These kids get worse all the time?  We're sure, as a parent, that this is something you look around and think to yourself from time to time.  It's impossible to say that you are correct, or incorrect, but always consider this:

 

Another wise guy made a similar assertion nearly 2,500 years ago. Of the demise of children of the day it was said:

 

"The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers."

                    -Socrates

 

Something else to consider is that you are not a perfect parent.  The research proven tendency to overestimate your own abilities may have gotten the best of you.  And that's OK.  Nobody is perfect.  That's why we're here.

 

Kids and their problems require a more systems oriented approach.  Decades of research has shown that the parents are the key contributors to this system.  While it may seem like your kids have just flown off the handle, without cause, that may not be entirely true.  As parents, we must take a significant load of the responsibility for our children's behaviors, attitudes, and responses to the world.  Remember, most of what kids learn are modeled after their parents behavior.

 

Family therapy is an approach to counseling that assumes that each member of the family is part of a system, and that this system is dependent on the sum of its parts.  If one part is having difficulty, the other parts will be affected.

 

Pursuit of Happiness has counselors that understand family systems and how they operate.  If you are experiencing difficulty in this area, we're here to help.