I have a two and half year old and enjoy every moment.

I follow a principle daily that I made up, ie "I try to bring up the child I want to have". In other words, I dont want a whingey, whiny, sulky, selfish, unfriendly bully (etc) so I dont "see" that kind of behaviour on the rare occasions when it happens, he gets no rise out of me and soon stops. When he's happy and fun to be with on the other hand I never stop noticing it and he never wants for praise.

But there's so much more to it, of course, than just that as you stand back and look at your child. I often wonder.... Who he will be? What will he do? Will he have good mates? Will he read well like me? Will he do well at school unlike me? How much depends on me? I ask myself, will he gang up with other guys against people? Do all males read porn? What will he stand for in his life? I don't know the answer to these questions but I surround him with all sorts of good people and hope it rubs off.

On the lighter side, we kick the (egg)ball together almost every day, he has a fine eye with his mini-cricket bat and I look forward so much to teaching him a little bushcraft, fishing tips and the strong beachcraft or swimming skills that all Aussies deserve and that I got when I was young. He knows the call of a kookaburra and a cockatoo and he can spot a wallaby a mile off (yes, both kinds). On the other hand, I really dont know what I'll do when he starts asking for a ride on my CBR1000(although it'd be a little clapped out by then of course). I know I will be a hypocrite when that happens I can just feel it.

And yes, I am only a single mother and he is a little boy with so many years to go.. oh what to do? what to do?

Ro,
What do you do?
Ask you son what he wants his life to be.
Tell him to reject everything of what his mother wants.
You will then bring into the world a happy well-adjusted human being

I had an idea for the government to bring back two years military service to our country. Obvously there not going to be sent to the front lines.

With this, children comming out of high school will recive a +10 upon their enter, plus a resonalbe sum of money as a starting package for their commitment in the army. Think about all those benifits plus the chance to use these skills from training ie:engineering for exsample epescially if they detect a terrorist attack, we can prevent a terrorist attack from happening due to basic combat training.

More importantly, the dicipline recived would prevent these generations from rebelling agaist laws and their parents and becomming savage barbarians like seen in many cases in Australian society today.

All i need is approval or support of somthing like this, Its really up to whether the public agrees.

As one of the aforementioned generation, I believe that our society's response to this problem must be threefold.

1. Education must change. Our schools must place a greater empahsis on the study of literature written before the Second World War. Australian poets such as Lawson, Patterson, O'Brien and Dennis should be compulsary study, and the greatest works ever written should be attempted by as many as possible. Critical theories and post-modernism should not be taught, and a greater emphasis given to grammer, spelling and rote learning. The study of Australian history - one wrested away from the hands of the education bureaocrats - should be done in depth. Music should have a greater focus on traditional forms.

2. Days of national importance should be observed more piously. The trend towards celebrating Anzac Day is a positive which should be enhanced, but the idea that it is a party be discouraged, opting for a solemn ceremony. Parliament ( both houses) should be broadcast live by the ABC whenever it sits, rather than for an hour a day, and an hour after midnight... as we are all sleeping or working/going to school at that time. Australia's city should seek to emulate their heritage by preserving old buildings without changing them, and seeking to build buildings in a more traditional manner.

3. Not giving financial incentives to de facto relationships, but only to marriage, to preserve its unique position in society and encourage it to be seen not only as a thing of personal fulfillment but also as one of societal duty.

Military service might work in imbibing such values as are needed, however many schools - with or without cadets - do a similar job.

Not sure what you mean, GlenWriter?

Has post-modernism in the education system set kids adrift? Where everything is relative and no objective facts or values are deemed to exist, what can they hang on to?