Don't Blame the Parents

It seems as though people are keen to blame absolutely anything they can on one's upbringing, especially when looking at antisocial behaviour issues. Whilst this seems like a logical conclusion to make, might I add that most of the people I associate with do not have children. I used (and am still tempted) to spout such easy-to-say-when-you-haven't-been-through-it shit, but I stop myself because being a parent is probably very much different to not being one. So when people say "oh just discipline them, it's not hard!" they have absolutely no leg to stand on - how do they know whether or not it's hard?

The problem with this type of discussion is that it will often lead to a general debate about upbringing, at which point everyone seems to argue a certain point: "I was brought up dat way n I'm fine lol!!11" Far be it from me to tell them that they're spoilt and self-centred, don't behave well at school, and don't have a very good relationship with their parents. How can you really look at yourself objectively like that? Not to mention that statistical evidence might say something entirely different, but as long as you "turned out OK" that's all that matters, right?

So in sum, maybe parents can have a little conversation about upbringing, or perhaps those that have investigated the research and are doing it within a professional setting. Other than that, watching Supernanny and snubbing the featured parents' techniques does not make you an expert.