We may not agree all the time with the ways they're doing it, but we can't begrudge them the fact that they're trying. The suburbs are quite different from the Levittowns where many of us grew up. They're more diverse as well as less judgmental about people who are 'different' from them. The suburbs aren't perfect. But some of the criticism, I believe, is undeserved.
Kids place more importance on themselves and their friends than on their parents.
It really hurts me as a parent when you have devoted so much time to a child and that child still does things to violate the rules and values that have been established. It is extremely difficult to try to keep trusting when the child is constantly trying to keep you out of their life. It's horrible, awful, life-destroying when you find out your child has deceived you. A lot of experts who work with troubled kids, however, say that there are better ways to get the information these parents said they needed. I guess the rest of us get to decide who's right.