The Hardest Job There Is

For some reason, there has been a significant number of seriously violent acts committed by young people lately. There have been an equal number of commentators weighing in on just how and why such horrendous things could happen: a 5-year-old taking a gun to kindergarten in his backpack (where it fired!); a young boy shooting small animals with a bow and arrow for fun; three teens deciding to kill someone with a gun because they were "bored;" and all of this just recently.
While the blame can be spread around to who a child hangs out with, a young person failing to take prescribed medication or global warming (?) one thing that most commentators seem to agree on is the role of parents in these cases. "Where ARE the parents of these kids?" seems to be the rallying cry of pundits...and I suppose they have a point. When interviewed, every one of the parents says something along the lines of, "He's a good kid...it's just..." and the rationale follows as to how a good kid can go wrong.
I know how hard it is for parents to
a) watch their children every minute (especially if both parents work)
b) control how their child is treated at school or in society (for a variety of reasons)
c) control who their children hang out with when not under direct supervision.
Believe me, I've discussed such issues with parents over a long teaching career, and it's had to fault parents sometimes.
My dad had guns at home; however, if I ever thought of taking one without his permission, the punishment would be severe.
If we got in trouble of any kind out in public, and my parents found out about it...I would not have been allowed in public...and they would thank anyone who reported my misbehavior, not threaten a lawsuit for harassment.
Bored? If I had ever said I was bored, my mother promised me that SHE would find something to occupy my time.
I guess the facts that my parents were two in number, my mother worked only after we were in high school (and then on a shift opposite my dad), and we absolutely KNEW that we would not like the consequences for any bad behavior were important in keeping us mostly on the straight and narrow.
Of course, there was no cable TV, no internet, music lyrics were closely monitored and even television married people slept in separate beds all kept us a bit naive...at least in our house.
Maybe not so bad...