Disrespectful Kids

One of the main problems we see in society today is an increasing disrespect children have for authority figures. I find it just appalling the way that some teens in particular act towards adults. Having said that, I do think that the majority of children still have proper respect for authority figures. However, that percentage seems to be decreasing generation after generation. This increase in incivility from teens to adults begs the question: why is this happening? There are many reasons kids have become gradually more disrespectful, but there are few reasons that in stand out from the rest.

The biggest influence in most teens’ lives are the parents. In many cases, if a teen is behaving disrespectfully, one can take a look at the parents first to see the cause of the problem. I think one of the biggest issues parents have with regards to their children is materialism. Materialism, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is “a preoccupation with or stress upon material rather than intellectual or spiritual things”. As time goes on, it seems as if our children are becoming increasingly materialistic. They are influenced by what they see on television, movies, and ads. They want what they want and they want it right now. The problem is that many parents are not providing the proper boundaries and discipline needed to combat this development. These parents are much more concerned with being their child’s friend that being their parent, so they let them have what they want to make them happy. The problem with that is that teens are going to take a mile if you give an inch, so to speak. One of the results of befriending teens instead of parenting them is that over time they can easily become self-absorbed, focused too much on themselves, and lose the ability to have feelings and compassion for their peers and authority figures. In short, they can develop narcissistic tendencies.

At this point parents frequently realize that they have been...