juvenile delinquency

When I was a little girl – oh, so very long ago – I sassed my Mom . . .

One day – I was probably about 6 or 7 years old – I told her that I was running away – she was a mean Mommy and I was leaving. She said “all right – let me help you.” And, she packed a bag for me and set it beside me where I sat pouting on the front porch.

As you might well imagine, I did not run away that day. When my tummy reminded me that it was nearly dinner time, I picked up my bag and went back into the house where Mom had lovingly set a place for me at the table – just in case.

Just in case I came to my senses – just in case I cared to join her and the family – just in case she was right and I was wrong. She never lorded it over me. She was much too smart for that. She had spoken volumes without saying a word – in that one action of packing my bag so that I could leave whenever I so chose. She knew without saying so that there was no way I was going to leave, or if I did, no way that I was going very far.

Consider, however, what might happen in today’s world. A youngster gets a bit sassy and says that she is running away and Mom packs a bag. Do you know what would happen to that Mom (or Dad) if the child proceeded to go on a walkabout? Yup – a coupla hours in the nearest cop shop being grilled on what bad parents they were.

And, just who is calling the shots in this case? Mom-Dad? Nope! Cops? Nope, again! How about child protection services? Nope, not even them. No, the one calling the shots is the child who takes it into his or her head to go on that walkabout. The child has mom and dad and the police and even child protection services right where s/he wants them – and s/he can wriggle the worm on the hook and watch the baited ones squirm.

It’s a sad day – this day and age when we are not allowed – under any circumstances – to spank our children for misbehaving – to punish by taking toys away – to punish by confining to a room – to do anything other than allowing the little hellions to do completely as they want to do.

Just so you know – I am NOT in favor of child abuse. I don’t consider a swat to the padded backside of a child to be abuse. God provided a handy padding there and a swat will hardly hurt. A swat mainly gets the attention of the little truant long enough to allow him or her to listen. That is, if respect has been demanded and received in their younger years – if both parents are willing to stand together in disciplinary matters – if the child is made to understand that the family is a unit, not run by him or her alone – if we could just keep nosy, busybody folks (albeit well meaning) out of everyone else’s business but their own – if pigs could fly and rocks could sing. Yup, just as impossible as that, I’m guessing.

This old world of ours is in sad shape – and, just think, friends. The delinquent of today – is the leader of tomorrow, or at the very least the one who will be calling the shots. Seriously. The lack of respect of children, teens, young adults for their elders is frightening in and of itself.

While I remember the nuns rapping our knuckles with a ruler when I was small – I respected them as I grew up. We hear stories today of teachers who complain about having too many children in their classrooms – at 24 or 25 children – and I laugh, because the elementary classrooms I learned in had 30-35 children sitting at their desks. And, yet we rose whenever the teacher walked into the room and greeted him or her (not all of the teachers were nuns) with respect and a good morning. If a teacher dropped an eraser or piece of chalk, we vied for the joy of picking it up and handing it back. We begged to be allowed to carry bags home for them after school.

Was I any different back then, than the children of today? Only in that I suffered a swat on my britches – or some discipline – from time to time from my mother. And, I suffered it in silence and a deep respect for the pain I had brought her. Would that the children of today could appreciate the same thing.

Posted by Purplemoose at August 5, 2004 11:55 PM