Children today through the age of about 30 are horribly rude and self-centered.

Just go to a movie on a Friday or Saturday night. Disgusting behavior, from chewing with their mouths hanging open to breaking in line for even more stuff to gnaw on at the concession stand. A bunch of pigs.

It's funny you mention that, Greg. I've made it a point to avoid going to theaters for that very reason. The common movie theater today is like the level of hell reserved exclusively for degenerate recidivists that should have been aborted and people who haven't learned to stop paying $10 for schlock in the first place.

Today, the problem is that children are allowed to remain children their whole lives. Adults inexplicably abdicated their authority over children in the 1970s and 1980s when they decided it was more important to be a good friend instead of a good parent. Pop psychologists of the time certainly didn't help one bit, since they were too busy humping the leg of the "I am special and can do/be whatever I want!" dream.

We're now seeing the effects of an entire generation raised without discipline as it begins to raise the next generation after it, also with no discipline.

Looks almost like social armageddon.

The common movie theater today is like the level of hell reserved exclusively for degenerate recidivists that should have been aborted and people who haven't learned to stop paying $10 for schlock in the first place.

Really? Wow, have your theater experiences been so bad that you have to be that harsh? They should have been aborted?? Really?

In the natural world if a cub doesn't INSTANTLY obey its parent, death can be the result. One hard smack from the lion's paw makes the cub respond to future disciplinary expectations from the parents, thus increasing its chances for survival to adulthood.

Imagine a child running toward the street not trained to respond to mother's call. So the child gets smashed by a truck because of lack of discipline. Aside from being horrid to be around, children who don't respect older adults can get KILLED. Just like in the animal kingdom.

Parameters are very necessary in order to live long and have a good life. Common sense ought to rule - unfortunately it doesn't.

SDRC

Really? Wow, have your theater experiences been so bad that you have to be that harsh? They should have been aborted?? Really?

Yes, really. What else would you do with terminally sociopathic recidivists that start fights and get off on making everyone around them miserable? They're like vampires. There's no dealing with them. Google around for horrible movie theater experiences. I've been in many where people do all the usual verbal BS and others where massive brawls broke out. I see absolutely no benefit to any good people in the world by having these incurable @!$%#s in it.

Hope-295312, that is -exactly- my point.

Today's kids ARE more spoiled but it is because they have never been taught to do without, to sacrifice, or to value what a great country we have. This well dressed young college grad stated he wanted the stimulus plan because he is graduating and the job market is so tight, he can't find the job he wants!!! Well, fella, join the crowd of where 99% of ALL college grads for many generations have lived!! You are not guaranteed your perfect job because you have a sheepskin. My husband cleaned garages upon graduation until he found a good job in his career field. I was fortunate to have worked parttime during college for the company for which I worked full time upon graduation. But the bottom line is that if you need to dig a ditch to make money, then DO IT! But today's kids will live with mom and dad for free or live off of Uncle Sam whining that they can't find a job. As the owner of a company, I would not hire someone who didn't have at least a little parttime employment doing blue collar work because they have no concept of HARD WORK.

I bet I can infer based on the above responses who the Baby Boomer (neglectful abusive self absorbed self serving parents) on this board were lol.

As a member of the hated Gen X and also a parent of a 20 yr old, 14 yr old and 3 yr old, I have to say that as a whole the people we encounter daily, who are consistently rude the majority of the time, are those of the Baby Boomers. From Boomer men allowing doors to slam in a women carrying a baby's face, to Boomer women not being able to say a simple "Thank you" when my son holds the door open for them and far worse. If any generation typifies rudeness it is the Boomers.

I find the Greatest Generation to be equally split in the rudeness department- with half the men holding the door for the woman behind them and half leaving it slam in your face. The women are about the same, half say "Thank you" if you hold the door or let them go ahead of you in line and the other half don't even acknowledge that you exist.

In so far as kids of today go, my philosophy when raising my children has always been- Be polite to those that are polite to you. If someone is rude to you, you are under no obligation to be their doormat. Besides, rude people only understand rude behavior.

Case in point, if I hold the door open for someone, and they say "Thank you" I smile and say "You are Welcome!" On the other hand if I hold the door open for someone and they shove past me and give me a dirty look I feel completely justified in saying very loudly "YOU'RE WELCOME RUDE PERSON!"

To address HOPE's assertion that children who do not respect older adults can get killed, I would like to offer just the opposite assertion. In today's world of child predators a child who BLINDLY "respects" someone and does what they say simply because they are older than themselves, places themselves in grave danger of becoming a statistic. Respect is EARNED not a right, and the Baby Boomer generation in particular has done less than nothing to Earn respect from my generation and vicariously from my children's generation.

Oh and as far as the article speculating that the children of today will not be hired because the Boomers can't stand them (Of anyone other than themselves for that matter) goes ROFL! Reality check! The cry Baby Boomers will mostly be DEAD by the time the current toddlers they hate are of age to get a job. Duh!

I find what you say true to a point. Some people that are rude today are just sick of trying. It doesn't make it right but I can under stand it. And then ther are just plain rude people. I think one of things I hate the most (besides the pants hanging down past theirbutts) is when you say thank you and they responded "no problem " where did that come from? Over all I think our world has gotten ruder but that sure doesn't mean we have to join in. I am a baby boomer without kids just think whats like for people like me. The only time I am around a group of kids it's in public and they have for the most part no manners and no respect for anyone or anything including them selves

And sadly, Hope, the parents still take no blame for the demise of their child. Rather, they look to sue the driver of the truck, the manufacturer of the truck, the city, the state and anyone else on whom they can lay the blame for their tragedy. It's a shame they can't sue themselves!

As for "justme," you are exactly the person to which this article refers, as exemplified by your posting name. And just so you don't think you know it all, I am most definitely, Generation X.

LOL Kenneth- which "Justme" are you referring to? There are hundreds of people with the posting ID of justme on newsvine, because we are not stupid enough to use our real names :)

PS the user ID "justme" in my case refers to "I am just me, as in myself. I don't pretend to be what I am not."

If I were going for a narcissistic user name, I would have chosen the name "Baby Boomer11111" or "MEMEMEMEMEME Generation".

Hope that clarified for you.

We left God for Darwin and behave like the ANIMALS that PROGRESSIVES says we are.

How is all this for PROGRESS??

justme - Agreed 100%. If there is one phrase that most Boomers I've known could stand to get acquainted with, it's that.

RESPECT IS EARNED.

For most of them I've known, it was never about "earning" anything, respect included. Instead, it was all about a disgusting, overweening sense of entitlement. The narcissism, the arrogance, the pathological hatred of stability, no priorities, no empathy, and craptastically screwed-up values... for every Boomer I've known who was worth the powder it would take to blow them straight to hell, I've known a dozen who weren't. I've often wondered what mistakes their parents (the Great Generation) must have made, to produce such out of control little monsters.

I can probably speak for most of Generation X when I say this: We grew up at the mercy of self-obsessed sociopaths who didn't know their asses from a hole in the ground. Those of us who were lucky managed to claw their way out of the hellhole we had been raised to call "home", but was anything but. We went on to (at least to some extent) take the values of their grandparents, because most of their grandparents were sane, functional people. We are out there, trying like hell to create the positive, nurturing home environment that we never had. Most of we lucky ones would gladly blow their brains all over the nearest wall, as to create the sort of home that we were forced to endure growing up.

The unlucky ones? Most of them are either in prison, or dead. Why do you ask? :P

Have you ever wondered why the Boomers turned out so horribly? Signs would point to spoiling. Think of the unprecedented prosperity of the 50's, and how the so many of the Great Generation gave their Boomer children everything they wanted, no matter how little they needed it or how ridiculous it was. That's what all the stories I've heard would seem to indicate actually happened. When someone hands their 10 year-old daughter 5 bucks and tells them to buy something they want, that doesn't seem too bad.

