Some people have difficultly understanding that whilst one's children might be the dearest things in the world and worthy of attention from their parents, that doesn't mean that they are worthy of an easy or free ride through life. The consequences of this are not hard to see, with a generation which a greater sense of entitlement and self-worth than befits them, and I know that because i'm part of that generation.

Whether it's them stopping traffic to "demand" their "right" to a student allowance equal to the minimum wage, being unwilling to accept duty and responsibility in their lives until they are well and truly adults, or simply being unwilling to serve their community in things such as the armed forces, this current generation has some serious misconceptions of entitlements. The Victorian ideas of public service, civic duty and the betterment of man achieved by the fulfilling of duty, whilst alive in many parts of the community, are lacking in most.

The question is, when it comes the day that we don't have enough soldiers for our own defence, and the public purse cannot stretch to pay for those who demand that the state make up for their failures, will this be a generation that would allow itself to be conscripted and return to an ethic of not spongeing off the state? My first answer is no, but there is certainly grounds upon which we can be optimistic, as certain national symbols and days, such as Anzac day, are taking on a greater significance.

Perhaps our history will come to our aid and undo the damage done by parents!

DFXK. Not the damage done by parents, but the damage done by ADULTS in their capacity as parents, teachers, citizens, politicians, policeman etc.

The way the whole system is set up dumbs down our children and grooms them to be irresponsible.

I agree with what Jane has to say.
Yes too much cotton wool.
Parents need to teach their kids life skills, the kids also need to experience life and it's hard knocks.

I only have one child, and will never have to worry about the cost of sending him to Uni.
Nore will I ever have to worry about him being put in one of those advanced classes and bruising his ego because he's no longer in the top percent.
Unfortunately he's near the bottom, and seldomly remembers to do home work.
But he does enjoy himself sailing, scouting, horse riding, playing with his dog, helping dad around the farm, pulling broken appliances apart to see how they work, and getting down right filthy dirty.

That's right he won't be a rocket scientist!
Maybe a machanic, sparky, brickie, plumber, builder, metal worker, farmer etc.
Which isn't such a bad thing when you think about it, there is a shortage of people to fill some of these jobs.
I'll be proud if he grows up and is successful at a job like one above.
Much better than having a degree, being too good for a blue collar job, and being on the dole.

Very well said Jane but why say it in twice the number of words that are needed.
The way to hold attention for a long time is to write more so it takes a long time to read.
How does it all come out in the wash?
Maybe that out youth today are overprotected because we adults looking back to our own youth were underprotected,
We parents were underprotected so to compensate for our own feelings of insecurity we overprotect our children.
Has Jane written a lot to hold the reader's attention a lot longer than need be because as a child she did not get the attention she needed because she was underprotected like we all were. I fear that our parents were wrong and we parents today are also wrong. So just what is the correct way to bring up children?
Maybe there is no correct way. Maybe whatever way the child will grow up to be insecure anyway. Who in this world feels totally secure within themselves? We all need to be loved to feel secure . . . and that means being dependant.
If we were independant and wholly fulfilled we would not need another person in our lives.

This thread reminds me of a Monty Python sketch. You know the one, where four Yorkshiremen sit around trying to outdo each other with tales of how tough their childhood was, eg "Luxury. We used to have to get out of the lake at six o'clock in the morning, clean the lake, eat a handful of 'ot gravel, work twenty hour day at mill for tuppence a month, come home, and Dad would thrash us to sleep with a broken bottle, if we were lucky!" The sketch ends with "And you try and tell the young people of today that ..... they won't believe you!"

You people need to get a grip. Every generation thinks the next one has got it easy. The literature moaning about the "young people of today" goes back to ancient Athens. The current generation will face challenges like peak oil and trying to repair the environmental damage perpetrated by their elders. They may very well look back at us and wonder why we squandered the world's resources with such gay abandon. But they will cope. like people have always coped when the world changes.

And why did Johnj write?
To sit around and try and outdo us.
You see John you can't write and be independent of the group. You become what you have written because you posted what you have thought.
The way to be smart John is to hold your thoughts in your mind and not publish them here. Give them to us by thought transference. Our minds are open.