"What’s wrong with kids these days?"

That’s a common question, one that every generation asks of subsequent generations. Over the years it has been asked so often that it has developed a lack of substance. But, in this day and age there seems to be some value in asking the question. One can’t help but wonder what is wrong when you see the nearly indescribable behavior of some of today’s youth. Be it the use of vulgarity by elementary school students, the embodiment of the hip-hop culture by tweens or the me-first attitude and apathy of teenagers, there are many symptoms that show something very disturbing with those who represent America’s Tomorrow.

While it can be said that the vast majority of youth are good-natured, well-raised souls that make you know there is hope for the future, the population of troubled kids seems to be growing. Punk kids were once rare but now they seem to be a dime a dozen. It would not be a stretch to say that too many of today’s youth are quite disappointing at first glance, nowhere near the standards set by previous generations or their own peers.

But, for as guilty as these youth may be of expressing poor behavior, there is a group much guiltier of what has gone wrong. These troubled kids became this way not through natural tendencies but rather through learned behaviors picked up from those around them. Therefore, the question is better asked: "what’s wrong with PARENTS these days?"

This thought can be posed with confidence because kids are kids. Children growing up today really are no different than those growing up a century ago. They are born uncorrupted and follow a relatively standard progression of developmental stages. They are made who they are from a number of environmental factors such as peers, schooling, income, media and more.

Yet, through this all, the most important thing affecting behavioral traits is the firm yet loving hand of a responsible parent. Proper parenting is an art in itself, requiring an attention to detail and a strong focus on values and responsibility. As made evident by today’s youth, this is becoming a lost art.

This begins with a domino effect set from society’s emphasis on materialism and "keeping up with the Joneses". Misguided parents think they are doing well by inundating their children with numerous electronic devices or assigning them to sports five days a week. In both scenarios, the kids lose. In the former the children become shut-ins whose behaviors are molded entirely by the morally-defunct entertainment media images that they ingest. In the latter scenario true familial interaction cannot be gleaned from a parent watching afar in the stands or racing a kid to and fro. Both cases could be considered "absentee parenting" as many parents, though physically nearby, do not spend quality time with their children and therefore have limited direct communication with them as they mature.

Something far worse than this disconnect is an important skill set lacking from modern parenting: the ability to instill responsibility within children. Many youth are lacking in self-discipline and gumption because proper discipline was never levied upon them by parents. This leads to an inability to cope or improve when school - or eventually the Real World – becomes difficult.

This lack of responsibility has arisen from two distinct sources, one being softness, the other being a "hands-off" approach.

Many parents have developed a kinder-gentler philosophy, not wanting to yell at the kids or hurt their feelings, aiming instead to maintain a "friendship" with them. When this approach is applied to the outside world it becomes a travesty because many parents end up blaming teachers for their failing child or school administrators for wrongly disciplining their child, when truthfully it is the irresponsible child at fault. From this the child never learns the true lessons of life.

The "hands-off" approach is just as troublesome - if not more so - with many parents washing their hands of their child’s transgressions, not disciplining or educating the kid following discipline from a third party. Therefore, the parent forgoes his or her own responsibility while implying "you’re on your own".

These issues represent only a very small piece of the puzzle. Many more parenting skills have eroded and caused a good number of youth to be lacking in respect, discipline, and personal ethics. It’s a sad predicament. But, there is a glimmer of hope. There are many great parents raising wonderful kids in these harried times and it is from these people that the lost art of parenting can be rediscovered and put to use. All it takes is some tough love and a focus on things that truly matter.