What about the state of children these days?

The blame should be cast on a lot more than just the parents. Let's say you're a parent with a kid in middle school and you did your best to raise your child in a certain way in order to shape them into a good kid.

>Your kid could pick up some bad behaviors from another kid at school.
>Your kid could go over to a friend's house, be spoiled by that kid's parents, and start expecting the same treatment at home.
>The pressures of school could make your kid snap.
>Your kid could experience some kind of trauma.
>The internet. Just...the internet.
>Your kid could learn some choice slurs from other people while playing video games.

You could deter the last one by not buying specific games, but if you did for whatever reason (such as buying it for yourself but having your kid find it and play it) then all of these situations would be out of your control as a parent.

It's difficult to be a perfect parent because at some point you have to put some faith in your kid and it's entirely possible for your kid to make bad decisions of their own.

I remember when I was a kid, six years old, we'd say stuff like "mean" and "silly" when we were negatively referring to someone.
Well even when I was in 8th grade, while I didn't use words like that, I wasn't swearing or anything. Anyway, if always found younger children so much more pleasant than kids my age, I could relate to them more. But I had noticed that year that these kids were swearing their tiny first grade heads off. They'd say things I still don't even say, in 10th grade. They'd also be calling people "sexy" a word I didn't even know until I was in 7th grade. They were also obsessed with "swag" and "derp" and more of the stupidest things I've ever heard. As if that wasn't enough, they were becoming conceited, spoiled, bratty, jeez.
I really think it's partially because of the easy access to the Internet that they have, plus all the horrid stuff on TV that parents somehow let them watch.
Childhood should be a time of innocence, and it's sad to see that I'm probably more innocent than these kids now.
Keep in mind, these were twenty or so kids who went to my preK-8 school which is one of, if not the most, sheltered places anywhere. When I left in 8th grade, no one was dating, one person wore his pants half off, and got teased accordingly (not saying it's right, but people act didn't act like it was cool. They knew it was gross), heck most of us didn't know any swear words until 6th grade, and no one said any ever (except one kid occasionally).
So if there's any environment where kids would be kids, it's here.
It seems I've digressed from the ill-behaved children, but I still think this is an important point, in my opinion at least.

Kids these days are monsters. But there's also lots of well-behaved kids too.

I'm glad that me and most of my friends have had strict parents. My best friend's mum said she would take her son's games away indefinitely if he played a super-violent video game, and it worked. He's never played anything super-violent. He's 18 and he's never played anything more violent than Tomb Raider Anniversary (and even then, his mother was hesitant about buying him it). Then again, he is rather sheltered compared to most kids. He didn't know what sex was until he was a teenager. Even now his parents get angry when he says a mild swear.

Seriously, nowadays 10-year-old boys are playing COD while when I was 10 I still played with toys. I only have one male friend who's played COD, and even then, he forbids his 10-year-old brother from playing it. It works - the brother plays video games more appropriate for his age. I hate COD because it affects kids negatively. One nice kid I knew became a real jerk when he started playing COD.

One of my other friends said he had to babysit this family where the oldest kid was 9 and he watched Family Guy. I find Family Guy extremely disgusting and obnoxious, so I refuse to watch it. Who would let a 9-year-old watch that show? Even people in Japan wouldn't let kids that age watch something like that!

Even my family, a Muslim family, has its slips. A second cousin of mine lets his 11-year-old son play violent games. I recently heard him listening to Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" (a song which I HATE). The kid is a pain in the ass, and he's rude. So much for the people who think that Muslims all have Victorian-era morals.

Girls are even worse. I see young girls allowed to wear thongs and miniskirts. They're also allowed to listen to vulgar music. Someone like Nicki Minaj is not meant for young girls. They also give up dolls when they're like 8 - my sister played with her dolls until she was 13. (And I mean real dolls, not those skanky Bratz dolls.) The moral guardians blame the singers, but it's the parents. Britney Spears isn't forcing your 9-year-old daughter to wear her clothes.