However, when you consider that it happened in the 1950's... that's $65 or $70 by today's money!

When's the last time you handed a ten year-old $70 and told them to go buy something they wanted? WTF?

Out of control spoiling produces out of control little monsters.

The Great Generation has one last lesson for us.... a lesson in consequences. Don't repeat that mistake, one of the few major ones they made.

Notice to all paarents out there— IT IS NOT YOUR JOB TO BE YOU KIDS FRIEND!! That is the job of other children their age. It is you job to be their PARENT and alot of the time (especially in the tweens and teens) it means that you are the enemy, your hated, they don't like you. If you as a parent have not had your cild say "I hate you" at least once, you are not being a parent. We are confusing friendship with respect. I am not "friends" with my mother or father, but I respect them, love them, and look to them for guidance more than my "friends". I have 5 kids, and at various times, they have all " not liked me". That's cool. They can kvetch to their brothers and sisters about me. I don't CARE if they LIKE me, but they will RESPECT me, and they will be decent human beings and be respectful of others. Being a parent isn't fun. Alot of the time it sucks, because you have to be willing to be hated by the very person, or persons that you would give your life for.

YES! So well spoken. I have a sister-in-law whp is her 12 year old's BFF. They are in a sorority together, etc. I just shake my head and hope I don't fall into the same trap with my two kids.

As a teacher - I see this all the time.

Open your Bibles to 2nd Timothy: 1-5

It's all there! Think it's not the last days? Read it and see if you don't think that's happening today?

When a 14 year old girl is getting her nails, feet and hair done on a regular basis and spa treatments thrown in - there is something definitely wrong with the world! Since when do teenagers have the social life of a 28 yr. old woman? WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!

She should be volunteering her time at a local Sr. Center or Hospital!

and it's the parents' fault. They have dropped everything to over indulge their children. They don't even participate in adult entertainment: football games, movies...fine restaurants because they take their kids with them everywhere they go.

I thought people got married because they loved each other, but apparently that's incorrect. They get married to show all of their friends how progressive their parenting skills are. They are the only ones who enjoy it, believe me. Their friends are annoyed by it and the children are out of control.

I agree with so very much of what you have said , but wanted to add that it truly does start with the individual . Sometimes I question people's motives for having children- ie. because it's expected ,they want little mini me's, their parents want grandchildren, they think it will be fun , etc.etc. In other words -it's like getting a kitten or a puppy -they don't look past that cuteness factor to the obligations and responibilities [not to say that children or pets aren't both cute and fun of course]. We have become such a self centered society with a need to have "everything' t" that we sned our children off to childcare , then schools , then the society at large , expecting them to learn all the societal values and norms , as well as to love and care about themselves and their families. We drown them in "things" to ease our guilt about the lack of time spent , when they become teenagers to often parents seem just happy to not have them underfoot [never mind where they are , and what they might be doing].I know many couples both have to work just to get by - but the basic system we live in is not working for many - not only do children suffer but we as a society will continue to deteriorate unless we start re-examing our choices . Greedy, self-centered, selfish behaviour will only lead to our extinction. I look at truly needy countries [without proper food and water , life's basics, and I think we are so very lucky to live here . I also think -it could have just as easily been us there and them here . We need to taech our children , and each other this - life is a privilege - not a right . For my part , I 've become more involved in things that will help the planet , help others, and try to always set a good example , be a good role model , and always appreciate being alive.

If you "tap" on the Pamper and gain control BEFORE they are 3, you never have to spank. You don't have to spank because you have established that YOU are in control, not them. YOU are the alpha male (or female). All you have to do is give them "they eye". Most of the time they will stop whatever they are doing because they KNOW what's coming.

I agree, if you get it wrong in the 1-3 years, the kids will pretty much be ruined. This is the time when a child learns boundaries, and a great deal of social skills. Discipline, follow through, and consistency are key. My head spins when I see how most children act. It is disgusting.

I agree. I also think that we are information overload so we heare about everylittle thing that goes on and that puts us at high alert to the bad behavior.

I think one of the things you stated is very true, the newer generation lacks a lot of love. I am from the "old school" and when I came home from school, my mom was home. If we acted out, we were chastized right there and then. There was never any wait until you get home or "please, behave or you are going to get time out." I can remember time out and trust me, I got it once or twice in my life, just enough to let me know what was what. I am successful today, intelligent and still respect my elders as I was taught. I have raised my children in this "old school" manner and have been chastized from teachers all the way down to my friends. Guess what, they have the standards of old. Give them love, but also let them know for every action causes a reaction; whether it be a good reaction for something done well or a bad reaction to something done bad. But we also got lots of love and kisses and time spent with mom and dad as well. I am proud of my children and would tell anyone, spare the rod and spoil the child....you may even raise someone who will use the rod on you some day or even worse!!

Above all else, let me say you are a far braver soul than I am, to be teaching in an "urban high school" today.

You're 100% right.

I don't believe that children are inherently selfish. My own children never showed this behavior, EVER, but then they never went to day care.

I've taught in a few public high schools. The awful trend I noticed immediately was that school has morphed into a giant day care center. Too many kids go to school to listen to music, play cards, fight, and get into trouble rather than to actually learn something.

When you consider that the graduation rate for some public high schools is barely over 50%, the magnitude of the failure becomes glaringly obvious.

I told my worst behaved class straight out - if they expected to hold any kind of job, let alone go to college, they had to grow up in a hurry.

And the majority of the problem is definitely the parents' fault.

Hate to disagree with you, but my children know they are loved, I have stayed home with them. They expect me to do everything for them as "I have no life" that is what I am told or what time they want their laundry done by. I have stood up in court an told the judge if I can not spank my children then you need to take them. I kept my children. Now let me tell you about the school here. One daughter was sexually haressed by her teacher, they put a note in his file. Another daughter quit diving team as the diving coach is a pervert. Put note in his file too. There is no drug testing, one teacher (diving coach talks about doing shrooms, and what he likes his wife to do with whipped cream. Nothing is done with him. Laws have taken control away from the parents. If I talked to my Mother the way my kids to me I would have been picking my self up off floor. Parents fault my @##!!!!

Roughnecklady - I'm not sure which school you sent your kids to, but it's a great argument for state and federal oversight of our nation's public school system.

Laws have taken control away from the parents. If I talked to my Mother the way my kids to me I would have been picking my self up off floor.

There's no law against disciplining your own kids. Maybe if you had laid down the law early, your kids wouldn't talk to you so disrespectfully.

You mentioned in passing that you went to court and bravely gave the judge an ultimatum, presumably to retain custody of your children or keep them out of juvenile prison.

Although the circumstances that led to a court room are no one's business but yours, my conclusion is that something went terribly wrong in your family life long before the case went to trial.

I'm not laying all the blame on parents or any other party, but before a child hits age 18, the burden of legal resposibility falls on the parents or guardian. No two ways about it.

Christie----Just retired from teaching and you are only partly right. Our schools today focus on process-----how to----not what and why? All things take place in groups and the dependent menatality is perpetuated by allowing those who can't to depend on those who can. The kid never learns to do anything on his own ( why, when you can just depend on someone else to do it for you)This type of thinking fosters the entitlement mentality and makes many kids believe that if they aren't entertained in school, they don't have to learn anything. There is no responsibility, individualism or restraint. It's wonderful for the politicians--just look at how they all manipulate the average person, but it stinks for the growth of a culture and country. Manners--why? Respect---why? What's in it for me,and how does it make me happy? American mantra---2009 !

M.Fisher. I have actually heard children tell their parents, "If you touch me, I will have you arrested." The parent then gives in to some of the most nightmarish behavior imaginable. Money taken from them, cursed at, slapped and even put on punishment themselves. My teenager sees this in awe, takes a look at me and knows better. She even finds it disgusting when she sees another child treating their parents with so much disrespect and has even discontinued her association with them. I don't believe in slamming children against a wall, burning, using a closed fist to correct children, but come on, a good ole' fashion switch......"go outside and get me a switch" will straigthen a kid up quick!

