It is evident that child behavior today is worse than ten years ago. There is a tendency for children today to be more aggressive than ever before. The media is extensive with reports of children doing drugs and exhibiting violent behavior. Girls are indulging in premarital and/or unprotected sex at an early age (The consequence has been increased rate in illegal abortions-some of which have resulted in deaths). At such an early age as 15 girls are sexually active. In essence children are less disciplined today than they were ten years ago. There are number of reasons for the decline in children’s discipline, but one of them stands out, and it might even be at the heart of all the others: laxity on the part of parents. Parental laxity has swung open the floodgates harmful factors which have in effect compromised children’s sense of morality and discipline.
By reneging on their responsibilities, parents have denigrated the significance of the family as the source of primary socialization (Schultz, 2012). Sociologists profess that behavior is learnt through a process known as socialization (Schultz, 2012). Primary socialization, as differentiated from secondary socialization, occurs during the formative years of a child (Schultz, 2012). It takes place through the child observing and learning from those around him. Through this process a child is taught the type of behavior which elicits approval or disapproval from the people around them, usually the immediate family members (Schultz, 2012). It is therefore important that at an early age a child observes and learns the right things, preferably from their family members (Richardson, n.d). Unfortunately, parents have not been there to accomplish this process (Schultz, 2012). More over, the institution of the family in the US has been under siege (Schultz, 2012). Children are being brought up in broken families; or they are forced to go through the agonies of living apart