Or how to deal with the monsters out there who possibly target their kids for their sick, twisted pleasures or else. School bullies, kidnappers, drug-dealers, pedophiles...take your pick.
Remember Engeline? Don't sweep her case under the rug, people. The threat is real.
It's just awful to see that some people still treat children as their mere properties or (personal) accomplishments. It's the "He's my son. I'm just teaching him how to be a man" kind of remark before they start / continue beating their little boys.
"These are my kids." Oh, yeah. Your pride and joy, living proofs that you're capable of procreating. Don't get me wrong; it's indeed a good thing, as long as they're not treated as merely their parents' 'success symbols'. (Sounds egotistical to me.) Kids grow up. They soon develop their own personalities. It all depends on the guidance.
There's a lot in life out there, more than just the online games on their smartphones or Galaxy Tablets their parents provide and let them play with. What kind of people do we want our kids to grow up and become? How will they be able to survive out there - on their own, mostly - if we don't even really want to get to know them, spending time with them and listening to them - instead of just telling them what to do to?
Kids can also be the best, most accurate copycats. We all know that everyone is bound to choose sometime as they grow up, but kids often imitate without really understanding why.
If you do think children nowadays act more like whiny, ungrateful brats or know-it-all snobs - why don't you just take a look at yourself first? They don't have to be your own. You could influence other parents' kids to copy your bad habits / behaviours.
You might believe that whatever you do in public won't matter of affect other people that much. Maybe you're right; it's none of their business. You do as you please. It's all about free will, right?
It's not your problem if someone else's kid starts swearing and cursing with bad languages, only because they've seen you do so and act cool about it. If it's your own, you'll probably pull a double-standard anyway; only adults can do that. Adults can do whatever they like, whether the kids like it or not. YAY! Congratulations in showing them how to be the truest, sickest, and most selfish feudalist...for all the wrong reasons. Thanks for making them hate their childhood and feel inferior that they just can't wait to grow up.
Why? So they can grow up to be just like you and do what you do, or even worse. You're in luck if they choose to be better than you instead.
Feeling enraged that an underage child has already become a chain-smoker? Well, if you're also their smoking parent, why is that even a surprise? What makes you think that they'll take you seriously if you ask them to stop - while you continue puffing smokes right in front of them?
