Like Father, Like Son ?

For parent whose children have caused them great pain through rebellion and misbehaviour, recent years would have been a nightmare of conflict and disappointment for them.

Parents in that situation today have been much too quick to blame themselves for everything their sons and daughters have done wrong and that's only been true in this century.

A hundred years ago, if a child went bad, he was a bad child. Now, it's the fault of his parents. Admittedly, some mothers and fathers do warp and twist their offsping, and I'm not pleading their cases.

But there are others who did the best job they could, to raise their sons and daughters properly. Neverhteless, you know who will get the blame for the stupid blunders and bad choices in the next generation.

Genetic studies have been conducted at the University of Minnesota and the bottom line from decades of work with identical twins is that the basic temperament of a child is largely inherited.

This includes a tendency to test and challenge convention and authority. Some kids come into the world just looking for a fight and they usually find it.

For those paremts out there with rebellious teenagers. I suggest you take aother look at the guilt you've been carrying.

By Dr James Dobson