Originally broadcast on CHED radio - Date unknown

You know, parenthood and it's very best is a frightening experience. I really pity the folks who are, or are about to be, brand new parents. They must be filled with absolute confusion every time they pick up a magazine, because every publication you read these days tells you how to raise your children. Teenagers Need Not be a Problem… Our Juvenile Delinquents… What's Wrong with our Youth?… Should You Tell Your Children the Facts… Who Failed Our Youth?… These are just a few of the articles I've seen lately, and believe me, if a parent read them all, that parent would immediately go out and drown his poor offspring. Frankly, I think the so-called child experts are for the most part doing more harm than good. Do you recall in the early 40s, every child expert told us… "Let your kids do anything they please. They are simply trying to express themselves. Any parental influence will caused gigantic frustrations to be built up and your child will develop an unbalanced personality. Just let the child do as he wishes – it's self expression that's important." And the result? More juvenile delinquents than ever. The self-expression kids set up new records for misbehavior, records that make you shake your head. Now what do the experts say. These bad kids are the result of parents not giving guidance during the child's formative years. We hear there are no bad children – just bad parents. I say "hogwash", to these experts and their theories. I'll wager 50% of the child experts aren't even married, let alone parents, and I think the country would be better off if they were not permitted to mettle in every magazine in the country. As far as raising kids today is concerned, I think it's exactly the same job my mother and your mother had and it should be gone about in the same manner. Give them kindness, but be firm; give them all the understanding you can muster; give them patience, but let them know who's boss. Above all, set a good example for your youngster to follow, and on occasion when all things fail, try a good swift smack on the seat of the trousers. Yes, I think it's high time parents started raising their own children Dash the old-fashioned way.