We don t like to tell them what to do. It s not politically correct to force a sense of morality on our youth. There are very few absolutes. Very few rights and wrongs. There is this giant gray area of morality where we allow our youth to wander.
Parents fear disciplining their children.
The spare the rod, spoil the child ideology has been demonized to the point where lots of parents are afraid to admit that they swat their kid on the butt. And besides, these days your kid would probably sue you anyway. Or the welfare department would intervene. And, of course, there is no fear of final judgment in many kids these days. We have made sure of that.