We seem to be on track for raising the greatest number of young people without morals or a conscience than we have ever seen in our lifetime. The recent flood of stories on the news involving our youth concerns me deeply.

I was recently speaking to a policeman who teaches in the criminal justice program at a high school. He told me that his greatest frustration is when he hears people talk about how bad kids are.  He said, "The problem isn't the kids. The problem is the parents because they are not doing their job. Most of the parents of kids in my program haven't put a foot on the campus in almost four years."

Doesn't it bother you that 10 teens can rape a girl while another 20 will stand around and watch? What about the middle school boy who was set on fire by his classmates? Let's not forget about the ring of teens and young adults who stole 3 million dollars worth of items from famous celebrities.

Here is the truth: Parenting is not convenient and easy. It is the hardest work you and I will ever do. It requires everything we have and then some.  As a culture, we must figure out a way to embrace the responsibility with a sense of purpose and value. For goodness sakes, we are raising human beings who will impact the world in some capacity. I hope and pray it is for the better.

Why am I on the soapbox beating the "intentional mom" drum? Because we owe it to our children to do the right thing by them and they will suffer in life as adults if we slip-slide through their childhood. Developing a conscience begins when they are little and learning the word "no". We have to teach right from wrong and we must not care if they don't like us at times. We must also recognize the importance of our own integrity in parenting because that will be the determining factor as to whether trust is built in our relationship with our children/teens.

What do you think makes "hanging in there" so hard? What do moms and dads need in order to stay in the game of parenting?  Think about it and let me know.

Catherine