As I have said many, many times, Parents need to take the role of parenting back! It is way past time that the kids are reminded by whatever means short of actual and real abuse that we are the parents, the grown-ups, the ones in charge. There is an old adage I quoted on another blog that is true here too: "It takes the entire villiage to raise a child". When my child was small and he was left in anyone's care, I told them to make him behave and treat him like he belonged to them. This did not mean spoil him incessantly or let him have his way. It meant to MAKE him behave even if it came to paddling his behind! If my son's caregivers did not take care of him like I would have, I found new caregivers. He has never been abused in any way, he talks to me about any and everything, he is grateful he has been raised with discipline, is now 15, still in school, talks about going to college, hasdecent grades, and works every weekend for money that he saves. Neighbors, friends, and even strangers tell me I have a polite and respectful child. This was NOT accomplished by fear. Just a little discipline and allowing the "villiage" to help!!

The 9 year old in question on this bus had been a discipline problem previously. So the parents should have been required to ride the bus with the little brat until such time as they learned to discipline him, if they ever hoped to have a life of their own again. This and all similar episodes are PARENTING problems. (A classic example of this problem is the Lionel Tate case in Florida. The mother, a POLICE OFFICER, ignored her brat's discipline problems up to and beyond his murder, at age 13, of a 6 year old. He's now jailed on armed robbery after everyone decried his conviction for the murder and he got off. His mother STILL thinks he's just a poor misunderstood boy! What he is, is a victim of horrific parenting.) Wake up, people. Your kids don't need you as friends. If you raise them to be decent human beings, they will have plenty of friends. If a bus driver has to discipline your kid, YOU failed, not the bus driver.

You are absolutely right, Pam!! Continue to raise your son with love and discipline ....for my 15 year old is also ADHD and still takes medication daily. I have always explained to him why he takes it, we have seen all the psychologists and learned the proper ways to rear an ADHD child. I then took what I already knew, combined it with all the new information, and now I think I have a pretty good boy!!! A few other facts about my son: he was adopted by me at age three months; he was born addicted; he was born with crossed eyes, kept ear infections for two years, then throat infections for two years. I had his tonsils out at age four and the illnesses stopped.....docs say you can attribute part of those illnesses to the tonsils, part to the drug addiction. The same with his eyes. We worked with him for six years with specialized prism glasses and exercises. Then he was operated on (again) for his eyes this time. Now you cannot tell he ever had crossed eyes unless he gets exhausted and one will veer slightly inward. He has overcome many obstacles in his short life. I know he is no angel, just a NORMAL 15 year old boy who likes the girls, cell phones, and cars.....but at least he has and shows respect for himself and others and uses the words ma'am and sir. I am just glad he is who he is.