This changed sometime between when I was a kid and when I had kids! I was expected to do the dishes every night and help clean the house. Dad's word was law followed by a smack if you didn't toe the line. I had no say in how the household was run. By the time I had kids, they weren't allowed to do the dishes or help around the house because it would traumatize them. We weren't allowed to discipline them because a neighbor or teacher might report us for child abuse. Allowances were given with no expectation of any type of return. And the kids ruled the roost, controlling how money was used and generally having free rein. As a result we grew a generation of me, me, me people who care for nothing but themselves and cannot be depended on to do anything that does not involve a payoff for 'them'. They can't spell or add and subtract without a calculator. If they bother to get a job they are insulted when actually asked to work. They want expensive cars for graduating high school and drive like maniacs. These are the people who are starting to run our country - and it shows. Enron, the stock market, Congress and the Senate. Classic case of reaping what we sow.
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Name : Phyl E., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Pagan, Age : 63, City : San Antonio, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : retired, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 
EdParticipant
It's just a cultural shift, mainly due to the media and advertising. We're moving towards a culture that just glorifies youth more and more, so that being young means being cool and hip, while being old means being dated and out of touch. Youth just has higher status than age these days. Personally, I think it has to do with advertising. Having worked in an entertainment company that relied on advertising, I know firsthand that young people are the most desired targets for ads. That's because they have less responsibilities, more disposable income, and are more likely to make impulse purchases. So the media ends up becoming saturated with ads that cater to young people. Young people, seeing everything catering to them, start believing all of it, and think they're the ones in charge.
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Name : Ed, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Asian, Religion : Christian, Age : 26, City : Milpitas, State : CA Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, In my experience working with recent Mexican immigrants, there are big cultural differences in how teens treat their parents. In Anglo culture, kids are expected to 'individuate', to separate from the family. Sometimes the easiest way to do this is to argue your way out (it's easiest to separate from someone if you convince yourself they irritate you). For the Mexican families I see, kids are expected to show a lot more respect, which is useful in that case, because they are dedicated to the family after adolescence. Kids born here are torn between these two cultural expectations, so it may be a cultural thing. I remember reading something Socrates wrote 2,000 years ago, complaining about teens . . .
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Name : Ryan22314, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Buddhist, Age : 29, City : Santa Barbara, State : CA Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Part of the problem is that until The Cosby Show came along, we had whole generations raised on sitcoms where the kids were smarter than the adults. The parents were raised with that idea and now they let their kids get away with it. I have two sons and both answer adults with sir and ma'am and know better than to talk back. Of course they also live in Eastern Kentucky where it's still safe to be a kid.
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Name : Danny Harbison, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Asatru, Age : 40, City : Atlanta, State : GA Country : United States, Occupation : Teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I feel really bad for parents who don't want to deprive their kids of anything just so that the child won't hate them. They're afraid, and they think that if they become strict, their child will hate them. But what they think will be hate will become respect. If I were a parent, I would rather be respected than controlled. (Plus, I hate kids who don't respect their parents. They're spoiled...)
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Name : Melissa, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 15, City : Alexandria, State : VA Country : United States, I agree, a great deal of the children and teens these days do not respect the people that brought them into this world. Out of many possible explanations, one jumped out at me during an episode of a hit TV show. The character, a divorced single mother, explained that when it came to raising her daughter, it was just easier to 'say yes.' TV is not the most telling answer to social problems but this situation does prove an interesting point. How can we expect children to respect their parents when their parents cannot even respect each other? The number of marriages that end in divorce is astounding and only growing larger. It appears that you and I were both blessed with a household with two parents, but there are very many children and teens who do not have that luxury. And without the proper example, how can we expect children to respect people who cheat, fight, and argue about who's getting the yacht?
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Name : Sallina H., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 21, City : Ann Arbor, State : MI Country : United States, Occupation : Ph.D. student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, Respect starts at birth. When I first met my husband and went over to his house to meet his parents, I was shocked by the way he and his brother and sister talked to their parents. It really bothered me, but after being with him for 8 years now, I know why he and his siblings treat their parents like crap. The parents ask for it, seriously. My husband no longer treats his parents this way because I showed him how you are supposed to treat your family. I hate going over for holidays because I don't want my children acting out this way. Respect starts from birth, as I said. My niece argues and fights with her parents because they let her and she's only 4! I can't imagine how she's gonna treat my sister and her husband when she's 16. My 4 year old says Yes Ma'am and Sir, Please and Thank you. Society gets what it sows. You reap what you sow and more people should put a little more thought into how they raise their kids.
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Name : Stephanie, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 26, City : na, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : SAHM, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, I am a high school biology teacher and you would not believe how much teens disrespect everything. Parents, teachers, friends, themselves. I've seen teens throw big honking fits because mom took their cell phone away because they ran up the bill. Call me crazy, but instead of saying 'to get respect, give it.' i think the more appropriate saying is 'Spare the rod, spoil the child.' When someone decided it was a bad thing to spank your kids (spanking = swatting but not causing bruises, bleeding or injury other than a red ass) then the kids started acting like they have no sense and they can do as they please. And it's not going to get any better. Not when 10-year olds are walking around with working cell phones and thinking they are grown up.
