I think in general we overprotect children, and I feel that the ultra-religious people protect their kids the MOST. But most of all, LAZY parents are causing many of our problems.

There are too many parents out there who raise their kids as trophies that they don't want to let turn into actual people. They want them to be "cute" for life. They don't want to teach their kids important life lessons--they think if they "raise them right" by only letting them do a small handful of things, that somehow, magically, they'll suddenly be great and perfect when they finally turn 18. There are LOTS of parents out there like that. They're the ones raising naive, clueless, ignorant children who have no self esteem.

Then there's the other side, the ones raised by "hip-hop culture parents" who let their kids do anything and figure that the best lessons are ones out of direct experience and that if something bad happens to them, there's nothing they could have done anyway. Then, instead of being consistent on things, they beat and scream at their kids for random things on a regular basis. Then if they're not in jail by the time they're 18, they think they've done a good job. They're also the ones raising naive, clueless, ignorant children, but these kids aren't lacking a self-esteem, their esteem revolves around their current standing in their cliques or their gangs.

I think the sue-happy mindset in this country has destroyed self-responsibility. Kids are getting taught from an early age that if something goes wrong, it's somebody else's fault.

Kids NEED to learn the concept of responsibility. Kids NEED to learn how to defend themselves and shouldn't be taught to be defenseless and submissive. Kids need to learn how to cook, how to clean, how to balance a checkbook, and they need to learn about how the business world works.

Kids are NOT helpless unless they get TAUGHT to be helpless. The parents who teach their kids to be helpless, unfortunately, NEED to protect their kids because THEIR kids would NOT know how to stand up for themselves.

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