Ed, I’m calling about that “what about the parents” comment. I agree 100 percent. I am the single parent of a 15-year-old son who is a good student and isn’t even allowed to stay up past 11 p.m. on weekends because I’m the parent. He has to do what I say. I teach him love by showing him discipline. He has chores, homework hours. I’ll be damned if he’s going to raise a hand on me or hang out on the streets until 11 or 12 and I’m not going to know where he is. And he knows it. If some parents don’t know where their 11-year-old child is, they need to be convicted right along with the kid, because the discipline begins with the parent. If they fail to put their foot down when these children are 9 to 11 years old, they will be out of control when they are 15. They should take a parenting class.

Old School

Hasn’t anyone informed you that you’re hurting your child’s self-esteem. Better to leave it up to the psychiatrists and public-school educators. They’ll have your kid safely locked away in a mental hospital or state penitentiary before you know it.

— Ed. Note