by Dossie M Terrell

Created on: August 27, 2008   Last Updated: December 11, 2010

Today America is in a conundrum about who bears the brunt of responsibility for rearing its children. What role should parents play versus the role of schools? Should sex be discussed at home or should it be taught in school?

We are at a crossroad in history without precedence. The government has literally redefined parental roles; it prescribes the parameters of disciplinary actions in addition to what should be taught and to some extent, by whom. We have made countless children specialists rich, many of whom are childless, as they relate the ABCs of child rearing. Many parents being bombarded by the things "they should do" according to these specialists have simply lost their way and, by extension, so have their children.

Television hosts bring on guests who browbeat parents for their failure to rear their children properly. They tell them they should do self assessments, often following their guidelines or checklists. There is a high degree of frustration among parents and many are wondering how their parents seemed to have done it so effortlessly. They are asking themselves 'why today's youths require such a high degree of maintenance?' They wonder why they are getting such small return for all their efforts. They wonder why they have such smart-mouth children when they are doing all they can to see that they excel.

Should notions like "time out" and other such forms of discipline be revisited? Are we trying to make the 19th century model work in today's world where many are unable to keep up with technological advances in parental education? Should the nation start thinking about creating a 21st century parenting paradigm?

In addition to changing the model, should we raise the level of expectation we have for our children and, by extension, ourselves? From this moment forward, perhaps, we should start thinking generationally in our approach to rearing our children. What will be their legacy for the next generation? Should we be instilling in them a sense of tomorrow?

For example, if their children were recipients of the next generation, would they be happy with their present-day contributions in moving America forward? This should be an American approach to education and child rearing and not just for moguls who, after their death, expect their progeny to carry on business as usual. This nation has some of the most brilliant youths in the world, but we are losing too many as they chase negative pursuits. We cannot afford to lose a single one of them.

As a nation, we need to work together. We need to have meaningful discussions on child rearing. We need to raise the level of expectation for ourselves and for our children. We need to discuss how to excite our youths and how to keep them focused on their potentials for greatness. Children want to be the best as exemplified by their performances in the recent Olympic Games. Let's try to etch that same spirit of determination and excellence in all our youths. Olympians practice year after year for the opportunity to show their superiority in their chosen areas.We need to instill in our children that same fortitude and capacity, but make it generationally focused and in all areas of their lives..

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