Are Parents Too Soft?

"You can't tell me what to do!  I'm running this!"

I'm not a parent.  I have god kids, but it's nothing like being a parent.  I don't have any problems with them because their parents have done a great job in raising them.  Discipline on my part is pretty few and far between.  Usually, it's just a sit-down discussion about what occurred and how things will be going forward "or else."  But, with them, there's never been an "else."  And even if it were, then that would be up to their parents to handle, not me.

However, when I look at kids today, I see them so much differently than I did when I was one of them.  When I was a kid, I knew what the boundaries were because my parents made them perfectly clear.  I don't get that from a lot of today's kids.  I'm seeing kids who push the envelope because their parents haven't set expectations for them.

My parents always made sure that I knew what the limits were and what the consequences were for exceeding them.  There was rarely a gray area and even when one presented itself, the gray was converted to black and white fairly quick.  My parents knew that all of their decisions were not going to be popular in my eyes.  But, they weren't looking to be popular.  They were looking to be parents.

Some parents think that as long as their kids are fed and sheltered, then they've done their job as a parent.  Uh, yeah, maybe if you're a wolf.  But as a human, a child needs much more nurturing.  You have to teach them honor, discipline and respect.  If you're not doing that, then you're not parenting.

I sometimes wonder to myself, "are parents too soft these days?"

I see so many parents trying to be their child's friend instead of their parent.  A parent's only responsibility, in my opinion, is to raise their child to be the best and productive person he / she can be.  That's your only job. If you can keep your child happy in the process, then that's a bonus, but creating a functioning part of society is the main goal.  You can be an authority in your child's life and still have their respect.  It's all about doing what you're say that you're going to do when it comes to consequences.  In order to get to that point, expectations need to be set.  The kid needs to know that if "A" happens, then "B" will occur.

However, some parents are more interested in pleasing their kids rather than raising them.  On the other hand, some parents are downright pushy with what they make their kids do...

"Please.  Help me.  My mom is crazy..."