Our parents’ generation was one that was shown little affection. Their parents were very strict, forcing them into an early adulthood in which their religions, responsibilities and relationships were chosen for them, which was a reflection of the times. Parent to child relationships were simple and distant but nothing more. Kids had basic rules to follow: curfews, expected grades, etc., and diverging from this regimen would get you the belt and by eighteen years old, you were expected to be out of the house and on your own.

Now that our under-loved parents have formed their own families, they have changed the status quo. Our parents want to allow us all the freedoms in the world that they were denied. In doing this, they have turned us into the greedy, spoiled brats that we are because they supply us with more than what we really need. We take them for granted and do not realize how little discipline they instill in us.

Due to the lack of affection that our parents had, they shower us with the love and care-giving they never received. In itself, this is problematic seeing as how easy it is to bypass parental warnings to pursue irresponsible behavior. In a way, society has helped this trend to form because classic forms of punishment are now seen as forms of child neglect and abuse. The punishments that children receive today do little to deter misconduct.

The Millennial Generation has placed too little responsibility upon themselves and too much upon their middle-class, working parents. They expect their parents to coddle them and provide them with their every whim, resulting in a warped sense of priorities and obligations.

Our generation needs to step back and realize how much our parents have given us: a home, food, clothes, life and, most of all, freedom. They try to be understanding and allow us enough room to make our own mistakes, contrary to how they were raised. Take that independence and repay your parents for the overkill of discipline they received at our age by being responsible with your liberties.

We have to find a happy medium between authoritarian and passive parenting. There has to be an open bridge of communication while an authority figure is still present.