Jan (not her real name) was a flower child of the 60s: a daisy-waving-psychedelic-peacenik-free-love-liberal-Democrat-bimbo who bore a love child after high school. Jan spoiled her baby with no discipline or boundaries. One day when her toddler misbehaved and I offered a suggestion, Jan told me to mind my own business. Unfortunately for her child, I did.

About ten years later when the girl turned 13, Jan called and sounded hysterical: “Clark, I don’t know what to do. I have to go to work. She took my keys, my car and my wallet and left with her boyfriend. I think she’s on drugs or something. What should I do?â€

It was too late. A few years later when her child returned to prison, Jan got custody of all five of her daughter’s children. That lasted a few months – until DPSS finally declared Jan an unfit mother and took them away.

Back in the day (yes, I’m old enough I can say that) it wasn’t a matter of Mom mixing together several “heat-n-serve” dishes to make dinner, and there was little or no excess on the table, anyway. The food was wholesome and nutritious, and to toss it just ’cause you didn’t like it or you were full brought a quick “You took it, now eat it” response. Eating an extra half serving of squash or beans didn’t hurt then, and it doesn’t hurt now (unless it is prepackaged and saturated with sugar).

Nowadays, moms expect Swanson or Betty Crocker or whoever to have their chemical-laced tasties ready in 7 minutes or less, and the nutrition is totally out of whack. The kids, who haven’t heard the word “no” in their lives, assume whatever is within reach is theirs or Hell won’t have it. To too many parents, the dining table is at Mickey D’s or BK or wherever.

And I’m with the author: not all kids are that way. But enough of our future leaders are that it is scary to think of what will happen when someone really does tell them “no”.

When’s the last time you sat down with your family to a meal of unprocessed food, and actually carried on a conversation with those at the table?

I don’t buy the “kids will grow up” argument any more. Lifestyles have changed too much for that to be valid any more.

“Clean your plate or else!” and other authoritarian approaches to parenting can lead to overweight children, a new study finds…

from the AP

I can’t quite tell if this is a joke. What bloviation! If you want to figure out who’s at fault for today’s kids being screwed up, take a look in the mirror.

Or, blame the Clintons. It’s all their fault.

“The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority, they show disrespect to their elders…. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and are tyrants over their teachers.”

Sound familiar? Every generation thinks the next one is lazy and arrogant, but they’re just being kids. I agree you should be able to slap that sulky expression off their faces though.

I do actually have two cousins that really turned out bad. They were spoilt rotten as kids and their worthless drug addict parasites as adults that still sponge off their parents. But the rest are working hard, getting ahead and have families.

People grow up.