What is wrong with all these unruly teenagers today?

Question

I did not behave like that when i was a teenager, i listened to my parent's, i did not fight with them, did not do drugs and have never been in trouble.
With all the teenage pregnancy going on i think that the parent's needs to start putting their foot down and stop letting their kids do as they please. I am sick of seeing all these little teenage girls at the doctor office with their bellies poking out and they think they are so grown but who are they their with? Their mommies because they know they are still little kids and can't do it on their own.
What are their problems. This is a question that i would like to know the answer to and it is not directed towards anyone here on Yahoo Answers.

Answer 1

the problem with teenagers today is that they do not believe in having morals and high standards like people did years ago. they would rather be pregnant and jobless then to do the right things. this is partly due to the parents of these kids. kids who are this way most likely come from parents who are that way too. i used to work at a school program where i had teens in it and there were some that cussed, threatened, and everything else imaginable and when i would talk to the parents about what was going on they would act the same way if not worse than the teens did. i don't have any sympathy for parents like this because they bring it on themselves. it is just plain sad that teens seem to be in this situation in an earlier and earlier age all of the time. maybe one of these days things will improve but i don't look for it in the near future. hope this helps. good luck.

Answer 2

I think you answered your own question, at least partially anyway. It IS the parents responsibility to put their foot down and keep their kids out of trouble. Personally, I never would have dreamed of doing most of the things kids these days do all the time! My dad would have broken my legs(figuratively speaking of course!)! I had a stay at home mom when I was young as well and I ended up being very close with her. I think that parents(not all, but a lot) are not as involved as they should be. I think that when you have two working parents you get less attention as a child than you should. The parents come home exhausted from a stressful day at work, and maybe unintentionally don't focus on their kids lives as much. I also think that the things that kids and teens see on t.v now is just as bad as an influence as anything else! Gang bangers get glamorized and violence is all over the place in the movies now days. Celebrities can't stay married, are caught cheating, and get praised for deciding not to ever get married. They decide to have kids with people they barely know, or decide to have children together and never get married. I just don't think that it sets a good example for the youth of America....or the rest of the world. The morals just aren't there. It is our job as parents to make sure that strong morals are instilled into our children at a very young age. We should also be open as a parent, so that when our child does something wrong, they can come to us about it and not hide it or lie about it.

Answer 3

It's a trickle-down effect through the generations. Every generation gets a little more bold and rebellious. I think the teens today see that some of the huge problems we have today could be easily defeated and the government/rich people of the country choose not to do anything because of greed. I think the political system also has had a trickle-down effect. I'm not trying to argue with you, I do think today's teenagers, myself included, are worse group in general. However, there are very many good kids still. It's sad to see when a 12-13 year old child is screaming at their mom or dad when they won't buy them an outrageously expensive pair of shoes, for example. I do agree that parents are letting the kids run the show. Children should have a little fear of their parents, it's natural. Anyways, I enjoyed your question, more people should be asking these types of questions.

Answer 4

The parents do play a huge part on how kids act these days. If the parents don't care then the kids will grow up thinking they can do anything no matter the concequences. I think parents are more worried about being their chidrens friends first and then the parent. They don't want their kids to hate them and want them to be happy. They don't teach their kids what would happen if they do something wrong so they think they can just get away with it and their parents will take care of it for them.

I can say, I never acted like kids now days when I was growing up. I didn't get in trouble, listened to my parents, didn't drink or do drugs, and didn't think I could get away with murder like some kids think they can now days. I know if I did try to do these things, I would get in serious trouble from my parents, no not a serious beating, but my punishment would have been more than no tv or video games for a day or two. My parents were parents first, that was their job, and now I thank them for it and we are close. Not because they let me do what ever I wanted, but because they cared enough to teach me what was right and wrong and put their foot down when it needed to be done.

Atleast where I live, the government is stepping in and telling parents what they can and can't do as parents to raise their chidren right. They can't spank them, put them in time outs for very long, take things away from them and so on. They are now saying if you do any of those things, it's child abuse. Well, what are parents to do if their children misbehave and they can't even punish them for it? The government really needs to let parents be parents and only step in if the child is really being abused and not just getting a swat on the butt because they did something wrong. Yes I got spankings, things taken away from me, timeouts, and such and was never abused and the government stayed out of it. It's really sad what is happening to the youth now days.