You couldn't have said it better. Kids are taught in an early age that if a parent so much as threathens to spank you, they should call the police. My brothers and sisters and I grew up with the switch and I can say that none of us have ever been in trouble with the law.

My daughter told her teacher in the first grade that I spanked her, (no I didn't mark her) and the next thing I know I had a social worker coming to my home investigating child abuse. The funny thing is, he took one look at my home and started laughing because he saw that she was far from an abused child.

I SOOO Agree. I grew up with the paddle and Dad's belt. My brother's and I, though, were not abused. We deserved it and learned our lesson. Children were not included in decision making or every party or adult conversation in my family. You just did what you were told and too bad, and yet we were a very close family. None of us has emotional issues and we lead successful lives, and learned to earn what we wanted. I have a friend who spanked her child beside her car at CVS, next she knew the police rolled up and nearly arrested her because someone in the store called. A paddle on the behind is not abuse and people should mind their own business. Now I have a niece who throws temper tantrums and has told her mother she will call the police if she doesn't get her way. Time to stop "time outs" and treat children like they should be treated-as children.

M.Fisher,

I agree, chidren are out of control. While I believe all children, regardless of of generation, have self-centeredness about them (this is natural, as empathy is learned behavior), the problem is, it isn't corrected. Parents try to be the kid's "pal". You are not their, pal, you're their parent!!!! Children are not taught basic manners, empathy, or social skills. I think this also has to do with parents' need to compete with each other. They have to have the smartest, prettiest, most successful children-- and they will refuse to see any fault in their precious offspring. Instead of disciplining their child, they yell at teachers, for not grading their child with an A. They will yell at the coach, who does not play their child. It's always something exterior that is to blame. As a result, children don't learn that their feelings come from within them and, that their choices are made in their own minds. It's always "someone else's fault". This is called Narcissism.

However, I strongly disagree that spanking is an acceptable way to discipline a child. I do not believe in beating a child into submission. It teaches that violence is how one gets their way. Besides, hitting another person is assault in the eyes of the law. Why should it be any different for a child?

I was born on the cusp of Generation X and Y. I was certainly not spoiled in the way Gen Y children are perceived to be. In fact spanked as a child. It did nothing, but instill fear and shame in me. I had no confidence in myself, between bullying at school, my father's physical and emotional abuse, and my mother's unrealistic expectations of me. I developed anorexia as teenager. I also cut myself. I grew up to be a very neurotic adult. I also grew to hate and resent my parents. The absense of self-esteem led to my involvments in abusive relationships-- and falling victim to 2 rapes. It has been through many years of therapy that I've come to terms with my past and have been able to move on.

My point is that building a child's self-esteem IS important. But it shouldn't be the only thing. That and humiliating a child does not work.

However, I strongly disagree that spanking is an acceptable way to discipline a child. I do not believe in beating a child into submission. It teaches that violence is how one gets their way. Besides, hitting another person is assault in the eyes of the law. Why should it be any different for a child?

Spanking is not beating. Maybe your father did beat you, which I agree is wrong, but the spanking the vast majority of parents did to their children did not even make the skin red.

Judging by the fact that you can go around and ask older people if they were spanked or not most will say yes and they won't say it 'scared' them.

For the record I was spanked several times, have never gotten into a fight myself, never comited a felony, and love my parents deeply.

Spanking is absolutely not the same thing as "beating." Spanking is not abuse. Spanking, when properly administered, is the most effective form of discipline which exists for young children. When they're out of line, a simple swat for a very young one, or perhaps a sharp stinging slap in response to disrespect, is perfectly appropriate.

When this nation got it all confused that any form of corporal punishment was equivalent to child abuse, we turned over the keys to a generation of tiny Napoleons who now think they are entitled to do or say anything they want with absolute impunity.

Parents need to be re-empowered. Principals need to be re-empowered. And young folks need to be taught a healthy sense of respect for authority. And yes, that even goes so far as actual fear of the paddle. With out it, they grow up with deluded notion that THEY are the authority. Without any fear of consequences, young folks believe there no consequences. To any of their actions. And that's a recipe for disaster.

As far as this spanking debate goes, let me just put in a little actual academic research.......generally, the research shows that spanking is NOT an effective form of discipline. Having limits, enforcing rules, having consequences, holding accountable.......all of those things are effective disciplinary strategies. MOST people that spank do so when they are angry not when they are calm and that has been shown unequivocably to be a bad choice and not useful in the psychological research. Time outs can work but they must be used appropriately, immediately and with consistency. Parents frequently fail by being too lax, too inconsistent and wanting to be friends vs. parents. Use the word NO. Stick by it. Teach your children manners, don't allow them to take things from others, hit, mouth off, or not participate in family responsibilities such as age appropriate chores. Teach your kids to be responsible citizens and they will be fine as adults. Giving into everything with no limits, no structure, no rules, no consequences and no thought about other people does NOT set them up for a positive adult life experience. Children need and crave structure and limitations. They are testing you! They want you to uphold those limits so they feel safe. People need to recognize there are many many many effective parenting strategies that do not include corporal punishment (which does only teach kids that if you are bigger than the rules about hitting don't apply to you). BTW, I'm a Gen Xer psychologist and if the parents would only come in, I could be busier than I'd ever want focusing ONLY on parenting coaching.

AMEN sombody who knows what you're talking about. I teach at an elementary school and couldn't agree more. Kids who have no consequences will keep on pushing the envelope to see what they can get away with. And about spanking...how can you teach a child not to hit by hitting them?????? that has never made sense to me. I was raised without violence and so were my children...none of us have hadschildren who hit others.

DrB

The spanking research led to the widely used "timeout".....a practice that has ushered in a generation of mouthy, ill mannered brats who routinely ruin family outings for OTHER people. My son got spanked as a child....hes a healthy, well adjusted young man with a lovely year old daughter now.....and he called me one day to THANK me for teaching him good manners and yes....even for the occasional spanking....I am terribly proud of my son...he holds down a good job in which he is advancing.....and has a good home life with wife and child.

My husband and I run a ranch where people board their horses....they bring their mouthy, foul tempered, demanding brats here for lessons.....and let me tell you I can pick out the "timeout" kids from the kids with some discipline within the first two lessons. Spanking works. Telling your child NO works. Teaching your child that they are NOT entitled to everything they want and that they ARE responsible for their behaviour is a must.

kinda think your full of bs. my kids responded better and behavior was not repeated with spanking. Time out what a joke. I was not my kids "buddy" when they were growing up. My youngest is 16 now and she wasn't spanked I should have as compared to her other siblings she is rude mouthy disrespectful.

If you're a college educated snob with a PhD in psychology, maybe you've got the time, intelligence and focus to setup all those perfect little systems of rules, consequences, behavioral expectations and the rest of that clap trap. But for most harried, overworked, overstressed and basically unsophisticated parents, the simplest most effective approach is the corporal one.

You couldn't have said it better. Kids are taught in an early age that if a parent so much as threathens to spank you, they should call the police.

I went to spank by daughter for her rude behavior. Within ten minutes after I put my hands on her shoulders and told her I was going to spank her, I had a knock on the front door from the Sherriff. A 15-minute interview ensued with my daughter and I was hauled off to jail for "Domestic assault and battery". I was released two days later with a no contact order. I ended up staying at my brother in in-laws house and because of the arrest I stood the possibility of losing my job.

In the meantime child services came and interview everyone and found no signs of domestic abuse and in their findings, reported to the court "that my daughter is a manipulative, intrusive and overbearing teen who considers no-one but herself."

It was two months before the Prosecution dropped the charges and I was able to move back in to my own house.

I told my daughter that if this ever happens again, next time I would ensure she gets a spanking before the police arrive.

