Parents need to teach their children well

The following column was originally published in 2013.

Dear Annie: I just finished watching a piece on the news about young people assaulting others and calling it a game. It seems they walk up to unsuspecting people and throw the hardest punch they can to the face in an effort to knock someone out.

In one instance, a man was hit so hard that he fell face first to the curb and fractured his skull. He died, and the person who hit him was charged with manslaughter.

The kids being interviewed on the news were all laughing about it, as if it were some sort of party.

They said it was a macho thing, to prove how tough or strong you are.

The sad part is that they were raised as if their actions have no consequences.

Parents, teach your children better before it’s too late. Worried Adult

Dear Adult: It’s sad to see a world where children think assault is a sport, where the constant media barrage publicizes and glamorizes violence and where these immature teens either don’t understand the consequences of their actions or think prison is simply a badge of toughness.

We doubt they would find this activity so much “fun” if the victim was someone they cared about.

We’ve forgotten how to be civilized to one another, nor do we value it.

Parents not only need to teach compassion and responsibility to their children, but they have the added burden of combating the multiple pernicious influences around them.

It’s hard to raise kids these days, and we commend those parents who manage to do it well.

Annie’s Mailbox is written by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, longtime editors of the Ann Landers column.