Elder St Paisios on Lack of Discipline
“Their condition is the fault of their parents who never understood the nature of discipline. They give children such excessive freedoms that they turn them into little hooligans. You say one word to them, and they respond with five, and with such impudence! One day, they may even turn into criminals. Where are the rules, boundary-lines, and expectations for guiding children today? Parents give their children too much freedom and too little discipline. And this destroys them. Our society tells parents: Don ’/ touch the children And of course, our children then think: “Where are we going to find a better system than this?” In other words, our society is deliberately turning them into little rebels who do not want to listen to their parents, their teachers, or anyone else. This serves some people’s designs perfectly. For if children are not taught from a young age to be rebellious, how will they be able to destroy everything later, when they grow up? And you can actually see it on their faces. Poor children, they have a demonized look about them!”
– ‘With Pain and Love’