It is amazing how many people who copped a good belting say it didn't do them any harm but when you get to know them they have all sorts of issues. Trust issues, anger issues, possessiveness, clinginess, drinking, violence the list goes on. Children today are no more or less disrespectful than they ever were. It is just human nature to always notice the bad things. When I was young it was the kids that adults thought were little angels that got up to everything when no one was looking. They were the school bullies, the gossipy hurtful girls, the shop lifters, the truants, the drinkers, the drug takers. They knew how to play the game though and all the adults thought they were well behaved, respectful children. As for parent first, friend later, I took the opposite approach with my kids, probably because I am a softy. My kids are extremely respectful and they also know they can trust me and tell me anything. They also know how to relate to a wide age group. The parents first attitude just leads to the dreaded generation gap and then people wonder why their kids don't tell them anything and they are so shocked when they find out their perfect child actually has real problems. Children, like anyone, need to feel they have a voice and people will listen and not write them off because of their age. I have seen it happen to young people on this forum, people treat them like they could not possibly know anything because they are young. How a child acts out of fear and how they act when their parents are not around are two completely different things. I think Gordos post pretty much sums up the back in my day attitude people seem to have. Guess what, it was no better or worse back in your day or my day or anyone elses day. There have always been good kids and there have always been ratbags, one thing I will say though, kids these days on a whole are a lot more tolerant and less judgemental than they were when I went to school.