I agree RObert that the loss of any form of adventure games & play for kids is one reason for bad behavior. The same goes for young adults unless they indulge in some formal adventure sports.

The thing that highlights the change today is my memories from the late 50s. I knew many young people, many teenage girls, who would walk from night classes to at Sydney Uni to central railway station regularly with no fear. The same people would walk home from railway stations at places like Bankstown, Redfern or Bexley, again without fear.

Similarly many attended night courses at Ultimo Tech, walking to Museum station, & home in the suburbs without fear.

Would you allow any family member to do this today. I know I would be there to pick them up, rather than let them walk a few yards to a parked car.

I believe this new dangerous society we live in is due to not having instilled discipline in the younger generations, when we had the chance. Lack of heavy penalties strictly applied when young has actually trained the thugs of today to believe they can get away with anything.

The fact that we have dumb bleeding heart magistrates, who give a slap on the wrist, when 10 strokes of a cane on a bare butt, as would occur in Singapore, would be more appropriate only makes the problem, & the danger in our cities, grow exponentially.

@hasbeen

many here will think you are out of your mind to support the dictatorship in singapore

they have inhumane laws...caning...hanging...

but i share the same views as you do

we are too soft as a nation
too politically correct

the minority rules the nation
while the majority buries their heads in the australian sand

Yes, I looked up the latest crime rates in Singapore, and it does show they have one of the lowest crime rates in the world...especially violent crime.

I was interested to read that violent crimes are rare, as firearms are strictly controlled and punishments for pulling them out in public, let alone using them, are severe.

I would also like to see those sort of strict laws here in Australia .

Hasbeen my impression is that the demographics that are creating the risk you are talking about there are not ones where the parents are likely to have changed disciplining practices because of strong social convictions.

I do share some concerns about poor handling of juvenile offenders where current policies neither punish nor rehabilitate. I'm a bit of a fan of the view that its easier for people to step up to serious offences if lesser offences are not dealt with.

I'm not convinced that those who do the real anti-social behaviour are necessarily from families which try to discipline kids but don't use corporal punishment.

The tools and tactics of discipline are in part different issues to the choices of parents to provide appropriate boundaries for their children or not. I'm of the view the real debate should be more focussed on the need to provide a set of boundaries to children rather than on one specific tool for making a boundary work.

R0bert

Our kids aren't/weren't hit or threatened with a cane, and they are fine - as is the case with the children of friends and family.
Poirot,
If you're using yourself as a guide to calculate the above statement then you're already proven wrong.

R0bert,
I put the blame for most problems with juveniles onto our social surroundings. It's no wonder that intelligent kids go off the rails with the insanity that is modern entertainment. I'm utterly dismayed at the insanely repetitive promos on TV. Just as an example I counted the Channel 7 promo for the slideshow an impossible every two minutes for the past 3 weeks. Same goes for ABC, SBS & all other channels. Are these programmers having a lend of us or are they simply off their brains ? Just look at the utter $hit they're playing, saturation cooking shows, saturation talent shows, saturation travel shows, saturation literally on anything on australian TV. Is it any wonder our kids are slowly going mad from so much supposedly 'adult' insanity ?
These TV channels are government sanctions to drive our kids crazy yet when mum & dad try to do something about they get dragged over the hot coals. I say charge the TV stations with child abuse !