What about parents who make excuses such as "he's tired" , "he is out of his element?" or the best yet "he is just expressing his frustration." Why not teach them how to effectively deal with that instead of letting them rule the roost. All it took was a look from my dad...spanking never hurt me but it did embarrass me and made me think twice about that behavior again. It was a last resort, but it was an option.

I agree with you both. Parents are too busy blaming everyone and everything around them for something that "happened" to their kid that they don't think of the possibility that it could have been theirs or their kid's fault.

I remember when I worked in the mall about 8 years ago, and a family consisting of 2 children in strollers, their mother, and their grandmother came in. I was talking with them, and all of a sudden, the 3 or 4 year old boy turns to his grandmother and tells her to shut up. When I told him (automatically, without even thinking) not to tell his grandmother to shut up, she laughed it off and said that he's just a kid. I'd have gotten spanked (at the VERY least) for talking to ANYONE like that, let alone my nuclear elders, which would have earned me a smack on the mouth/face for even daring to give my parents/grandparents such attitude.

And yeah, spanking never hurt anything but my pride. If I was threatened with a spanking, you'd better believe I did it, and knowing I was going to get a smack if I talked back was a good incentive to not do it. I think it's ridiculous nowadays that parents cannot lightly spank their kids for fear of being brought up on charges of child abuse. It's certainly turning the generations after mine (I am within the latter part of Gen X) into spoiled, self-entitled brats who have been taught that they can act however they want with no consequences.

it is Obnoxious FYI Mr wizard.

And I hope they would make a law that applies to nasty rude OLD people also. Especially the dirty old men who wander by and fart just so they can laugh and shuffle off to their next victim!

Your comments describe exactly the thinking that this article is talking about. It's not only the abnormal behavior being displayed. I'm wondering if you were ever taught a sense of being proper. I wonder if others around you would describe you as being a good coach, parent, employee. Maybe your son's behavior that time really was that bad and you just don't see it? Tough to hear, I know, and sorry to be judgemental, but your comments really make me wonder.

It doesn't matter if his kid's behavior was really atrocious, short him of kicking the guy or preparing to jump off a ledge or something equally dangerous.

If you have a problem with a kid's behavior, you may speak to the child ("Please don't play on the escalator; people need to use it!") or you may speak to the parent ("Please control your children. I couldn't get off/on the escalator because they were in the way.")

It's never appropriate to grab a stranger's child. How would they know you aren't a child molestor or something?

bencas

I really think it depends on the individual. To make a blanket statement that they are all spoiled is not realistic. I do see many parents with unreasonable expectations. God forbid your child has a bad day, they make it seem like a personal attack on them and their family! I had an instance where my son misbehaved, and another adult physically grabbed him. He was a stranger! So there I was, having to discipline my son and report the adult to the police. The adult could not beleive that everyone did not value his significance. It is amazing. I have seen kids in sports, I do coach, do things that are considered vandalism and the parents would leave it to me to discipline while questionning how I knew it was their kid. I have seen kids take attitudes and use language that is inappropriate in addition to the above.

But these are not the norm. Alot of the kids do back down to authority. Most adults do respect the rights of others and realize their child is not the only child. Most parents do discipline. I think the attention is focused on the abnormal behavior thus being the exception. I can assure you, I was not an angel or always respectful as a child. My parents did discipline me and I am a good employee. I am in my forties and do not see the change that others are describing. I just see that as adults we have a different perspective.

Why did the adult physically grab him? This is a very important detail.

just me-751229

It's never appropriate to grab a stranger's child. How would they know you aren't a child molestor or something?

If somebody's kid physically attacks me, I'm gonna touch him back. He'll know I'm not a child molester because instead of grabbing his crotch, I'm gonna pop him in the mouth.

Wow, these are the same "adults" that cry and whine if a small child bumps into them at the mall but have no qualms about stepping on a 4 year old's hand ON PURPOSE at a parade because he was trying to pick up a tossed cheap necklace that they wanted. Actually happened- big fat Boomer woman stomped on my 4 year old son's hand and ground it into the pavement because he tried to pick up a necklace she believed was thrown to her! Because remember it is all about ME ME ME with those Boomers. Pathetic lot!

Disgusting world we live in when we villify children for behaving like children and condone childish behavior by so called adults simply because they comprise the largest voting bloc in the nation. Shame on all you supposed "adults".

You have no problem knocking my kids over with your big ugly purses when you turn around and clop them in the head- without even bothering to say you are sorry. You have no problem swinging your cigarettes back and forth in a crowd and narrowly missing my 3 year old's eye at the zoo. (And PS I am a smoker, so this comment is not about smokers- it is about RUDE people!) You have no problem with running my child over and hurting her leg at Disney with your stupid motorized scooter and then having the NERVE to yell at her to watch where she is going when you were the one behind her! You have no problem inducing asthma attacks in my 14 year old with your hateful nasty perfume! You have no problem being a plague of locusts which believes the world belongs to you while systematically vilifying and degrading your children and grandchildren for your own self aggrandizement, yet you have the NERVE to demand Respect!?

LOL! Dream on! All your generation has earned is contempt.

wow you worry about perfume causing your child's asthma attacks and you are a smoker?? WOW. cigarette smoke and asthma don't mix and going outside to smoke doesn't help since you drag your carcenogenic asthma inducing particles back in with you on your clothing and hair and hands. You child has asthma because of you, or at least they are as bad as he/she is thanks to you constantly exposing them to irritating substances. Not trying to offend you here I am an ex-smoker, it's just the facts ask your doctor. I quit smoking when I learned I was pregnant and never went back.. yes it was hard, but how do you tell your teenager don't do what I do then light up another?

ummm easy, you say "Dont be stupid like I am" not that hard. And perfume is her trigger not cigarettes anyway.

And perfume is her trigger not cigarettes anyway.

If you want your child's asthma to worsen, then by all means, keep smoking cigarettes around her.

There's a ton of research that shows a direct relationship between exposure to second hand smoke and childhood asthma.

You have no problem being a plague of locusts which believes the world belongs to you while systematically vilifying and degrading your children and grandchildren for your own self aggrandizement, yet you have the NERVE to demand Respect!?

Where do you live? It makes Dante's Inferno sound like Disney World.

Either that or your parents/grandparents were evil, and you're venting your inner anger by condemning millions of people based on the rotten behavior of a few.

Relax. Try the patch or some nicotine gum.

Where does it say I smoke around my child? Oh that's right- it DOESN'T- DUHHH because I don't. And like I said- perfume is her trigger anyway, and there is no way to avoid that in public. But thanks for attempting to follow along with what is actually written, I know it must be hard for someone of limited intelligence.

Where does it say I smoke around my child?

I clarified my statement by emphasizing that second hand smoke - including the chemicals that stick to your clothes - is linked to childhood asthma.

In any event, there is no debate today that cigarette smoke is harmful to everyone's health. If you want to be around to see your daughter grow up, why not try to quit smoking?

Then comes a real laugh:

Perfume is her trigger anyway, and there is no way to avoid that in public.

Please say you're kidding. Except for perfume stores, when was the last time you were in close proximity to an overpowering perfume odor from which there was no escape (like moving ten feet away)?

What can I tell you? Avoid shopping malls and that should solve 99% of the problem.

My grandson also tests every limit, and usually without punishment. He throws, yells and ignores, and get away with bad behavior--- all because they want to communicate instead of parent. They are to guide and lead when it counts. Friendship will come along with respect soon enough.

Well, you are the ones who raised your own kids to be these horrible parents, so what does that say about YOUR parenting?

it wasn't ever a spanking - just the THREAT of a spanking that would bring us back in line.

Physical discipline is NEVER a good option.  There are so many alternatives...you can yell, get furious, strongly rebuke and of course, revoke privileges and enforce consequences, as long as you stick to your guns and are consistent.  They'll work at least as well as spanking and won't teach that violence is a way to dominate another individual or resolve conflict.

