The state of parenting

I'm disgusted... Apparently "good" parenting doesn't exist anymore. Success is wether your kid makes it to adulthood or something.
I'm not saying ALL parents are bad parents. Mine are good and have kept me on the "straight and narrow"

I was walking my girlfriend home along the riverbank. A usually quiet and nice walk. This time however i ran into a gang of children (And i used the term children literally) who were drinking Cider and carrying Baseball bats.

1) What would their parents say? Sadly i think they'd tell them to carry on/ give them money to do more. I'm disgusted at the fact that a bunch of 10-13 year olds can just wonder around with alcohol and bats.
2) One of them shouted "God he's shit! He's drunk on that little bit of cider"
Yeah... probably because he's a CHILD!!!
3)Where is the alcohol from!? I certainly hope their parents didn't give it to them. It's terrible if they nicked it... And WORSE if someone sold it to them. They're CLEARLY underage.


Rant over.

Ugh.

Jass

Yeah well... I live nearby a place where many kiddies regulary get drunk and smoke. It ain't pretty, and it is definitely not good for the society.

If their parents don't give the money to them, they will usually steal it from them. Or from others. Getting booze and cigarettes? Just ask a hobo and say you'll give him one cigarette. Most of these young children have older "friends" anyway, who are still struggling trough 7th grade whilst being 18 years old.




...yet Jack Thompson says the youth is going wrong because of GTA and other violent games... right. Irresponsible parents are to blame.

Hell i see this stuff every day .
Ahhh... Where i live these Kid'z have Bikes (Mopeds or what ever there called)
And they think there so cool! xD!
And there thretning people and shit and smoking and drinking And the parrents dont seam to exist .
I mean all i need is a reson to kick there small asses But i dont have any i mean ther enot bothering !
Btw i have herd of gang's where the leader's are like 15-17 and the other members are like 12-13 xD! So weak xD!

Nicely said Andro.
Games are NOT an excuse for bad parenting!

It's just annoys me so very much... If i found my kid doing that i'd drag him in by the ear and make sure he NEVER sees them again. They'd "hate" me for it... But i'd rather that then he got stabbed by some random chav at the age of 12.

I used to think that too - Where the fuck are their parents!? - but then I became a parent of my own and I started thinking about myself in that age (no pretty thoughts at all, I'm glad I'm not my own mother). I think there is no way to forbid teens to socialize with bad people. I ran away from home and slept at a drug dealer's house when my mum tried that and she didn't know where I was or if I was alive for a couple of days. I don't ever want to be as afraid as she must have been.
I would rather invite those kids home, let them hang around at my house without drugs, alcohol or violence. That way I can at least keep an eye out on what's happening. And those are just kids too, perhaps they are expressing a need to be seen and heard? Perhaps I can be the neighbourhood mum they can turn to?

And as a parent I think the most important thing is to allow, allow, allow, allow, then say no and they will listen. Always be ready to come get the kids if something happens, always check properly where they will sleep and never, ever let them think that my anger if they tell me something stupid they did is worse than not to tell at all.

I completely agree with you Agali. But no-one does that.

Although keeping them at home is something i haven't thought of... Just invite them round and keep them entertained. Eventually the "bad-eggs" will get bored/ learn that it's not acceptable to be a "bag-egg"

*smiles* The replies are making Jass happy! Yay

You seam very wise Agali... i bow before your wisdom!
/bow

Welcome to the UK Rashkaa.

I actually try and avoid talking about these sorts of things, it upsets and scares me to think what the UK will be like when I have kids.

Well i am to leave the UK at some stage... Mostly cause there's not a massive market for the games industry in Englands

I know where you'r going Rashkaa I'll meet* you there
Btw I think EU countrys are mostly the same when it comes to these thing...
Where i live... the Kids are in controll and the parrents are the kids...
Exept me... i'm the kid...

EDIT: FiX Meet! (*)

I'd love to leave the UK, but I'm kinda planted here because of my boyfriends job ^^;

But about parenting... There are two girls I know, 18 and 20, their parents are strict christians and they were brought up 'properly'. Yet while the parents thought they were at a friends houses, the girls were off camping or at house parties doing class a drugs. This was happening from when they youngest was 16 and in school. If their parents knew this they'd probably be locked in the house with their parents crying "What went wrong?"

Course I love these girls to bits, they're awesome, but they (and myself to some degree) are an example of sometimes it's not the paretns fault.

But those kids you saw drinking on the streets, it's almost entirely possible to say the parents don't care.