It stands to reason now that this generation of kids is more out of control than previous generations, especially teenagers. The old saying of “SAVE THE ROD, ELIMINATE THE CHILD” used to be the rule of thumb that most parents lived by. Unfortunately, in today’s time using the rod, you can go to jail. Now, in 2013, it’s time to take back control of our children, before the law steps in and takes control of them for us. I have found some helpful ways for parents to discipline their children and set them on the right path to being a productive member of society.
I too have a teenage girl and once she was out of control lying and sneaking around with the kids, as any parent knows, that’s our worst nightmare come true. She hit me like a ton of bricks when I found out what she had been up to, so I punished her. I went through the whole grounding routine as anyone would in that situation. Of course, that didn’t work at first because of the invention of the internet and kids these days are gurus at it. I did some personal research on how my daughter came into contact with these children, after discovering that most of them did not attend her school. According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, 93% of teens go online, 75% access through their cell phones. This is what he did on social networks; Don’t get me wrong, I’m not here to criticize social media, especially since it can be a great tool for promoting, advertising, or just keeping in touch with the people you care about. If placed in the hands of a teenager, it can be used in a completely different way.
At first I banned my daughter from all social networking sites, only to find out that she accessed them through her cell phone. I knew then that I had to physically sit down and watch her delete all of her accounts. Yes, I know she can always sneak off and do more, that’s when I periodically Google her name on whatever social site I come across. It may seem difficult at first to keep her child off the Internet, but unless she has time to sit and watch them on the computer every day, you might want to at least limit her use to schoolwork. Think back to the days before the Internet when we had to go to the library or if you were lucky enough to have the Encyclopedia Britannica. Now I know it’s no longer practical to have 32 hardcover books taking up space in your house, but the point is, we did just fine without the Internet. I’ve found that banning kids from using social networking sites is a good tool to use when they’ve gone rogue. It gives you extra time on your hands now, time that can be used for things like studying, being productive or creative (especially with your hands and mind), or helping around the house. This might even help prevent you from becoming a grandparent early if you know what I mean.
