All we can do as parents is put our kids on the right track, as SE13 has mentioned (and a good post too) parental responsibilities are being stripped of us, christ when i was a kid id get a clip around the ear or a smack on teh arse, and it never did me no harm.
Now the gov expects us to instill discipline in an era where our hands are tied, im not saying violence or smacking is the way to go as it was in the years us older members were brought up, but there needs to be respect. FFS you sometimes read of kids who try to DIVORCE their parents, its bloody political correctness gone mad!
My kids are both polite, mind their manners & in general pretty good....but kids are kids, they fight, they squabble, they argue, they push us to our limits, id damn right put up with that than have them sitting in a corner doing jack shit, alot of elderly people think children should be seen & not heard i totally disagree with this.
Children need to learn from mistakes, but parents also need to allow them to make mistakes rather than wrap them up saying you cant do this & you cant do that, its common bloody sense! (of course within reason!)
When kids reach a certain age, (which is what im going through with Jake atm) they try to push teh boundaries, its nothing to do with how they are brought up its kids thinking they big, plus getting to that age where they have a bit of a chip on their shoulder, when they need a bit of lee-way & guidance, just because a kid gets an attitude now & again doesnt make him/her a bad kid.
As Adults we have bad days every so often, is a kid not allowed that too? You cant expect them to be perfectly behaved 24/7!!!
Christ knows how many times i huffed & puffed at my parents & now Jake does the same.....its called part of growing up & it certainly does not mean that they will turn into the next parent-beater.
TBH i think kids these days dont get enough credit, not all of them are like the one on the JK show, everyone focuses on the bad things they do rather than the good things too. im not ignorant or niave that there are kids who are what i call teh devil child, but alot of youngsters do alot of good things & are for teh most part well behaved.
No-one said bringing up kids would be an easy task, they dont come with a handbook!