Clairebear, I'm not sure how to answer that. We've all heard the phrase "generation gap" but it may be more than just a phrase. Every generation thinks the new generation is going to hell in a handbasket. That just represents our inability to see what is important to the young people and our inability to understand why our likes and dislikes do not appeal to them.

Families here are very close and there is a great deal of love and respect within those families. You rarely see any kid giving any lip to someone older than themselves. Corporal punishment within the family is pretty much unknown here. In fact, one of the things the kid's father said to me is that he had never touched his daughter (he meant in punishing her).

Also, today's kids are in constant communication with the world around them. Between their MySpace pages and YouTube and their cell phones and iPods they are never out of touch with their peers... until they get to school. We take them away and refuse to let them use them. We put them into a room, surrounded by their peers and do not let them interact. This applies to any kid in any First World nation.