UK society 'demonising' children

Originally posted by Dan Tanna


They seem incapable of any want or desire to raise themselves up from where they lay to attain better things. They seem content to be this feral menace - 'cause it gets respect ainnit !

How can you expect them to strive for more when all they ever see around them is the older generation failing.


If you put a poor child in a 'rich' section of the city he may try to do better but when surrounded by poor people, why would he think he can do any better.

I am not defending their actions at all, but don't blame them entirely, they should know better. But nobody has shown them better and actually bothered to bring them up properly...

Children / Teenagers are always trying to push the limits of acceptability, it's what they do and we are all probably guilty of it as we were all once teenagers, full of piss and vinegar and knew it all. However, there was always someone there to remind us, forcefully if need be, that we didn't know it all and where the lines were that we should not cross.

Today, due to government interference and too many "experts" in behavioral sciences (most of whom I expect don't even have kids themselves), the lines that were once drawn have been erased and discipline is regarded as oppression.

I hear these kids using the word "Respect" all the time but with little or no realisation that respect is a two way street. They don't seem to comprehend that respect must be earned through their interaction with others and is not something given through fear and intimidation.

Originally posted by Dan Tanna
In Glasgow I blame the weather and midges making people mean as rattlers with tooth ache.

Och.. izzat reet well??

Truth be told it's 'human rights' campaigners messing where they don't belong that have caused this.

Taking the power away to kick your offsprings arse when they get into trouble has given punishments no 'bite'

Now 6yr olds abuse you in the street and when parents tell them to 'be nice' they tell them to 'f-off' too and threaten to call the police if they chastise them..

There's a very real reason behind all this 'nannying'.. I'm pretty sure someone somewhere knew what was going to happen..
We just have to figure out why..
Easier to call for martial law with support than if they were all nice and polite I think.
If they don't have an excuse to round everyone up and chip them.. then breed it into a new generation.

reply to post by AGENT_T


Good post my thoughts exactly, this problem could really be sorted out using common sense, its not though which gives me the impression theres another agenda to letting the kids get this way and thats worrying.

I have many experiences with the young.... i have two 16 year old sisters and have a family friend with 2 late teen boys and have an almost 8 yr old son...
...Being 25 it doesnt seem that long since i was at school, and believe me, the youths today seem to be 10x worse than i ever remember anyone being... in fact i had a conversation with a policewoman a few weeks ago who told me the teenagers are ''a law to themselves'' they have total disregard for the law, and asbo's are even looked upon as an honour?...

From what ive seen with my own family, msn and myspace can cause huge problems and bullying.... leading to fights and fallouts and rivalry..
....Knife crime on the streets amongnst youths is terrifying and showing no signs of changing, only getting worse, their either carrying knives with intent or carrying them for protection...

Before my son was homeschooled, the kids at school would be swearing in the playground and my son and myself witnessed severe bullying even at that age....

The youths are out of control in a major way, at whilst some is too blame on society, parenting etc.... as far as im concerned, however your brought up, by the time you reach 14, you know what is right and what is wrong, you know to walk the streets abusing innocent people is just wrong and disrespectful, no excuse for it at all...... and more youths should be locked up to teach and set an example that it wont be tolerated...

my mothers friends son who is 21 now, is serving 4 years in prison for armed robbery, he was wild from a young age, and was stealing cars by age 15.... he was constantly let off?????? over and over and over.... he knew he could get away with it so he never learnt, if they locked him up at 16, and gave him a taster of what could be his future, maybe he would have changed his ways....

....Another alarming attitude i was told about by this policewoman is that the youths actually dont mind prison?? its nothing they fear, they get 3 meals a day, tv, pool table, roof over their head and no stress with bills etc??.....

When i lived in spain the youths had fear for the guardia civil, when they saw an officer they would stand straight and keep their head down, they were much more respect and this i feel is gone in the uk, completely....

*obviously im not targeting all youths, there are many wonderful children growing up in uk, my son being one of them

reply to post by cosmicstorm


The policewoman was right about peoples attitudes towards prison, a few of my ex freinds are now in prison, I bumped into one of them a few months ago and asked him what it was like. his exact words were "its like a holiday camp"...now what does this tell you!?!?