Answer 5

I think part of it is lack of discipline. I mean, 20 years ago, it seemed so different. Kids did not scream and throw fits as bad as they do now! I don't believe in abuse but good disciple is key in my book. Then, you get these parents that panic every time their kid cries just because they want to go out with their little friends at 2:00 in the morning and do whatever they want; parents don't know what to do because their kid puts of such a scene and discipline laws are so entirely strict that the parent feels lost. As far as teen pregnancy goes, I don't understand it. Really, I blame a lot of it on television and peer pressure from it. Kids tease other kids for being virgins and it's wrong. (that sort of teasing came from my middle and high school) Some get pregnant for attention (which is sad they have to resort to that) and some find it a "funny" thing. (as if it's a joke) I also hear of child prostitution...is that mostly the parent's fault on that one?

Answer 6

Ok, so are you a parent? No? Then could you possibly have any idea what it is like to have a teenage child? And all that crap up there that someone answered about "bad parenting"? Give me a freaking break. When you have children of your own, then speak about WHY a child is the way they are. Good lord. From the beginning of time there have been teens that dont do or say or act the way their parents think they should. Not because they were raised poorly, but because they develop minds and ideas of their own. Believe it or not, teens friends have a HUGE influence on them. HUGE! And I am not saying that the way parents or adults act doesn't influence a child, because in some ways it does, but, once that child is older, they develop what they believe is their own morals and ideas of who and what they want to be. Teen pregnancy is a really big problem in our world today. But who do we blame? The child for getting knocked up? The parent for allowing them the "freedom" to have the opportunity to get knocked up? It is what it is, and at that point it is a little too late to lay blame. I believe in arming my children with INFORMATION and EDUCATION to make their own choices. It isn't about putting your foot down. It is about allowing your child to grow and giving them the best tools that you possibly can to make smart choices. And even with all that you could possibly give them, they are STILL going to do what they want. Welcome to the real world, as messy as it may seem to you.

Answer 7

Everything happens for a reason. Just because there is a young woman having sex and getting pregnant, doesnt mean these babies arent going to be raised properly. Some of the younger mothers may raise their children to be good people, while older moms may neglect or abuse their children. (or, of course, vice versa) Age is nothing but a number. I recently read on the news an older couple got charged for killing their 4 year old with PRESCRIPTION drugs! and did you know world famous, and inspiring LANCE ARMSTRONG's mother was 17 when she had him?? She was young when she had him but she raised him right. Maybe you can just mind your own business, and stop giving those poor young girls dirty looks in the docs office!!!

Answer 8

in the twentieth century there were three great catastrophes that disrupted family order and values; 1. first world war 2. the depression 3. second world war.

during these awful times, nobody had it easy. children were brushed aside in the order of priorities. quality time was nigh nonexistent.

it is this quality time where the intangibles were usually taught or passed on, if you will, under normal circumstances. these times were erased by those desperate conditions spanning half a century. in a short expose like this, it's difficult to emphasize conditions of those days.

as a result, the intangibles that are so important to family structure are/were sorely diluted. each generation lost more because "if you never had it in the first place how can you pass it on?". therefore post war generations seem to get harsher as time go on.

Answer 9

The bad behavior of kids today is due to the lack of good attention from loving parents. Many kids today are left to be on their own without any parental supervision, and with the Television as a babysitter. This implants the media's views to them at such a young age. Morals are not taught and so the children suffer because of it.

Answer 10

I just read a news article today that said teen births are way down in Canada this past decade, so it could be you're just noticing them more now. Oh, but I also see reports that say abortion rates are going steadily down in the States (so are teen pregnancies, but not by as much). So maybe all these potbellied teens have been convinced through religious influence to have their babies, whereas in your days they had them discreetly aborted?

Teenage pregnancies disgust me a little too, but not as much as those pro-celebacy sex-ed courses that don't mention birth control at all, and religious families who force their kids into a life of early motherhood without telling them they have a choice.