So when did kids loose the fear of god in adults? Now I have an 18-year-old stepdaughter that needless to say has the same basic issues that most 18 year olds have but the Army is currently working those out for her. But on average when did kids stop being afraid of adults and became so disrespectful? Now this may seem strange coming from a guy who has spent most of his adult life in the entertainment or art world as a stuntman, entertainer and graphic designer, but I remember when I was in school, elementary all the way through high school, that if you messed up bad enough you got swats. Parents beat their kids when they needed it. You got whooped if they even thought you did something they didn’t know about. Neighbors could bust your butt, call your parents, and you got it again for bothering someone so much they had to whoop you. I guess I have officially become and old coot at 41 but as I see it kids no longer fear or respect teachers. “You can’t do anything to me. I’m a minor.” Seems to have become the great mantra of the youth of today. Kids don’t get expelled, they get sent to “Alternative School”. A student can haul off and hit a teacher and that child will be given a ticket and sent to alternative school until the courts sort it out. Usually, with no assault charges being filed on the kid. If your child gets jumped at school and fights back to defend themselves, they are considered by the state to be in “Mutual Combat” and given the same ticket and punishment as the instigator. This is where you ask me about my contempt of court charge over this point with a judge in Harris County, Pct. 4. So kids sees no one getting into any real punishment so what is there to be afraid of? If they do end up in court they receive probation and community service. Which is more a burden on the little darling’s parents than them. I think I’ll blame it on the first generation that actually believed kids have rights beyond those given to them by their parents, entertainment companies that make shows where parents and men in general are just stupid and it takes a kid to fix everything and movies that glorify illegal activities where the criminals get away with it. I think Bill Cosby had it right when he said, “I brought you into this world and I can take you out. And I wont even worry about it because I can make another one that looks just like you.” Inevitably as a parent you get into that situation where you child believes they know more than you do and thinks they can stand up and tell you how the cow eats the cabbage. This is where being creative can come in very handy. Now all this being said I am not advocating child abuse. There are some real monsters out there that do horrible and vile things to children. My personal believe on that subject is that if they are caught red handed… Do not pass go. Do not collect $200 dollars. Bang! Two right behind the ear. No state expenses on this one and they are rehabilitated. They will never hurt another child again. But if a child still has an element of fear and respect for their elders they will think twice. They still may not make the right decision but at least they will think about it. So when that physical threat from you is responded to with, “If you do I’ll call Child Protective Services.” Sit them down and explain how that agency is designed to help kids that really need them. And that if they did call them it will take them usually about 3 hours before they will show up and to think about how much damage you can do to them in 3 hours. So when they did show up they would really need them. You know what?
Hang on… I’ll dial the number for you.