“In this era of affluence and of permissiveness, we have, in all but cultural areas, bred a nation of over privileged youngsters, saturated with vitamins, television and plastic toys.” 

-Judith Crist (1922) 

The 20s were a time of great wealth and change. It was right before the great depression and all seemed well. The evils of the world were not advertised in the ways that they are today. Children were allowed to roam the streets alone until dark and parents had no concern. Alcohol was being illegalized and everything was going in the right direction. As of today, one hundred years later, it seems as if we have moved in the exact opposite direction. As a nation we have great wealth but inflation has killed that entirely and since 2020 the world has done nothing besides change. Evils are advertised constantly and parents fear for their children’s lives every time they walk out the front door. We have legalized marijuana among other things and it seems as if our nation is a snowball heading for doom. Children are walking around this earth more entitled than ever because parents do not know how to say no, do not understand the importance of discipline, and fail to see the wrong that they are doing.  

Whoever thought that children were over privileged in 1922 would fall over and die if they saw kids today, parents over saturate their children with vitamins, television, and plastic toys to a whole new extreme. Children walk around with thousand-dollar iPhones at the tips of their fingers and think that it is a basic human right to have them. Parents have taken it upon themselves to give kids everything they did not have as a child and it is showing in our nation. Instead of showing children that the world does not revolve around them parents give their children the world.  

Even though it seems as if parents are giving their children the entire world, they are not giving them discipline.  Used to when kids would pull the “But so and so gets to why can’t I?” parents would pull the “If so and so jumped off a cliff would you?” Now when kids say “So and so can jumped of a cliff and I got in trouble for it.” parents panic and immediately make sure that everyone know that their child is allowed to jump of a cliff if they so choose. Parents giving kids the world like this leads to so much destruction. Crime rates are at an all-time high and it is because the new generations are not getting disciplined.  

Parents do not see the wrong that they are doing. They are so focused on doing “what is best” for their children that they do not realize they are hurting an entire nation in the long run. Instead of just showing kids that the world does not revolve around them parents give their children the world and it is hurting the world. Children are not learning that there are consequences to their actions so they end up doing wrongs that can never be righted. If parents would discipline their children there would not be nearly as many issues with alcohol and drug abuse nor would kids feel the need to convenient stores left and right.  

The world would be a better place if parents would say no, understand the importance of discipline, and realize that their children are the new nation and what they do to them effects everyone in the long run. If it were not for bad parents the nation would be a greater place overall.