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Name : Erica, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 25, City : Alexandria, State : LA Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, I think that it is usually a communication barrier. In many of my experiences is seems that adults expect respect from their children, but do not show it to them in return. Many parents seem to demand the respect because they are the parents, end of subject. However, if the parents do not show the children respect, where will they learn it from? Also, teens are at a point in their life where they are discovering themselves, and many parents don't realize they are also being discovered for the people they are as well. When the teens were younger mommy and daddy could do no wrong, but as they get older they see their parents as people too not just Mom and Dad. Usually this is a very hard time for both teens and parents. Also I do think that media and the people the kids hang out with will play a major role in how respectful children and teens are. Everyone should help in the effort to change this respect issue by setting good examples in everyday life.
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Name : B. Nicholls, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : non-religious, Age : 21, City : Porterville, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : full-time student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, I would have to agree that there are more children who disrepect their parents. It starts with the parents. In today's society the parents are the children. Since most parents do not hold up to their responsibilities, the kids grow up on their own. The are pushed on to their grandmother, etc... This is big problem today. This is why, I think, there are so many gangs and what have you. But, I do have to say there are parents who try to raise their children in a sort of normal home, providing them with clothes, shelter, food and teaching them about our Lord. And not all of those children grow up right. Sometimes, this is where drugs come into play. There is so much that happens to a child without the parent there to guide them. I do know that if a child is not taught respect, they will have none when they grow up. Therefore, most wind up in life without a life: imprisonment, abusive behavior or death. When you have children, treat them right, love them and teach them right from wrong. In the long run we as parents will be proud of our children and knowing in our hearts ' we did a great job.' And we'll smile when they have children and they have that same loving hand to guide their children with through life.
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Name : Christy S., Gender : F, Age : 37, City : Ruleville, State : MS Country : United States, I don't respect my parents. And that is because not only have they not earned my respect, they have broken my trust and treated me badly. I don't think respect should be freely given to parents. They are like anyone else and need to earn respect by being a good parent. Why should a bad parent be respected? And if someone doesn't respect their parents do you think they'll also say they have good parents? I think the problem is with parents, not children. Many parents seem to think they can treat their kids however they want and still be treated well by them. That makes no sense.
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Name : Christie32034, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Hindu, Age : 22, City : Tampa, State : FL Country : United States, Social class : Lower middle class, Because most parents have no respect for their children. They have weak relationships with their kids, whom they have treated more like pets than people. They refuse to acknowledge their teen is basically an adult or they fail to empathize with their teen. Teens need to feel like their parents understand them and are listening, even if their parents disagree. Respect is earned. Also, kids at that age are starting to see their parent's faults much more clearly than they have ever seen them before. They are thinking like adults, not children, and they can see the flaws they couldn't at a younger age.
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Name : Wyn, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, City : Augusta, State : GA Country : United States, As a 17-year-old guy, I would certainly fall into your age bracket, but my relationship with my parents is certainly not defined by a lack of respect - quite the contrary. I respect my parents greatly (and treat them as such). My relationship is much more traditional than that of many of my peers. I am the kid, and while I may be treated as an equal most of the time, it is clear when I am supposed to defer to my parents' authority. However, I get the sense that this is not the norm. Most of my friends get treated with a lot more privilege, and show no respect for there parents. Instead of disciplining their kids, these parents try to 'win them over' by being cool. That is where things start to get wildly out of hand. So in that way it is the parents' fault. However, an argument could easily be made that society is conspiring against parents as well: Just today as I went out to lunch, I was told (semi-jokingly) that my father was trying to 'keep me down' because he would not allow me to purchase a better car since he feels that a Tercel with 78hp is a good fit for a teenage driver. - I was shocked! To me, that so totally embodied the stereotype of the snotty teenage 'I hate you Dad/Mom, you're ruining my life'. However, my friends failed to see that my car (in combination with my good driving I'd like to think) has kept me from either being in an accident or getting a speeding ticket. In that regard I would say a large factor in a teen's willingness to respect his parents comes from an appreciation both of what the parent has 'given'/'instilled in'/taught them, and the parent's knowledge/experience. Unfortunately teenage society (culture?) is not into recognizing either of those things. In short, I'd argue that as a general rule it is a mix of society-based influences and poor parenting practices that causes disrespectful teens (but there are certainly exceptions). -Oh, one last thing I forgot. Don't underestimate the role of hormones. A sudden chemical change in the brain can make those snappish impulses very difficult to control.
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Name : Eric, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 17, City : Denver, State : CO Country : United States, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Upper middle class, Respect does start at home and is taught by the parents. Respect is taught by providing information about what it is and how it is used. Respect is taught by example; parents show respect for themselves, their children, their families, and people they encounter outside of the home.
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Name : Julie-L27026, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 45, City : Seffner, State : FL Country : United States, Occupation : Accountant, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
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