He said he had an xbox with loads of games a tv a dvd player loads of dvd's and he was doing a doing a college course which would cost a working person a few thousand if they wanted to do it.

He also implied I was a mug for working when you get so much more for being a terror, if this is the kind of attitude people have got towards prison is it any wonder there at bursting point.

What an outlook on life...you be bad you get rewarded what kind of system are we living in...

What we need is a punishment law, like public whippings.

If somone commits a violent crime no matter what age they are, that person must be arrested and taken to the centre of town where the victim gives them 10 lashes infront of everyone doing shopping.

That should teach them not to be barbaric animals and respect other people.

I'm not really concerned about the UK. The war on Drugs has put so many people in jail here at home. I mean come on 10 years of an ounce of weed? Some child preditors dont even get that much time. It seems odd to me when we as a people have become OK with the idea that people can go to jail for longer if they sell drugs than rapists, child molesters and wife beaters. I feel like I'M taking crazy pills.

....fred3110

Exactly!..... another youth i knew in prison told his mum ''im not coming out unless they give me a flat where i want it, otherwise ill stay thanks''.......
...i find it infuriating, it sets no example... its one of the reasons im moving back to spain, this country is on a downward spiral

reply to post by jazzygrl52


yes i completely agree.....this subject also infuriates me!!!!!!

Find a reasonable, smart sensible kid in your neighbourhood, give him a weapon and tell him to go and smack the yobs head in with it, if the yobs get away with why can't the sensible kid?

In America we have the same problem, it started with "don't spank your children" and it has gone downhill ever since."
I know that alot of people think that spanking is "damaging to children" but allow me to tell you a story about my son.

My son is 6 years old and is a functioning autistic.
Before my divorce my wife was the primary caretaker of my son, she was a little soft on him because of his autism and he was supposedly a real handful. Well when she decided to leave me, she left the boy as well, so when we went to court I was able to convince the judge to give me custody of our son.
I was thrilled.
You see when she first left I thought how am I going to raise this boy without his mother, after all he is autistic and she told me how bad he can be. And she was the expert right?
Having not been real read up on autism I treated him like I was as a child.
Now because my son was at the time non verbal I just observed his behavior and I came to the conclusion that he understood a lot more than his mother gave him credit for, and so when he would act out I would tell him that if he did not behave he was going to get a spanking. And so the spankings began
It took me about 2 weeks and the vast majority of his "typical autistic" behaviors went the way of the dodo.
Now a just little over a year later my son is not only vocal and well behaved but has begun to really learn how to read. Most of his "symptoms" are no longer evident, and he is extremely affectionate.
Apparently real and consistent loving discipline is a cure for quite a number of ills. I remember his pre-k teacher noting how much better behaved and receptive to instruction and his early speech skills had improved about a month after his mother left and I was able to take a more hands on approach to my sons rearing.
Sounds like the UK needs to bring spanking back into vogue as does the rest of the world.


[edit on 04/13/2008 by sacerd]

[edit on 04/13/2008 by sacerd]

[edit on 04/13/2008 by sacerd]

[edit on 04/13/2008 by sacerd]

reply to post by cosmicstorm


Good idea leaving the country This ships sinking and its taking everyone with it! Give em 4 walls a bunk a toilet and less of this namby pamby human rights for prisoners rubbish, see how many of the get there act together!

I want to leave the UK too...

For many reasons:

The police are absolutely useless when it comes to dealing with the psychotic youth of today. They would rather arrest the victim of a crime for retaliating against the muggers than do anything about the actual muggers.

For instance, say I got out of my house and get jumped by a group of say five 15-18 year old hoodie wearing psycho's. I ring the police and they wouldn't do a thing.

Yet, if i took the law into my own hands and went out and sorted them out for myself, I can honestly count the minutes the police would arrive to arrest me on the fingers on one hand.

We, the decent people of Britain are trapped between the pathetic law that supposedly protects us and also the gangs of kids that have absolutely no respect for anything and anyone?

Who do we turn to? We ourselves are losing respect for the law due to their inneficiency, we aren't allowed to protect ourselves and sometimes a walk through town on a late night can be a gamble between life and death.

Yet, we pay our taxes, we we pay our bills, we work, we study hard, yet those little bastards are allowed to do anything they want as they don't fear jail or punishment, they don't even get punished.

