We have 2 teenagers at home and sometimes I really think they are strangers. I just don’t understand. Kids now days want to be disrespectful yet ask for something in the same breath. They’ll lie to you in your face and then not expect anything to happen. More parents are burying children who’ve died at the hands of other children. Young girls would rather be referred to as a bad b**** than their name and young boys would rather their pants sag than pull them up. What in the hell is going on? These kids have no sense of urgency yet they want you to move every time they call. They have no respect for themselves so how can we expect them to respect their elders? Yea, we take them to church yet they aren’t learning a thing because their heads are still in their phones the entire time. Yea, I know the bible says in Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it,” but what about now because they may not make it to grow old. No ma’am, no sir; I am not placing all of the blame on all parents because even those that care enough to act like it still raise rebellious children so I am placing the blame back on them. My 17-year-old says she can’t wait to move out yet she has no car, no job and no sense of responsibility even though she’s being raised in a home with 2 parents, morals and responsibilities. However, all I can do now is continue to try to correct her skewed thinking before the world slaps her in the face. Sometimes I believe the smart phones these children carry around are smarter than them and it’s sad.

I thank God every day for my upbringing because every day it continues to bring me up. We were taught how to be ladies in our homes, we cooked dinner at 13, helped momma raise our brothers and handled the household because she had to work. We didn’t sleep in on a Saturday morning because there were things to do. We didn’t act up nor skip school because we got our butts beat when momma or granddaddy found out. We didn’t disrespect adults because then everybody in the neighborhood could discipline you. We didn’t talk back because parents weren’t afraid to discipline you, even in public. Oh but now, we ask the kids what they want for dinner, stand in a line for hours to buy them the latest Jordan tennis shoes that are the same ones they already got just in a different color, leave them at home on Sunday morning because they stayed out late the night before, give them the option to do chores when they are at home all day and tip toe around them because you don’t want to make them mad when they ain’t even old enough to drive. What in the hell is going on? Instead of your daughter being on the phone while you cook dinner, teach her how to make the cornbread. While your son is chilling on a Saturday, teach him how to cut the grass. If we don’t teach them, how will they know? Teach them how to responsible and respectful so that he’ll know how to treat one another. Teach them the value of a dollar so they won’t sign away their life the first time a credit card application comes in the mail. Teach them how to pray so that they can call on God when times get hard. Teach them how to worship so that the Holy Spirit can abide in them and speak for them when they can’t. Teach them how to be responsible drinkers when they get 21 so they won’t end up dead or in jail before they turn 22. Teach them how to work hard for the things they want instead of stealing and robbing folks. Teach them that it’s ok to love themselves but not become self-centered and full of themselves. If you have a trade, teach it to them because even if they act like they aren’t interested now, they will be when they least expect it because if you start early building their foundation, they’ll always have it to build on and then Proverbs 22:6, fits!