What kept you on the straight and narrow?

I think what kept me on the straight and narrow as a kid (and sometimes I was so far on the curb I'm surprised I didn't fall in the ditch) was the thought of letting my parents (mostly my Mom) down. It was one thing for me to rebel and smoke, run away or skip school...it was a whole different thing for me to cross the line and do something that would land me jail. Thankfully I'm one of those ppl that always look at the possible consequences of my actions. As for why kids are doing it tody...to be honest I think they see adults doing it and getting away with it and figure they can too. **AT PEACE WITHIN** ~~STAND STRONG IN YOUR BELIEFS~~

Righteous fear of my mother.

Same as you, we knew better, we knew we would be facing our parents. And we were raised to respect others and property. Yeah there was petty fights, but nothing that the school nurse and principal couldn't take care of. And yes, I believe a lot of it is the parents now a days. If my kids crossed the line, I'd be blaming myself, I wouldn't need anyone else too, but, I damn sure would hold them responsible for their actions. It seems a lot of the time, as long as those kids are bugging their parents or interfering with their busy lives, then who cares where they are or what they are doing. I know for me, when I made that choice to have children, I made a life long commitment, to raising my children, and yes, discipling them when they needed it, and if that meant a spanking, so be it. Which didn't happen very often, because they knew better. I don't know about you, but I look around when I'm out shopping or running errands and many times I see a grade school child with their parents or parent, and think to myself, 'that kid doesn't have a chance', and that's really sad, but true.

i know what you are saying.the youth of today get away with blue murder.in my day also i would definately have gotten the strap from my father if i did any thing really bad.is it todays society,is it the government letting them get away with it.my daughter went to the shops the other day,and because she dresses up a little different,a group of teenage boys made a sly comment,my daughter being a bit vocal said something back to them.these boys a group of about 6 of them chased my daughter and her friends.my daughter and her friends managed to get to their car and lock the doors.the group of thugs then jumped on the car and smashed the windscreen and dented every panel on the car.they were able to start the car and drive away.these group of thugs chased the car knocking over a pregnant women in their efforts to chase the car.this was in the middle of the day at a large shopping centre.i guess it was a lesson for my daughter not to say anything to anybody.i would have hate to think what would have happened to them if these thugs got to them.they could have had knives or anything,and you know the centre management did nothing,probably because they were afraid of what damage these thugs would do to the shopping centre,if they were reprimanded.so i do not know what the answer is or where the parents are or if the parents of these thugs really care.cheers sue

The problem is a lack of parenting. Too many parents are substituting things like television and the Internet for actual parenting, and/or are not overseeing these activities and complementing them with their own guidance. When you give a kid nothing BUT TV, video games, and the Internet, it's a lot easier for them to get the wrong ideas about a lot of things. TV shows often have exaggerated levels of violence for the sake of entertainment, and a child can easily handle that without ever being a violent person, if they are aware that what they watch on TV is exaggerated and/or completely made-up for the explicit purpose of being entertaining. Parents are supposed to be the gatekeepers, and the regulators. There are parents that complain about kids watching inappropriate things on TV, and that they can't do anything about it because they're at work when the kids are watching. But how many of these parents do you know of that ACTUALLY utilize the V-chip technology in all modern televisions to filter their children's viewing experience when they can't, for example? Of course, that's a worst-case thing--it's much better for the parent himself or herself to be doing the regulating, not a chip in a television or a filter on a computer (but that's the LEAST they could do when they're not around). Ultimately, the problem is NOT a lack of censorship--I believe that as long as things are accurately labeled for content, that NO censorship is necessary at all. What IS necessary is for these parents to start doing their jobs and stop trying to blame TV, video games, the Internet, the government, or anything else for their lack of initiative. I was brought up on the other end of the spectrum--my parents were overbearing. Regardless, it's plain to me the source of the problem you're describing, and it's nothing short of neglect as far as I'm concerned.