Influences on Kids

* I have a hard time listening to parents trying to blame so-called role models when their child behaves in a bad way.

I recently heard a mother say that her son had no respect for authority or law because the rap star Ice Cube influenced her son through his lyrics. She says the child wants to follow in his footsteps and blames the child’s behavior on all those people the child looks up to.

This is a big mistake! She should realize that the things that influence children’s behavior most are what they see in their parents when they are young. The way she raised her son greatly influenced his behavior, no matter what he may hear in some rap songs.

If you do not screen what you are exposing your children to, then how can you control them? Some parents sit their children in front of the television and expect them to entertain themselves for hours without knowledge of what these impressionable youngsters are learning.

I know what this is about because I deal with it on a daily basis. My mother told me that I should not do some of the things that I do around my brother because I am being a bad influence. My defense for that is, “Well, why don’t you teach him better?”

GARY ROGERS

Oxnard