Originally Posted by Pembroke_Corgi
I was one of those well-behaved children. I was obedient, polite, and quiet. I received straight A's and my teachers all loved me. I never once received a detention, or ever came close. Was I happy? Of course not, my father was a classic authoritarian parent and I was simply conditioned to behave that way. I would take a happy, normal child any day and I think that people who talk about "kids these days" are simply glossing over their own childhoods or are completely out of touch with kids.
I work with kids every single day and I can tell you that they are not anything like what I would think hearing some people describe them. They are fun to be around, and frankly they have minds of their own and don't need to be programmed like robots to think exactly what their parents think. Chances are, if parents are good role models the kids will pick up on that anyway, and they certainly don't need to be "kicked in the butt."
I also think that it's a good thing that exclusionary games are being removed from schools. Life is NEVER "sunshine and puppies" no matter what. But, why would you ever set your child up for disappointment if you could avoid it? That doesn't make sense to me, but then again neither does saying that all we really need is a kindergarten education. Guess I just wasted about 17 years of my life then, huh?