Child abusers don't understand why subsequent generations who finally break the cycle of abuse don't abuse their children.

Bottom line- just because you were abused (Greatest Generation), and just because your kids (Baby Boomers) abused your grandkids (Gen X) does NOT mean we (Gen X) will continue the cycle of abuse and continue by abusing our kids (Gen Y).

Too bad if you don't like it. We did not appreciate being abused and we refuse to abuse our kids just because you tell us we should.

You were wrong. Abuse is never warranted. Deal with it. We have.

You're one of the parents they are talking about in the article...I am a GenX parent, and my children do get the ocassional single swat on the tush. I think that's LOTS nicer than yelling at them. But, I also give them warnings and time-outs before, and I tell them that if they continue to choose naughty behavior, then they are choosing a tushie swat. If they continue, they will get a swat. Somehow, even if it's not hard, and doesn't hurt, it works...they still think it's the worst thing in the whole world. I think it hurts their feelings more than anything.

Well if I am one of the parents they are talking about in the article (And they are talking about ALL Gen X parents and ALL Gen Y kids) in the article, then so be it. That does not change the fact that the Baby Boomers have always hated children, be it their own which they refused to raise or now their grand-kids.

PS- My kids are ages 20, 14 and 3 and always get complimented on how nice, polite, well behaved etc they are. But then again, that is from people who do not fundamentally hate children.

That does not change the fact that the Baby Boomers have always hated children, be it their own which they refused to raise or now their grand-kids.

Perhaps the Baby Boomer people you know hated children. But to claim that the entire generation was a bunch of selfish, abusive misanthropes is down right babyish.

In the words of a very annoying therapist who got his start on Oprah, "Get over it."

BJK- I forgot. Only Baby Boomers are allowed to make gross generalizations, like the article or most of the posts on this board from Baby Boomers lamenting the worthlessness of Generation X and Y. I will try to remember my place in the future and not speak in generalities unless I am given express permission to do so.

< Rolling Eyes > < Dripping Sarcasm >

I know parenting and childhood behavioral problems seem to be sensitive subjects for many people.

I just don't see how it's helpful to single out the Baby Boomers or any other generation as the modern incarnations of Sodom and Gomorrah.

I know a few Baby Boomers who fit the awful profile you describe. Something tells me their own parents were lazy, selfish, and/or abusive. Bad parenting has existed since day one; no argument there.

The observation that many on this site make is not that some teens act in immature, self defeating, or violent ways, but rather how pervasive these behaviors have become compared to fifty years ago.

I remember a comment one of my teachers made long ago: a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. At some point in the 20th century, the chain of decorum and family unity broke for too many people. A vacuum opened up that was soon filled by pathologies ranging from gangs and drugs to underage sex and violent video games.

That's why so many people in Generation X and Y are in trouble today - partly due to the Baby Boomers' failures and partly due to their own maladaptive decisions.

I don't care how "scared" and "insecure" some punk kid might be. It doesn't give him the right to lash out at people around him.

There are no differences in opportunity, either. Knowledge is right there in schools and libraries, to be learned if one wishes to learn it. These kids are lazy and do not value education so they do not bother. That's part of the reason they grunt like animals instead of speaking.

They doom themselves.

Solidox, I certainly don't overlook horrible behavior. But most of my college students are working full-time, trying to go to school full-time, and are desperate to improve themselves. I have several who were damaged in Iraq and struggle with overwhelming problems as a result.

In most cases, their parents all worked in factories that have been razed, and our area is a dead end for job-seekers.

Have you actually TALKED with young people like this? I do it every day. Angry ranting doesn't help this generation; you actually have to CARE.

becca-1083292

Solidox, I certainly don't overlook horrible behavior. But most of my college students are working full-time, trying to go to school full-time, and are desperate to improve themselves. I have several who were damaged in Iraq and struggle with overwhelming problems as a result.

In most cases, their parents all worked in factories that have been razed, and our area is a dead end for job-seekers.

Have you actually TALKED with young people like this? I do it every day. Angry ranting doesn't help this generation; you actually have to CARE.

I've gone to school with them, lived around them, dealt with them in stores and on streets, and see them everywhere I go. When I was younger, I was frequently victimized by them; their type. I know them very, very well.

You say they're desperate to improve themselves; have they, though? How often do you hear one of them talk about how he "wants to be better" and "wants to do the right thing" and then proceeds to impregnate a bunch of girls, use recreational drugs his mind can't handle, and shirk his responsibilities for the sake of entertainment and "fun"? I don't buy the idea that people are simultaneously "desperate" and committed to improving themselves and their lives whilst engaging in acts that worsen the whole situation.

There are plenty of avenues of support for people who cannot get support from their parents. We have extensive welfare programs, grants for education and business, and a slew of resources victims of crime. Anyone who wants to get out of a bleak situation can do so if he's serious about it, and makes the effort to meet with the local government and inquire about his options for assistance. I've lived in two countries and many different states, and I've never seen such a situation where a person literally had no other choice than to resort to crime as a means of survival. I've certainly never seen a situation wherein harboring a complete lack of respect for other human beings could possibly help; and I've never met a person (who wasn't in medical custody of the state) who didn't know better. Fact is, most of them simply do not care. They don't care about others, and they don't care about themselves.

A family friend began working at my old high school, a few years after I left it, as a teacher/counselor for recidivist students. I've heard plenty of horrible sob stories and none of them facilitated a justification, quantification, qualification or reason of any sort for the behavior that landed them in the program. I'm not at all sheltered to the reality of their backgrounds but I will never observe it as a means of excusing their behavior or their attitudes.

As far as whether or not I care... I'll be honest with you. I do not care about people who choose to be rude, violent, and destructive. Not one bit. I also do not care why they're acting as they are; like I said above, to me there is no justification for bad behavior or a terrible, entitled attitude.

I bet Solidox was raised with the opportunity to be abused for every minor infraction which comes with being a child. Obviously empathy was something he never learned, nor was compassion. You want to speak of knowledge Solidox, yet you are ignorant of the facts to which you attempt to speak, because of narrow minded self absorption. You can go read all the books and take all the classes you want, and you will never learn empathy because you are a hate filled person.

Good luck, you appear to need it.

justme-365250

I bet Solidox was raised with the opportunity to be abused for every minor infraction which comes with being a child. Obviously empathy was something he never learned, nor was compassion. You want to speak of knowledge Solidox, yet you are ignorant of the facts to which you attempt to speak, because of narrow minded self absorption. You can go read all the books and take all the classes you want, and you will never learn empathy because you are a hate filled person.

Good luck, you appear to need it.

1) I'm not a "he", so already you're off to a bad start with your stereotyping.

2) What are "minor infractions that come with being a child"? This statement is effectively meaningless since not all children are the same, behave the same, or have parents that hold the same standards of behavior.

3) I didn't learn either empathy or compassion. Either are innate to me but I don't waste them. I certainly don't dispense them to others by default. If you want empathy or compassion from me, you're going to have to earn it.

4) How is anything I said indicative of "narrow minded self absorption"? I've been complaining ABOUT people who, specifically, are self-absorbed to the point of behaving in such ways as to inflict various levels of suffering on people around them. The supposition that I'm "narrow minded and self absorbed" seems to indicate that you'd benefit from some reading comprehension courses.

5) You can't learn empathy by "reading books and taking classes". I don't even know why you'd infer such a scenario as it makes absolutely no sense and does not pertain in the slightest to what I've been talking about.

6) For what do I need luck? Again, does not pertain to the discussion.

Additionally, for you to be railing on other people for being self-absorbed is absolutely ridiculous given that you smoke around your asthmatic child. That has to be the paramount of hypocrisy and self-absorption. Aren't you aware of the proven effects of secondhand and sidestream tobacco smoke exposure on children, particularly those prone to respiratory inflammation?

