Why are British parents so bad at parenting?

Question

With kids going back to school there will be a break from all the chaos of badly behaved littlens.
Why can parents in this country no longer bring there children up responsibly?
Seems most kids have'nt been taught the difference between right and wrong or to have respect for others and their environment why is this the case?

RE:
Generalisation - sure because most i see in general are bad parents.

Smacking - I know people who've bought kids up with out smacking them and they did a great job, disiplin can be applied without abuse!

Teachers - the reason teachers have there jobs should be to help children further there knowlege and skills of life and not to be controlled by teachers obsesed with authority, or people in the profession for reasons that arnt to aid the kids in a better future.

Answer 1

because of society

Answer 2

Children know that, today, they can get away with anything and not receive any punishments.
When I was little, I would not dare answer my mum back for fear of being smacked, but now the kids know that they 'can't' be smacked and so they take it to the extreme.

No matter how hard you try with your kids, they know they have the upper hand, they can play you up til the cows come home and you can't do a damn thing about it.

You try to be their friend and be nice to them - that doesn't work. You try to be a parent and be strict with them - that doesn't work either.

Parents do not have a leg to stand on these days. I have a ten year old child, who acts like he is 30 years old. I cope with it the best I can, but the lack of respect he gives me is astonishing.

He is quite good by todays standard of children though, and he isn't generally badly behaved, but if he doesn't get his own way... WATCH OUT WORLD!

I really don't think it is down to the parenting abilities of todays mothers and fathers, I really do believe it is because they have been stripped of all their power.

Answer 3

Well you've been taught how to get a 'reaction' haven't you?

I was brought up very well and so were my two sisters and brother, but that didn't stop my brother from being a naughty boy.

But he did see someone (a friend) being abused when he was little, which could have had an effect on him. (psychiatrists weren't abundant in those days)

My own children are well behaved (apart with each other) my son even called the police on another boy and I thought it was excessive but the policeman said he did the right thing.

So try to think before you put the good British people down. Most of us are great people and great parents.

Answer 4

I want to know what age group of kids you are talking about. If it is the teenagers who are hanging around and getting themselves into trouble or whether it is the little kids that throw tantrums in the supermarket. If it is the latter I have news for you, ALL KIDS THROW TANTRUMS SOMETIMES! Shopping is not like it was when our parents and grandparents were kids. They would be left at home playing outside in a much safer world, or they would get to go to all these cool shops, butchers and grocers and say Hi to the people their family knows. Supermarkets are boring, end of.

As for the former, I agree with you that it is now getting to be a problem with these kids hanging around and being a menace to society, but that doesn't mean that they have had bad parenting, it means that they are also bored and disenchanted with the world. Parents have less time to engage their kids in hobbies because they haven't got the time or the money. In most British homes both parents have to work to keep a roof over the heads of their kids and keep them fed and clothed. I know that I was a complete s**t when i was a teenager, but that is just the hormones, which are in fact a primal urge to detach yourself from your parents and be independent. Its just that in this society it comes out as being worthy of an ASBO.

Answer 5

Blame the Tory party of the 80's. Once the unions were gone the average mans wage decreased . At the same time the mortgage rate went up to around 14%.So both partners had to work leaving the Children with child minders who really couldn't give a damn about the kids. And so it went into steady decline. All day TV
hasn't helped either. A lot of couples I know are quite happy to let their children watch all day and a good part of the night. No proper interaction.

Answer 6

I think some people so into themselves that they don't have time for their kids then they wonder why their kids are behaving badly, they have babies all most for the sake of it and don't think its a job for the rest of their life and its the hardest job on earth. Answer to your question is parents do not have time for their children anymore that's the biggest issue.
p.s. to the teacher i am sorry but the discipline comes from love and respect not from a scary teacher...dont let your ego effect the kids

Answer 7

i just answered this question for american parents but i think the same holds true. just replace american with british and there u go!

Americans CAN raise children properly, they just won't. People are getting lazy all across the board and it's reflecting in the children of America that parents are starting to be too lazy to lift a finger and shake it at a child. Try lifting a hand and spanking some butt! Parents want to talk it out etc. Children understand right and wrong but their emotions and urges are too strong for them to control with mere moral understanding. Parents need to take the reigns but won't. Why? Because people like getting by with the minimum amount of action. That's why use cars instead of feet, televisions instead of books, the internet instead of our social skills. Some parents claim not to be able to 'bring themselves' to punish their children adequately. The fact of the matter is, you stand up to your child from the beginning, or you'll be standing before a judge in the end- or worse- a casket.

We have magazines and books and tv shows all devoted to improving people's ego's- their culture- their health. But only a small fraction of media attempts the daunting task of guiding parents in america. And the few that do are trying to hard to be politically correct that they really can't give much good advice.

All that I can say is this- when I was young I knew things like stealing and cursing and disobeying my parents were bad without anyone having to tell me- but the tempation was just too strong. Children want to try new things and they want to do what they want to do. But a paddle served as he ultimate post it note for my ego and when it was stuck to my rear i didn't forget again.

Answer 8

i totaly agree with u!
i am british myselve and i dispise the way paretns treat there kids!

kids have no respect what so ever these days!
even walking down the street i feel a lil intimidated by the teenages as they just dont care!

my ex was moroccan and when he took me over to moroocco and i stayed with hes family all the lil kids and teenages had respect for their elders! there was no back chat or anything!
now my ex's lil bro is in 2ndary school and he is always fighting and being suspended and gives the parents bad trouble but that is because hes friends are from the bad parenting of the british!

Answer 9

Because parents have taught their children to question everything, all about their rights and nothing about their responsibilities, and that people need to earn their respect. I am a teacher and believe I don't need to earn their respect. They need to earn mine, but they should arrive at school knowing they have to respect my authority totally, do as they are told, respect the school, and know that if they get into trouble in school, the parents will back up the teacher. Unfortunately, this is hardly ever the case.

Answer 10

I am a parent and I think I've been a good parent, both my boys are now grown up,

But I work in a well know superstore, one of the five biggest in England, and these last few weeks have been hell. The kids run riot screaming and shouting climbing over fixtures and fitting, fingers over the top of the tills pressing buttons, I always tell them they are pressing the button to double their mums bill, that usually makes mum look up and take notice. I've had a girl shove her arm down the hole where the bags come through and hurt her arm.

The parents ignore them, or just keep shouting" your doing my head in".

I for one Will be pleased to see the back of them.

Answer 11

Parents in the UK are the children/grandchildren of Britons who lived through the war years and subsequent years hard work and nothing coming easy. In the (erroneous) attempt to make our children's lives better than our own, we have fallen into the trap of giving them anything they want instantly. This of course has created a society expecting instant gratification and having no real appreciation of anything.