Do we need to be more severe with young people?

Question

Someone said

“Britain has become too soft especially by overdoing the whole 'freedom' and 'human rights' thing. If being severe with thugs is the way to gain back respect why not? It’s a great idea and a start. And those thugs can’t complain!”

Agree? Disagree…why?

Answer 1

We do need to raise our expectations of children's behaviour (I've just spent a day with my grandson and my future step-grandson.  What a nightmare.)

Their parents cajole them, bribe them, blackmail them and persuade them into obedience.  It's time consuming and when it fails, the consequences affect the whole family ie "If you don't behave, we're going home!"

I am the mother of four very well behaved (usually) children, I brought them up knowing that if they broke the rules, they faced the consequences.  Yes, I did and would smack and because my children knew it, they were well behaved.  So consequently, no smacking was necessary.  No tensions, no vibes.  I have a very good relationship with my children, who are frequently shocked at other children's behaviour.

I feel for my sons - whose wives are in charge of the discipline of their children.  Both are uncomfortable with smacking and while I respect that, we have come to dislike their visits.  And that is very sad.

Answer 2

i think that if a youngster can commit a crime - be it theft, murder, whatever, then they are old enough to face the consequences. and these consequences need to be serious. Why should a young offenders name be undisclosed and why should they be let off with a smack across the wrists. its about time we got an awful lot tougher and started showing these thugs that there will be harsh consequences to their actions.

Answer 3

In my experience of young people I have found that the vast majority are very well balanced and well educated individuals and a credit to our country and society.It is only a few that are giving the younger generation a bad name.

Answer 4

i say we should have a zero tolerance, but until we increase our prisons we will never implement a effective system / detterant! i would say lock em up till they have learnt there lesson, and remove all prison comforts while you are at it too, sattelite tv in prison? you must be joking!

Answer 5

I agree i cannot stand the Human rights of course everyone has them but Britain's taking it to a whole new level. The yob culture need to be dealt with more harshly, i don't know if you've seen it on the news but the Home Secretary is becoming more strict.

Answer 6

totally agree    nothing wrong with discipline -

CR@p  labour govt with smacking ban -  should be able to  disipline kids with anything that gets through to them -

Answer 7

Many cultures throughout history have at times been overly lax in dealing out discipline to chldren. The results have usually been social anarchy in a sense because no one learns the value of consequences and the concepts of right vs wrong. In the last 30 years we basically said "Oh, lets just let the children decide for themselves what is right and wrong". Well, anyone who has ever observed toddlers playing knows that when given a blank check on their own choices, children will make selfish ones.

Answer 8

Truthfully if people allow young people to disrespect authority then it only get worse over time. There has to be a line drawn and standards set and enforced in any situation.

Answer 9

i dont think the issues lies simply with thugs

its all about decent parenting

i was shocked to hear a child of about 5 tell me to p*ss off in front of his mother, simply because i told him not to go opening peoples front gates to their homes [onw of which was mine]. children of my time would never speak to an adult in such a manner

parents are too busy working and giving children computer games, to nuture their personalities .. its a discgrace

Answer 10

i BLAME THE FEMINAZIA and the Liberals!

ABORT! ABORT!

Answer 11

I think its School they spend more time at school than home.

So they are influenced more by friends it's schools that should become strict!

Answer 12

I think it's a great idea what they did to the ASBO merchants in Basildon - give them a taste of their own medicine and suddenly it all stops - perhaps the police should go round certain parts of London waving guns at hoodies and see what happens then as well ! ! !

Answer 13

Severe is not the word I would use.  They certainly need discipline, they need to learn the reason for discipline. They need discipline in the schools and at home they need a proper family unit.

Answer 14

i think the main word here is RESPECT. this is something that doesnt seem to exist anymore - ask any child what respect means and i doubt that 10% could tell you!

Now im not saying all kids are bad - oh no, i work within the scout movement so i know that there are a lot of pleasant young people in this world, but the average young person knows what they can do, and what they can get away with, and they also know that no-one can do anything to them!

