Looting kids out of control

There is a saying that “You are what you think you are”.  Is it any wonder therefore that many  kids, children, youths – call them what you will are now “out of control” and seem to believe as one youth put it on Sky News recently though his masked face “I can do what I want – whose to stop me?”.   We tend to always try and blame the parents for how kids turn out and personally I believe there is a lot of merit in this.

Years ago extended families policed their own  in a culture of respect.  Yes, some control had to be exerted and the odd tap may have been dealt out.  No one condones physical abuse, especially on children, but if you take away parental control which the powers that be did  many years ago by colluding with children in schools and youth clubs that their parents couldn’t punish them in any meaningful way if they did wrong, what did we honestly expect?   Many parents exerted the time and effort into being good parents despite this dictate from above.  But for many it was a relief not to have to exert that time and effort and allowed their children to run riot.  The consequences are that we are now in a second/third generation of this belief from a proportion of our population that if they want something, not only should they have it,  they are entitled to it.

So how do we reverse this trend?  Any ideas?