they know that they can get away with it - and we allow it to continue!
Children today are not the innocents that we have this fantasy about. Kids know when they can get away with things, and will use you to do it. They know that mommy and daddy will bail them out, because heaven forbid, it may ruin the perfect little family image. When and why have parents become such saps to their children allowing children to run roughshod? Are we so afraid of spanking the bottoms of young children to discipline them? When the first “spanking polls” came out and the lunatic therapists insisted that spanking hurt a child’s feelings (poor baby), everyone rushed to not do so any longer. Gone are the days when “that look” or “that voice” meant absolutely no argument, do it now! Gone are the days of respect for others. Shouldn’t that tell you something right there? When we, as parents, stopped disciplining our children and started listening to therapists who have no clue - something changed in our children.. they started growing up believing that it was their way, their lives, their rights. And, along the way, we lost the rights as parents.