Moncton Forum

Problem children ongoing concern

By CP
   

TORONTO -- If today's youth seem incorrigible, it's because there are more problem children now than 50 years ago, a study released yesterday by the Vanier Institute for the Family suggests.

The finger of blame points at everyone: parents, schools, neighbourhoods and the media, said the author of the study, Anne-Marie Ambert, a professor of sociology who recently retired from York University in Toronto.

"In the past, parents used to receive the support of their neighbours," she said.

But now, she observed, people are often afraid to intervene if they see children or teens misbehaving in the neighbourhood or at the mall.

Juvenile delinquency rates increased "spectacularly from the 1960s and have peaked in the mid-1990s," the study said.

"Although they have subsequently declined, these rates, as well as those for most problematic behaviours, have remained high among boys and have continued to rise among girls."

Problem behaviours include acts that hurt others, such as being disruptive, aggressive or delinquent. The behaviours range from lying and running away, to fighting and bullying, theft and vandalism.

The paper is a review of hundreds of studies, mostly from Canada and the U.S., that looked at various causes for the rise in behavioural problems. The studies looked at poverty, peers, parenting, schooling, media, personality, genetics and communities.

"The conclusion you reach (after looking at all the research) is that we have a global environment which favours all of this," said Ambert, adding children and teens are being raised in an "enabling environment."

Forensic psychologist Marta Weber helped develop personality profiling in the U.S. She has seen parental influence on children evolve over the years.

"Because parents are spending less and less time with their kids because both parents are working for economic reasons and because the hold parents have on kids is less and less, it's a struggle to be the people who determine the identity of your child," she said. "What happens in school and in the mall and on the street becomes more and more important."

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"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."
- Albert Einstein -

their is only one thing to blame that kids are so unruly it us society >>>

because us as a society leave the world govern the way we try to raise our kids  no punishing ,slapping etc because it is not right  
well most of us were raised that way with punishment etc and we did not become bad citizen

LET GO BACK TO THE OLD FASHION WAY   TO RAISE OURKIDS INSTEAD OF SAYING THEY HAVE A BEHAVE RIAL PROBLEM AND GIVING THEM DRUGS TO CALM THEM

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i hate rats

tit for tat

Well in a society that demands phycial perfection, we are forced to be inferior. wouldnt that make you a little pissed off? We live in a socitey where nothing is taboo especially sexually. We have parents who cant raise us, because they dont have the support required. And it was passed that you could spank your kids..remember that. If you cant raise someone from such a feble state into proper citizens, then, thats your fault.

My generation is pi$$ed off. We are depressed, i am, and without modern drugs, i would probably go nuts. I hope we do better with our kids

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~~Cuz' Love is what matters;after all~~

 i agree with you bulert that it is because of our generation that you need drugs but there is way  for person to live without them  and it  with loving care from their families and friends  but because of the way life is   we cannot give the kids that attention without compremising our livelyhood    it take both the mother and father to work in order to have a good living leaving vry little time to spend with our kids .........


also above that if we try to discipline kids or even try to talk to them  our stupid peers come down on us   ...........

 i really have nothing good to say about my genration  because we are the cause of evil on earth     ,we stood by  when they declared  homo a law  we stood by when they took  religion out of schools
we stood by when they decided that it was not right to raise our kids

we are voting in irresponsible government
   we  prettywell ruined  Canada    as we knew it 

because of us   Canada is no longer a free country  and it no longer belong to Canadians


 

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i hate rats

tit for tat

When I was a teenager ....I am 32 now...There was depression, there was violence, there was drugs.....Mind you there was not weapons ......But still a teenager was threatened by mob beatings as opposed to actual physical items.

We were spanked, threatened with the belt..when you were grounded you were grounded!!!  No TV, No computer, No phone, No Games, NOTHING.....you were not allowed out for atleast a week...

It was hard on teens as it was on the parents.  But dammit..you were scared shitless of your parents.

we do the best we can in the situations we are in ........I can't say that kids are worse today then they were then...but today..there is more media, different types of trouble to be had as opposed to ours...but trouble is trouble..kids will be kids and teens will be teens...that will never change...just the method of being bad

 

I think a lot of people feal they have to have kids. Some feal there is something wrong with them if they don't have 2 point 4 kids before they turn a certain age. Some think they want kids because their freinds or neighbours have them. Some have kids as a way to get free money and handouts. Some just aren't carefull when they do their horizontal arobics. Regardless of the reasons a lot of these people are in situations they are not ready for. How can kids raise kids? I know kids who can't work a part time weekend job who are convinced they are ready to pop more kids into the world and raise them properly. My message to kids who want to make kids ask yourself how you treated your last puppy or other pet. Remember how fitting those 5 minute walks in 3 times a day taxed your schedule to the max. Raising other kids is just a wee bit more complicated and time consuming. I still like Mrs W's idea of kids. If she wants them she says she'll rent them for the weekend. I have to agree with her on that idea.

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Remember yesterday, respect tomorrow, live for today.
Three out of five cats love Mousehead Beer.

Let me know when she wants to rent them...I happen  to have a couple

The answer to "who or what is to blame" is more of a list than a single individual.

a) The media. There are far too many advertisements that promote violence, and too many that induce low self-esteem.
b) The parents. Too many parents let their kids do whatever they want. It's easier, I suppose, to put a TV and video games in their room than wonder where they are.
c) The government. No surprise here. The government removed prayer from schools and made it all but impossible to discipline the kids. Oddly enough, Muslim students are allowed to roll out their little carpets for their prayer time on the basis of religious freedoms, but basic Christian prayers are not allowed?

That's not the entire list, but it's some pretty big players. So instead of pointing fingers and figuring out who to blame, a little more time invested in fixing the problem(s) might be wise. That being said ... patience, understanding, and a memory of our own younger years might be the biggest piece to the puzzle. I agree with Sass ... kids are kids and always will be. The only thing changing is their environment and their options.

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"Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told: 'I'm with you kid. Let's go.'"
– Maya Angelou

i am going to second kitten's statement. i completely agree with what she stated!!!

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It's my life and I love it!!

sass wrote:

When I was a teenager ....I am 32 now...There was depression, there was violence, there was drugs.....Mind you there was not weapons ......But still a teenager was threatened by mob beatings as opposed to actual physical items.

We were spanked, threatened with the belt..when you were grounded you were grounded!!!  No TV, No computer, No phone, No Games, NOTHING.....you were not allowed out for atleast a week...

It was hard on teens as it was on the parents.  But dammit..you were scared shitless of your parents.

we do the best we can in the situations we are in ........I can't say that kids are worse today then they were then...but today..there is more media, different types of trouble to be had as opposed to ours...but trouble is trouble..kids will be kids and teens will be teens...that will never change...just the method of being bad

I am 100% behind sass on this.  I agree word for word with everything written here.

I don't think parents should try so hard to be 'buddies' with their kids.  It's not easy being an authority figure, and it's not all that easy following one either.  But, it's necessary and a fact of life.

There's plenty of time to do the 'buddy' thing when the kids have grown up and have a good sense of values instilled in them.