It's a mute question, though, isn't it? Because you're so self-absorbed and ignorant you'll choose your revolting tobacco habit over the health and wellbeing of your own child. Disgusting.

Your ridiculous account of the social conditions of your locality makes it sound like you've chosen to live in a trailer park or some kind of ghetto. If the people there are so bad, do yourself and your kid a favor and move.

I care about my students; I want them to be successful. I'm a Gen Xer who never had any money growing up, doesn't have any money now, graduated into a recession, twice, and has been told I can't expect to retire before I am 72. My parents never got down on the floor and played with me, baked cookies so they'd be there when I got home from school, gave me money and left me at a mall, or thought that it was more important that I be happy all the time rather than be ready to get along with others with diverse beliefs from diverse background. And yet, somehow I know my parents loved ms and still love me. I often turn to them for advice in being more successful in my job and I still recognize that even though I am tech savy and younger there are things they know that I don't and experiences they have that I haven't had yet. On the other hand, they respect me for the things, a a techie I know more about.

In my professional life, I am often discouraged from telling the truth--which I am very kind about--because parents will complain and threaten to sue the school and from asking students to do anything that might not be considered fun. I have also been encouraged as my students refuse to do work, give up social engagements, or buy textbooks to feel sorry for them because even though they have more descretionary money and possessions in their teens and twenties than I have every had to feel sorry them because they won't graduate and be able to have these lives. I have been told that instead of teaching them how to learn, we should strive to conform to them to the point where it seems a semster will never end because of incompletes and we are expected to spend more time worrying about making students happy than we are making sure we have given them what they need to know and a resonable opportunity to learn it. I want my students to be successful and I would rather not be their favorite teacher now and have them come back later as many of them do and thank me for helping prepare for a world that is not necessarily going to be willing or able to conform to them.

As someone who recognizes that I will be a grown up for far, far longer than I was child, I will admit that I am growing tired of being told that I should be understanding when children are loud and disruptive in public because children will be children. There are always, thank God, going to be children. Just because the children in question grow up doesn't mean we can all breathe a sigh of relief and eat in restaurants without defending our food or wearing earplugs or fly in a plane without wishing our seat was out on the wing.

I believe there is a happy medium between not curbing a child's youthful enthusiasm and allowing a child to grow up without reasonable limits for public behavior. I also believe, especially since I have run into some pretty rude adults of various ages, that parents should be aware that not all people are going to look out for the children around them, either because they are selfish or even because they expect that parents will protect their children from situations where there is a chance they might get hurt. Our children are the only thing in the outside world we have any real control over. I try hard to look out for children and have never intentionally caused harm to one. I have on occasion tried to talk to a parent or child-- last Friday I helped a sales clerk cope with a group of four teenagers who were goofing around in a dressing room. The saleswoman asked, yes politely, as the last teenager exited the dressing room if they had brought everything out and the girl almost spit on her with indignation at the question. Her friends, still talking non-stop in their cell phones, came up behind her as though she was being physically threatened in a way that was menacing to the clerk. "Oh no! There were was nothing left in the dressing rooms." Yeah, nothing but twenty-two bras left on the floor and hangers everywhere. Did they buy anything? No. However, they did leave clothes throughout the store in their wake and cover all the faucets in the ladies room with liquid soap. And no, I did not yell at the little kid who was ran into me while running around the racks in the lady's section or even give him the evil eye although my parents rule was hold onto the cart, hold my hand, don't touch anything and we are not here to buy anything for you, unless that was what we were there for.

Yeah, my parents spanked me, and it was something I responded to, although it wasn't a good fit for my brother. My most successful school experiences were at catholic school where the good sisters cared about me enough to tell me when I was rude or even down right wrong. Were they always on the mark? No, but then sometimes bad things happen to good people. I had a cousin who was murdered in Texas because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time--inside a bagel store--real life proof of this. Do I hit others? Never. I don't equate being punished as promised as a free pass to hit people because they are annoying, unreasonable, or downright nasty even though I deal with this every day.

I take care of things at home my parents no longer can, shovel for my next door neighbor just because she is retired and it's thing to do, and I find that being kind to others in public makes me feel good. The rest, for my own sanity, I try to ignore.

Respectfully,

Frankly Frank

I am a baby boomer and my mother was a part of the Greatest Generation. She didn't babysit my children because she wanted to be their grandmother, not some day-care worker. I don't babysit either. I don't want to be put into the role of disciplinarian for my grandchildren. I want to enjoy them; not ride herd on them. Parents today, no matter how wealthy, use their own parents as a free babysitting service. "FREEBEEEE" and I think it's wrong. Totally wrong. Grandparents have already reared their children and worked their entire lives. It's time for them to enjoy their lives with each other.

Seriously?! If anyone ever tried to correct someone else's kid in public that is misbehaving the parent would be absolutely irate.

And if someone's family doesn't want to babysit that's an internal family issue and in no way indicative of society as a whole. Is it really you're extended family and friend's role to step in and babysit for you every now and then? And if you believe it is and you're friends are doing it, then find friends that will. A child is the parent's responsibility, not extended family's or friend's responsibility.

AMEN! I FOUND BABYSITTERS FOR MY CHILDREN AND PAID THEM. If you are too stingy to pay a person to stay with your children, it's your problem. Not mine.

As a Baby Boomer you know that you could live on one income while you were raising your children. And if you choose to send them to daycare I can guarantee you that it did not cost what it does today.

And since we are generalizing, the Greatest Generation seemed to be more willing to "step up" and help their children out and were a HUGE part of our lives. All I am saying is that I do not see the same dedication to parenting (and now grandparenting) in Baby Boomers that the Greatest Generation had. Sorry, but it is true.

Boomers are the first selfish generation and now want to live in Florida and make their own personal Viagra commericals! Then sit at a desk and blast away at the youth of today without doing anything to help. And many say it was their generation that began the downward slide you are moaning about...

How about the fact that all these Boomers are bashing Gen Xers WHO ARE THEIR OWN KIDS! What does that say about THEIR parenting that they raised kids that they now have little respect for?

Which generation began it is not the issue. The issue is how to fix a problem that has gotten progressively worse, culminating in this current mess. Also, while everyone would agree that financially it's quite difficult these days, that does not excuse parents from raising their kids correctly and it certainly does not mean that other family members or friends have any responsibility to step in and help out. It's a persons job to make sure that they are financially secure enough to have a kid in the first place.

since when is it a Grandparents duty to babysit? or why is it the job of the rest of the world to raise someone's kids? it may "take a village to raise a child" but it is NOT my freaking responsibility nor is it your parents responsibility to raise YOUR children. grow up sweetie

AmandaMarie

since when is it a Grandparents duty to babysit? or why is it the job of the rest of the world to raise someone's kids? it may "take a village to raise a child" but it is NOT my freaking responsibility nor is it your parents responsibility to raise YOUR children. grow up sweetie

Totally agreed! God, these people need to actually THINK about these things BEFORE they decide to start breeding. Your kids are you own damned fault and responsibility and noone else's. Why is it so hard for these people to understand?

I agree that the important thing is how to fix this issue not who started it. However I see so many grandparents, and people from the baby boomer generation on here saying how horrible the current generation of young people are and bashing them it makes me very sad. Instead of talking to your children who are raising your grandchildren you are going online and blogging about it and about how awful your grandkids are. I have a very difficult time understanding you’re rational for your actions. Get off the computer and try to do something about it, talk to your children about their parenting techniques, I do not see what complaining online is going to accomplish. By the way I am from the generation of “spoiled, stuck up, rude” people that you are talking about, but I work very hard for what I have and to provide for my children. And my wife and I are lucky enough to have parents who volunteer to watch our children from time to time and we are very grateful to them for that and try to repay them as often as they accept it from us. Please do not generalize about a whole generation when you see poor parenting talk to the parent, especially if the parent is your child!