Common sense has fled this country.

R.I.P UK

A child isn't born a problem to society it’s moulded during its impression years by all around it and with the right input (something that we in the UK seem to have perfected) we end up with either aggressive non-children or introvert non-communicative child zombies (children that don’t know how to be innocent and carefree) from as early as 3-4yrs old. And you know, it has nothing to do with money! Money or the lack of it isn’t the reason for these empty shell children, its repeated ‘wrong’ learning from parent after parent after parent. You can throw as much money as you like at these bad or absent parents and they would still be the same, if they are incapable of breaking free from their own history of bad parenting only to pass on this wrong teaching.

And, the government/Banking/Big Business systems that perpetuate this situation, are all there waiting to make this bad parenting the norm because it suits their aims!

What is their aim? The same as its always been. Divide and rule. Same multi-social strata with different names.

So yes the demonising of children is how we can keep society emotionally divided and in fear.

Originally posted by umbr45
If you put a poor child in a 'rich' section of the city he may try to do better but when surrounded by poor people, why would he think he can do any better.

There are lots of poor people in the world, as well as poor children raised in poor families. It does NOT mean they becomes thugs, thieves, rapists, etc... People can be poor and have dignity and raise their children to be decent moral individuals.

I am so tired of hearing "well they were poor so naturally they became sadistic little beasts". In many cultures, in may places in the world being poor does not prevent one from being moral!

[edit on 9-6-2008 by Sonya610]

reply to post by Sonya610


Absolutely, I was raised in a poor family, but was taught manners, respect and dignity... that was the thing that made me different from some of the other kids at school. I was targeted for being literate and having an imagination, and I now look back and see the many routes I could have taken... Many of the kids i knew back then are now dead, locked up or hooked on drugs....

Which isn't miles apart from some of the middle class rich kids who snort lines of ketamine up their noses every weekend, have no respect or value for money and look down on the working class, for well... being the working class. They have never known the feelings of 'need', they are generally (but not always, i hate to create stereotypes) - spoiled and come across as very dependant people who struggle in the real world.

Class and status does not breed anything, but a bit of respect and a few manners can make the biggest difference, and they cost absolutely nothing.

that is hilarious [ the initial post ]
children in Britain are pampered and spoiled .. they are revered hardly demonised .. and they often lack any sort of discipline which causes alot of problems for some ..

Totally agree with the above top posts..... i too was raised in a poor area, i was also exposed to alot of drugs and drug dealing, but i didnt grow up to take drugs, neither did i grow up thinking i could do whatever i wanted without regards to anyone else, which seems how alot of youths are these days, including my sister!!......

I honestly think that no matter your background, status or situation, if you grow up into a 'thug' then thats the path you chose, i keep hearing how kids are labelled with certain conditions (mentally) and for them thats there excuse as to why they are that way (not saying some dont have certain conditions)...... from what ive seen in my own family and surroundings, they dont want to take the blame..... always blaming someone else....

If they didnt get away with it, they wouldnt do it...

Another thing my other sister told me was that in her school, people 'know' that if your gonna stab someone, do it in the leg, you'll get less 'time'.... or none at all...
.... thats seems to be the mentality, dont stop doing it, just do it the way with less consequences...

[edit on 9-6-2008 by cosmicstorm]

Originally posted by Sonya610

There are lots of poor people in the world, as well as poor children raised in poor families. It does NOT mean they becomes thugs, thieves, rapists, etc... People can be poor and have dignity and raise their children to be decent moral individuals.

I am so tired of hearing "well they were poor so naturally they became sadistic little beasts". In many cultures, in may places in the world being poor does not prevent one from being moral!

[edit on 9-6-2008 by Sonya610]

Yes...but many 'poor' people don't bother to teach this, I am not saying being poor is an excuse but put a person with a group of underachievers and he will start to do worse. Especially when he is not taught the morals that middle class people take for granted.

Heck you can see this in a school class room; take an average student and stick him in the middle of a bunch of rowdy kids for a year (now he maybe the type who works hard regardless) there is a big chance his grades will fall. Now put him in a bunch of much more hardworking kids (he may be the kind who doesn't care anyway and so tries no harder) and there is a large chance his grades will rise.