Is There Any Hope for the Children of Today?
... facing today’s youth it cannot be considered the only problem. The television cannot be turned on unless it has the approval of the parents at home. When does the child get to be a child? Today’s youth have to make critical decisions at a much earlier age than the youth of yesteryear. We never had to decide what was for breakfast, lunch or dinner but the youth of today do. We were afforded the luxury of parents that had our days planned for us. The only requirement of us as children was to follow directions and be respectful of others. The same cannot be said for the youth of today, they must make critical decisions at a much earlier age because of the many changes that have taken place over time in the home. The home life of today’s child is extremely different than that of yesteryear. Things have drastically changed in the home structure of today’s child. The children of today no longer have the luxury of a two-parent home. In olden days the two parents would work together for the positive progression of a child. Those two parents provided a home that was conducive with positive growth. This two-parent occupation has now fallen into the role of a single parent that at most times is the mother. There are 11.9 million single parent homes in America and in eighty-four percent of those homes the mother is the primary caregiver. The mother must carry multiple roles and is left unable to address all of the issues that the child may have. This has proved to be a hurdle for most of our children. These children grow up without witnessing the positive effect that a male role model may have on their life. Instead they see a mother who in most cases struggles financially and is unable to fully balance both the emotional and disciplining aspects of child rearing. Unable to see the male role model in the home these children fall into mischievous behavior. Fifty-three percent of all correctional inmates grew up in a single parent home. These children are often left alone or forgotten at times when they need parental bonding the most. It has been determined that the absence of the father in the home is the most determining factor in the delinquency of the children of today. Another challenge that children face is the fast pace at which our neighborhood relationships are diminishing. Gone are the days of the Cleavers. There was a day when the neighborhood carried just as much responsibility in the upbringing of a child as the parents. When a neighbor saw you doing something that you had no business doing they helped correct that behavior. Now the role of the neighborhood has drastically changed. Neighbors no longer borrow sugar, flour, or milk. Our neighborhood interaction has been reduced to the occasional wave while proceeding to your car to get on with your daily life. There was a time when neighbors were a part of your extended family, but now that relationship has been completely severed for the most part. Society is in some part is to blame for this mishap. Times have become so terrible with sexual predators, abductors, and murderers that you don’t know in whom you can trust. What was once thought of to be unthinkable is now just the norm. Society as a whole has changed morally. We know longer think of our moral responsibility when it comes to the plight of our children. We have become a world that has turned its back on the little ones whom need us the most. Another attributing factor in the challenges that face our children is the fact t...