Fedup- I agree with your statements. However, honestly, I believe the kids are better off with little interest from their grandparents (Baby Boomers) because look at the great job they did raising us! All they have told us our entire lives is how much we suck at EVERYTHING and how spoiled, entitled, stupid etc etc etc ad nauseaum we are.

Why would we want our own children exposed to these type of people? I sure don't want my kids exposed to these type of people if I can help it. They are nothing but destructive. I prefer productive or constructive over what they have to offer.

solidox

AmandaMarie

since when is it a Grandparents duty to babysit? or why is it the job of the rest of the world to raise someone's kids? it may "take a village to raise a child" but it is NOT my freaking responsibility nor is it your parents responsibility to raise YOUR children. grow up sweetie

Totally agreed! God, these people need to actually THINK about these things BEFORE they decide to start breeding. Your kids are you own damned fault and responsibility and noone else's. Why is it so hard for these people to understand?

Spoken like the true Baby Boomers who did not even raise their own children, but rather left them home alone to raise themselves, then complain that TV did not do a good enough job. You created the Lord of the Flies, but then you have the balls to complain about how we raised ourselves? Wacky. Really. There is something really wrong with your generation mentally. I really pity you all.

And now, after not raising your own kids, you have the nerve to complain about how we are ACTUALLY raising your grandkids? Maybe you think your grandkids are spoiled brats and you think we are bad parents because:

1- You don't know what a real kid is like because you were too busy partying or working or whatever mattered to YOU to actually bother with your kid.

2- You didn't parent your own kids, so you would not know what parenting REALLY was if it came up and bit you on the @ss!

3- You just fundamentally hate kids but you did not have the nerve to get a back alley abortion, so you ended up "stuck" with us and you have resented and taken it out on us for "ruining" your lives for our whole lives. Get over it!

4- Baby Boomers do not value children. They value Power, money and material items. So it is a foreign concept to you that Gen X actually values our kids instead of the things you value.

Hope your money and posessions come to your funeral, because we probably won't and then your "friends" will say "How RUDE your kids and grandkids were." It is not us. It is you. Even though you prefer to blame us.

Wow you really must have had a tough childhood justme-365250 to detest your parents that much that you wouldn't want them around your children. Makes me thankful my kids and their spouses turned out different than you. And fwiw they are raising their kids the same way.

I'd suggest you go back and read your post again. You bitterly complain about nothing productive being done or constructive being said ever by the baby boomer generation. Yet here I am half way down a page and having read every single one of your posts above, I have yet to find anything productive or constructive said by YOU.

Thankfully you're not representative at all of the majority of your generation. But like the old adage goes: Exceptions make the rule.

Justme-365250 -

You are one angry person. Wow. I've been reading down the blog here and your posts are just venomous. I think it's a mistake to lump in ALL Baby Boomers with your satement that they have told us our entire lives us much we suck...how spoiled, entitled, stupid, etc. we are. That isn't true of every Baby Boomer parents. What a huge generalization you've made here.

I had two loving, caring, kind Baby Boomer parents. They weren't perfect, but they did the best they could. Essentially, the person I became really boiled down to who I chose to be. My father was raised with a father who had non-English speaking immigrants for parents. Cold and distant because that is their culture. His mother came from dirt poor, also immigrant farmers. My mother's mother was given up to an orphanage and reared in foster homes and her father had a dad who was elderly when he was born and a mother who died young. Did any of these "Greatest Generation" folks have rock star parenting abilities? No. They fought a war, worked hard, lost babies, brothers, sisters, pioneered and tried the best they could.

It sounds like you may have had a horrible parenting example and were not parented properly, but the choice is yours. You can lay aside those poisonous words and thoughts of yours and move on. You don't have to chose to hold accountable those that let you down. You're only damaging yourself with continuing to harbor unforgiveness and hatred.

Not all Baby Boomers are worthless. I personally know a wide variety of Baby Boomers and they've made their mistakes, just like we all have, but they contribute to society and to my life.

Everyone is doing the best that they can. We're all where we want to be by the choices we have made.

Well said Erica. I of course did not mean any generalization beyond the A typical generalizations made against MY generation by others such as the writer of this article.

In so far as my being angry goes, that is not the case. I personally could care less beyond the fact that everything that the Baby Boomers do has a direct impact on my life and now on my children's lives because they comprise the largest voting bloc in the nation, thereby they control not only public policy, but essentially every other aspect of daily life in this nation. That is what annoys me.

I will not sit idly by while one generation bashes their kids and now their grandkids without stating the opposing view of the situation. Sorry that you mistake the lack of a victim mentality for anger. Simply put, I refuse to go quietly away so that the Baby Boomers can continue their campaign to blame Gen X and now Gen Y for all the ills of society while they waltz away with total impunity by virtue of superior numbers.

There is so much anger here!!! I am amzed at the amount of venom you are putting out there about your own parents. I think generally everyone does the best they can. My parents figured out how to work and take care of us. They worked different shifts, one part time. When I had kids we figured out how to work it out for us. I worked at my kids school. I had the same time off as they did. Granted we never had money to go on vacation,buy all the toys, or have the newest car. that was OURchoice! I did not let my kids yell at me, hit me or be disrespectful to me or other people. It all starts at birth. If you teach your child from the very beginning that that is unacceptable behavior, they will not act that way when they are 6, 16, or 26!!! It is hard work to discipline a child but it pays off in the long run!!!

justme-365250, you again contradicted yourself. You complain about the generalizations made about Gen X yet you then turn around and still generalize about the Baby Boomers.

To me though the whole concept of generalization is inane. There are a multitude of factors involved in parenting. This article and your constant complaints only take into account the birth year of the parents. Age (and hopefully maturity), regional location, financial stability, amongst many factors all interact and cause different parenting styles.

All that being said, I am just glad that I live in a part of the country where kids still call elders, teachers, strangers, etc Ma'am and Sir. As a result they show respect and are treated with respect to a large part.

Wow, they're really ganging up on you Justme.

I'd like to back her up. I was born in 1980 to young parents, but they raised me with discipline. And while reading these posts I see a majority of it is older baby boomers blaming everything on Gen X and Y, while completely ignoring the fact that they raised Gen X and made them who they were. Many were so busy being selfish and getting wasted that there kids grew up damaged and in an attempt to not allow that kind of treatment to happen to there own kids, overcorrected and went off the deep end. And instead of helping, baby boomers just sit back and complain while racking up debt beyond comparision, debt that we in X and Y will have to pay back. So thanks for nothing.

And you too are generalizing. You think every Baby Boomer "got wasted"? That would be no different than Gen X stating that all Gen Y does is play video games. There have been incompetent parents since the beginning of time. There will be incompetent parents until the end of time. It's not generation specific.

Voter in LA, you miss the point. I generalize because there are generalizations being hurled at my generation and Gen Y now from the Baby Boomers. This has been going on since Gen X came to be. As long as broad generalizations are the preferred means of attacking Gen X and Y I will continue to respond in kind.

If this article had stated specifics instead of broad generalities about how badly Gen X and Y suck I would have addressed those specifics. However like most of these generational blame shifting articles the attack is broad, far reaching and directed at every member of this Generation and the next.

Mattin- thanks for the support and glad that you understand where my frustration is coming from :)

I am sorry that we (Gen X) could not do more to protect your generation from the excess of the previous generation. I am sorry that your generation will have to bear the brunt of the waste and greed that was the Baby Boomers, and that we were unable to stop them from bankrupting your generation before you even started working.

I'm a Gen Xer born in 1966 and my mother stayed home, but was miserable; my grandparents never, ever babysat; and none of my grandparents' or parents' generation were divorced, although half my great grandparents were. Divorced parents among my peers was almost non-existent. There was a fair mix of working and non-working mothers in my neighborhood. Only a very few made cookies or had a snack waiting whether they were home or not. No one had parents or grandparents who got down on the floor and played with them. Frankly, we wouldn't have wanted them to. We wanted to play our own games and experience things for ourselves. We climbed trees, flew down metal slides, and made up games with a handful of toys. One of my grandmothers did teach me to play cards and my mother took us to interesting places, made us take swimming lessons because swimming was a skill we should have, and my other grandmother taught my brother and I to love used bookstores.

