I didn't really have the heart to read much beyond the lead of this article: Kids Gone Wild - New York Times. It's perfectly predictable that aging boomers with older children will lose their tolerance for younger children. Predictable, but tedious.
This is a minor matter for most, though the enthusiasm for "discipline" is likely to lead to more use of physical punishment. I expect spanking to become fashionable in a "naughty" sort of way. We will rediscover that it is very hard to hit in a measured manner. Some lessons need to be relearned every twenty years.
It is not a minor matter for autistic, severe ADHD and other special needs children. We can avoid restaurants and public places (though the price may be high for our children), but we do need to take planes, trains and airplanes. The scorn and loathing of the privileged will now be amplified by the righteous indignation of those scorning our lack of "discipline".
It's good training for me to bear such scorn, and perhaps it will chop another thousand years off my stay in purgatory. It will be harsh on our children however. May God spare me the intolerance of the aging when my time comes.
Ironically we do have one "perfect" child, who even at 3 dines with grace, style, and uplifted pinky. It has nothing to do with discipline or training, it is simply her nature. We gracefully accept the associated praise when she alone dines with us, as well as the envious stares of other parents. If only they knew ...
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