Putting my (unwanted) 00.02p worth in. I think that the drugs,
(and drink) problem stems in part from the relaxed attitudes to
general discipline in the home, if parents can't be bothered
to teach their kids the rights and wrongs of life, and a great
many of them don't, then how are they to know when they come up
against things like these.

I see a lot of children, both outside my own home, and at my
place of work. Near my home, the kids come home from school and
go straight back out on the street to play, back in to eat, and
back out again until darkness falls. Do these parents know they've
got kids?

At my place of work, you can tell the undisciplined ones a mile
off, they are the ones who never shut up, always shouting, running
about aimlessly, just being a general nuisance.

Yes, I guess it IS our fault, we fail them through lack of attention
and the discipline which has been taken from us by (dare I say it)
"do gooders", we don't want to beat or chastise children without
cause, but a good slap on the legs, in the right place, never did
any child any harm.

In my own childhood I got a good few slaps for being naughty, that
was for the general run of the mill things, BUT there was always
a strap hanging in the pantry that you KNEW you would get if you
were really BBAAADD. (Yes I got it once or twice, mainly for
accidentally breaking windows with footballs).

But I had good parents, and a good childhood, we knew right from
wrong and it stayed with us, these things don't seem to apply today
mores the pity.

Sorry for the ramblings.

cheers

Cattail 0~