Kids are also rude to their parents. Stuff that I would get smacked for seem to be okay with these kids. If I talked about killing someone, my parents would have slapped me hard. They also don't care if the kid acts up in public. I acted up at a store when I was 9 and then I was grounded for over a week. When these kids do, they get away with it.

Some parents need to realize that when their kid behaves badly, the blame goes straight back to themselves, and kids need to be educated by their parents so.

One of the main excuses for kids deterioration in behaviour is TV shows/video games. It mainly seems to be the media who mention this which is pretty ironic.
I don't think TV or games can really blamed though. Afterall, violent TV shows have always been around (in fact there's probably not as much around now as there used to be) and while such games haven't been around for too long really, they're simply expansions from the TV shows and, in my opinion, can't be held any more responsible.

In terms of what's actually to blame for unruly kids, it's most likely a multitude of things.
As I'm 20, when I was growing up it was generally different to how it is now. Me and my brother were raised single-handedly by our dad for the majority of our childhood. He was always out working so he hardly ever saw us. We still turned out well and respectful so I don't believe it when people say things like "not being close with parents will caught behaviour/attitude changes". That didn't happen to us because our dad was old skool and therefore didn't let us get away with things. We'd soon get a slap if we did anything wrong.

In comparison, my sister is 14 and is a right annoying b**** most of the time. My mum doesn't work so they get to spend time together but not too much time otherwise it'll cause more arguments. My sister gets away with anything (unless I shout at her about it) and gets whatever she wants because my mum spoils her big time. My mum knows she spoils her but just keeps saying that it's too late to change and refuses to even try.
While out shopping at one point, my sister was mouthing off so my mum went to slap her. My sisters exact words were "You can't smack me because you're not allowed".

I'm not saying that kids should be smacked just for the fun of it but they should definitely be allowed to be physically punished if they deserve it. As smacking if frowned upon by people these days (in the UK anyway, not sure about other countries) kids think that they're untouchable and therefore think they can get away with anything. That only really applies to the above examples though.


As a result of the different upbringings, I'm totally respectful whilst with company (be that personal or public) whereas my sister has a rotten attitude and seems to think it's acceptable to do as she pleases and treat people like crap.

Our grandparents said the same thing about our parents generation. Our parents said the same thing about us, and we'll say the same thing about our children. It's a vicious cycle. I think this is really situational, like the scenario BIS mentioned with absentee parents. Kids will act out for attention. But I would stop very well short of an all-encompassing judgment that all kids these days are evil little maniacs, and that we should weep for the future. Like it or not, they'll be leaders in society one day.

Okay, time for my input. If I'm being honest, I'm more or less part of the current generation of kids (gasp! the horror!) and, while I am FAR from perfect, I wouldn't go so far as to describe myself as a monster or anything like that. I mean, I don't swear, play violent things, listen to obscene music (actually, atm I've got some Mozart going), etc., and even when I read about or see violence I don't act like the people I see, but I have my flaws, such as a tendency to procrastinate. I've got plenty of friends who are good, honest teens, and we aren't the monsters you describe here. I also frequently help my mother in her classroom, and most of the kids there, while squirmy and pretty noisy, are actually well-behaved.
One important thing I remember hearing/reading that might be relevant is that everyone is the hero of their own story. Your memory typically works so that you are in the right, and your brain is more likely to hold onto happy memories (such as you being good) than others (such as you being bad).
Also worth noting is that, yes, it is parenting, too. There're lots of types of parenting, from incredibly strict parents that only let their kids read/watch/play things for their age groups to really lenient ones that just don't care, or don't oppose their children much. The latter category isn't necessarily bad, though. I have a great buddy whose parents are pretty lenient with him, but they almost never fight, and he describes himself as having a good relationship with his parents.

(Sorry if this is a bit rambly/jumbled, that's just how my mind works.)