Am I getting old or what....

 Ok.  So this week is Vacation Bible School (VBS) at our church.  Like usual we signed up for our usual "sentence."  Melissa signs on as the "teacher" and I show up for "crowd control."  Lets just say I'm earning my title this week.  I don't ever remember acting the way these 3rd (going on 4th) graders act.  I can remember my VBS days; my grandmother used to take me because they did VBS during the mornings then.  If I had said half the things these kids say or if I acted anywhere close to the way these kids act I would have had a long day to follow.  First, the VBS teacher (mostly little old ladies) would have given me a stern talking to on how to act in public and what is and isn't acceptable to say.  Second, they would have told my grandmother who, on the way home, would repeat the speech on how to act in public and what is and isn't acceptable to say.  Third, grandma would have told my parents.  I won't go in to how my parents disciplined.  Let's just say, there are consequences to your actions.  Are there consequences anymore?

People are always complimenting us on how our girls act in public.  I always joke that raising kids is like owning a puppy.  Catch them doing bad things and beat them for it; praise the good things.  I guess that's part joke and part reality.  There has to be consequences for bad actions.  What are these kids going to do when they get out into the "real" world and act this way?  Last night after repeatedly getting on to the same young boy (I could say young man but he's really not) Melissa asked him to move.  He stood up and under his breath muttered "You Suck!"  She didn't hear him but I did.  That was my final straw.  I got nose to nose with this 3rd grader and told him that I didn't care how he acted at home but if he ever disrespected my wife like that again we'd go outside and have a little "talk."  (You can ask my girls how many words are actually uttered during one of our little "talks.")  Melissa tried to defend him later saying that most of these kids don't have a positive male role model in their lives and that because of it, they don't know how to treat figures of authority.  I really don't like her line of thinking because it's what I like to call "welfare" mentality.  The "I act like this because I don't have any control over it" kind of thing or "the world owes me something" kind of mentality.

I don't know.  Maybe my standards are too high.  I don't think so because people are always commenting on how our girls act in public.  I don't have time to fix everyone else's children though.  So listen up lazy parents!  Don't put blame on the school system, your church or your "environment."  Pick up your bible (or as I like to think of it, your Parenting Instruction Manual) and get to work.  Contrary to popular belief, it doesn't take a village to raise a child.  It takes a parent that's not afraid to get a little dirty; a parent that has the courage to stand up and say that "I want what's best for my children."  Your kids have enough "friends," stand up and be their parent.