U cannot touch a child! So if a group of 14/15 year olds tries to mug/attack you - what do you do? stand there and take it? or do you try to fight them off and risk hurting one of the little darlings - no doubt you would end up in jail if you did the latter???

Answer 15

agree

Answer 16

many of them have no centre, no soul, they can only react to immediate stimuli. they are self-centred in the extreme, dismissive, narcissistic, and useless.

see more on "gas a generation.com"

Answer 17

Yeah, a good clip around the ear..

Answer 18

I don't think being more severe with young people is the answer to todays problems.

If you think about it, most thugs come from violent families or are the product of uncaring parents. What's a 'good slap' or a 'clip round the ear' going to do? Education begins at home, so if we teach our kids to physically harm people instead of trying to reason with them, they'll end up using violence too.

Poverty or single-parenting has nothing to do with how people behave either.

As a single full-time working mum, I brought up three boys in a high-rise flat on a low budget. They attended a regular public school where even the teachers were often victims of verbal abuse from many pupils.

Despite all this, I managed to bring my boys up without the slaps - we would discuss any problems together and work something out together.

They're are all grown up now ...I'm 100% sure they'll bring their own kids up without physical punishment.

Answer 19

I don't think that being severe with thugs will help much. By the time they get to that stage of thought process it's too late anyway. If the general public didn't put so much of focus on not smacking their children then probably the thugs would never get to that stage anyway. The do gooders wrecked Britain which is why I left. I was disciplined and occasionally smacked by my parents and became a decent citizen. I don't see why I should have to live in a country of degenerates due to other peoples failings in parenting skills.

Answer 20

I don't think this is only a UK problem, it's an American problem as well.  Too many parents want their children to be free, allowed to do and act how they want.  We definitely need to get this under control, or this next generation is going to make our current overcrowding in prison seem like nothing!

Answer 21

Yes we do.

I would bring back the birch for judicial offences,the cane in schools and allow parents to smack (reasonably).

That might not solve everything but it would be a start.

For those who still run amock I would shut them up in reformatories with a strict regime and hard labour and make them wish not to return there so that they will behave decently once/if released - and I would make toeing the line and obeying rules a condition for their release.

Answer 22

Get a remote scottish island and fence it off.

anyone who is a teen thug will be sent there with a tent a sleeping bag and a few cans of beans and then survive how you can.

if you can't live responsibly in our society we don't want or need you.

Answer 23

Yes, severe times call for severe action. Some of the stuff that goes on today just should not be tolerated, but it is, and its the good people that end up suffering.

Answer 24

No. we should give our children lots of love and attention and hugs and kisses. Hitting them or being strict is not the answer

Answer 25

When I was growing up the mantra in our house was "if you can't hear you must feel".  Didn't do any of us any harm and made sure that the police never came to our door because of our behaviour on the street!!!!

The blame lies solely at the feet of the weak-kneed parents who try to be 'friends' with their children and pander to their every need - BIG mistake!!!!  Mum/Dad's word should be law and that should be the end of the matter.  Children haven't the experience to question otherwise and most responsible parents have their childrens best interests at heart.  What a lot of kids forget is that they need their parents more than the parent needs them!!!

If they are really hard-headed children then watch the Japanese film Battle Royale for an answer to the problem!!!!

Answer 26

I don't think anyone wants to be a thug, and do wrong things. I think it comes from feeling left out and not feeling important and success full. I think itæs the answer is more in the good conversation, to speak more openly to each other and not having to be scared to be honest.

Answer 27

'severe' ?! no . . . but I do agree that we need more discipline at home and to be able to teach them right from wrong so that they understand and not just so that they won't get a smack. it's about education.

Answer 28

Here in the U.S. we have been very soft on teens in particular. this has given rise to more street gangs and more prisoners.We need to back up the humanist perspective we have believed as it doesn't work.