My brother is afraid of his children. i'm not. Same parents, different people.

I am a baby boomer, and if I had kids today, I would be in jail. One thing I learned over the years is that you are not the center of the universe. Also, the world does not care about you. A person makes his own way in life, but life is unfair. Now having set these things, when you raise kids, you must convey these facts to them. and teach them to cope with it. And along the way, you must get your kid`s attention. Sometimes you have to physically smack them down. This is not abuse. If you do not teach a child how to deal with life, the result is a maladjusted adult. I remember the shock of what life really was when I entered boot camp in the late sixties.

Our children are entering a very violent, and trying times. Parents must prepare them for it. If they are not prepared, they will fail. If you spoil your children to death, you are doing them a great diservice.

GRocery stores are prime examples of this horrible behavior. One morning, I was grocery shopping and was hit broadside by a big grocery cart pushed by a running child. The mother was nowhere to be found, so I turned to him and , with a huge frown and deep voice, said, "I am the Kroger police and you cannot act that way in here". He sort of frowned and started to run off with the cart. I stopped him " I said, that is not allowed in this store. If you continue, your mother and you will be asked to leave and never come back". He starred at me for a moment , then walked slowly away. I saw them at the checkout and he was throwing a fit about a candy bar until he saw me. Then, he became quiet and left the store with his mother.

KIDS MUST HAVE BOUNDARIES. Otherwise it is anarchy and when they grow up, guess what kind of society we'll have.

Too right, Hamlet. My son, who is now a new parent, tried to act up like the other kids one day in the supermarket. I told him the next time he embarassed me, I would do the same to him.

The next trip, when he started running and climbing shelves, I waited till we were in an aisle filled with people, including kids, and called to him-by name, "Sweetie Pie, please come here and give Mommy a big kissy-poo!"

He NEVER embarassed me in public again!

We just left when our kids acted up. If they got home and had no milk for their breakfast cereal or no ice cream for dessert, I'd remind them why we didn't. Of course, I also tried to take only one child shopping at a time whenever possible, so they couldn't tag team me while I was teaching them manners. Not all parents have this option.

Hamlet,

Your comment cracked me up. That is a fantastice idea that I may try..

Well Javabean, you just witnessed a kid who's likely to grow up to be a spousal abuser and probably a rapist. When he doesn't get what he wants he resorts to violence and mommy gives in. Now, what mommy needs to do is utilize a tiny bit of well timed violence to teach the little tyrant who's in charge. So long as she continues to cower, (which she does because of the ridiculous notions of our messed up society which can't differentiate discipline from abuse), he'll continue to dominate the interaction and he'll begin to think that's normal and acceptable, until it winds him up in jail.

Too late, it's already there.

I like to call this effect the "Bart Simpsonification" of an entire generation of kids. That little snotty brat has been on TV for what, something like 18 years now, and look what we've become. Oh, but they'll say, he's just the artistically creative reflection of a part of the reality that the series creators witnessed around them.

Well, perhaps at one time the academically stunted egotistical brat was a small portion of the population of kids at large, but if you've been any where near a school recently, you'll know the Bart-brats have taken over. The few kids who are well behaved and academically motivated (bless their parents for this) are mocked and ridiculed, just like guess who?... the well behaved kid on the the Simpsons.

It carries through to the workplace too...it makes me sick to see the sea of trophies at the annual dinner and advertising competitions...in these situtations I've even "circular-filed" plaques and trophies I got immediately after the event...an award means nothing unless there is some exclusivity...

this is soooo true

And who's got the most self-esteem of all? Sociopathic criminals. A little humility is good thing and a lot of it is even better. Most kids today need to be what used to be called "taken down a notch or two." Put in their place. What ever you want to call it. And as I've posted here a number of times already, the quickest most direct and effective way to accomplish this is a quick swat on the fanny or a smack on the cheek to let 'em know who's the boss.

wow. and I am the angry one supposedly. Good to know.

wow - that's scary.

You are a wise one for such a young one! Teaching a child to value themselves--for real, and for who they really are--is the first step to teaching them to respect others. The second step, is timely and targeted correction (not whacking them) for misbehavior.

Kids now have the plague of being ornaments for their parents' "lifestyle." They get shuttled here there and everywhere to try every activity, excell at nothing and get written up as demi-gods in Christmastime "newsletters." And the parents think that occupying their time with activities and buying them $200 sneakers, a Wii and a 52 inch bigscreen for their room is a substitute for talking and teaching and playing catch.

Why thank you. :) I've learned a lot in the, ohh, 2 years of therapy I've been going through to try to undo the damage of this parenting style. (Well, technically, there were two at play: overindulging mommy, abusive and misogynist dad. Many kids live with these kinds of combinations, which make things all the more confusing and inconsistent.)

You're right, these kids aren't taught real self-value, it's overinflated. They're not only fine just the way they are, they're PERFECT and special. Why try to better yourself, learn manners, and treat others with respect when there's nothing to be improved on except your material possessions? Real value is that if you make mistakes (and WILL, without being sheltered from accountability), you're still a good person, that you're an important part of society, but not above others or "special", that you're intelligent, but that doesn't mean you know everything and don't need to continue learning.

Parents are missing the mark, big time. Kids act like spoiled brats and demand material goods only to fill that need in their self-worth, and because it's often the only sort of real praise and attention they get. I had friends whose parents paid them for good grades, but never said a damn word about being proud of them and encouraging them to keep up the good work.

Um...I'm in the 82%.....and my son is respectful, polite, hard working, and a good father. I'm not one of the very same people who allowed this generation of kids to become this way. I love my son, I raised him alone, I was his mother first and his friend second. Please don't lump me in with the timeouters. :) Thankyou....

Yes the sense of entitlement is staggering....I now have a stepson who is the poster child for what we are talking about.....he was raised by his mother who mollycoddled him to the point that he is 21 going on 15.....mouthy, lazy, disrespectful.....and all shes accomplished is to foist him onto the world with no manners and no work ethic.

John -- We have given up the money for me to stay at home for the last 20 years with our kids. My children had chores to do every day. Homework first. My 19 year old daughter tells me that I "have no life" Once every single one of my kids hit High School their behavior went to hell!!!! I did spank my kids have had the police at my home because of it told a judge that if i can't then he needs to take all of my children. Kids stayed with me. My youngest I tried the time outs she is mouthy rude and does not care how she talks to me in public. But my fault as I didn't want to go to jail for spanking. Untie the parents hands. My 23 year old son watched his dad work very hard to support the family, he doesn't want that. My 24 year old daughter is a single mother and doesnt even want to give the father a chance as she doesn't want my life!! It is so sad I stayed home for my family

I believe the old fashioned way of raising kids is the best also, where the mom stays home. My husband and I are in our early twenties, and he works two jobs so I can stay home with our two toddlers. He had a horrible time in daycare growing up and did not want our children there. Not every young person is selfish. We are raising our children to think of others and use good manners. Every time we go out to dinner or the grocery store we get compliments from elderly people on how well behaved and polite our children are. Please and thank you were some of the first words they every learned. My husband and I are appalled at some of the kids our children come in contact with at the playground. Their parents are also rude and allow the kids to hit other children, etc. We didn't want our kids growing up in daycare where that behavior is rampant. Also, parents get so worn out at the end of the day that when they get home from work they allow their kids to do whatever, just so they can get a break.

My mother worked full time. I address people and "sir " and " maam". I am polite. I was taught to be polite. My children, who went to daycare were taught to be polite and respectful to others. Children emulate what they see in their parents. You DON'T have to be a stay at home mom and not send your child to daycare to raise a respectful, well behaved child.