Now while I agree with part of this statement the logic in the end is faulty. Allow me to explain. The above sentiment allows kids to be kids without limitations or repercussions. Now in most cases you're thinking "How could this be bad?" It's the without limitations or repercussions part that is bad. Kids should be allowed to play and learn and grow, yes, but they should also be taught how to act. They should be taught that their actions have consequences and that when you do something you have to pay those consequences.
Let me give you an example from my family recently. I have recently gotten a new job. In this new position I am once again working second shift and am at work from before my kids get home until it's almost bedtime. Now my kids aren't being left home alone, but they're with dad and well they know that if they're quiet they can get away with just about anything.
I've recently been getting messages from my kids teachers that they haven't been doing their homework. With schools anymore it is viewed that a kid not doing their homework is a failure on the parent, and while it is partly my fault (yes, I cannot supervise my children from work) it is ultimately their responsibility to get their homework done. This is where the kids being kids part is being taken too far.
Our kids are told that unless they are being pressured by an adult to do something that they don't have to do it. That it's a lacking in the parent that is holding them back. This is simply not true. True motivation only comes from within yourself. This is something that cannot be taught by force. So, the question is how do people learn this lesson? Through consequences.
My consequences for my kids are that their computers are going to be locked, that the TV will be off limits and that they will either be bored or do homework. If that doesn't work then there will be punishments on top of the restrictions. If I have to wake them all up in the middle of the night and force them to go through their homework then eventually they will get the hint and have it done earlier so that they won't get woken up in the middle of the night.
This is called teaching our kids responsibility. It's a big thing that has been lacking in our society for a long time. Don't get mad at the parents, get mad at the students. We're living in an age where there are a lot of parents out there that might not know what the kids are being taught in school. It requires motivation from the kids themselves to get things done. Not only that, but learning how to do things that you don't want to do is a big lesson that many adults have not gotten yet.
We live in a world that has coddled kids so badly that they don't learn how to be adults. It's not something that you can learn when you become an adult, you need to start learning responsibility when you are a kid. This is why prisons are so overcrowded. They're full of adults who are just now learning that actions have consequences. If you really want to stop prison overcrowding and fix our justice system teach a kid that there are consequences for their actions. If you successfully teach a kid that then they are far less likely to become an inmate in the future. If you worry more about your kids learning life skills than if they get a B instead of an A on their take home project because mom and dad didn't do it for them this country would be a much better place for us all in the future.
Originally Posted
9/19/14 5:26 AMPacific Daylight Time
On my blog titled: The Angry American
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