And You Wonder Why You Get No Respect From Your Kids

I don’t have a problem with all rap music.  I do have a major problem with the explicit content of some hip-hop song lyrics, extolling violence and drug and alcohol use, and detailing sexual exploits and gang adventures.

Hip-hop music has been controversial ever since its emergence into the cultural mainstream in the late 20th century. There are those who link the offensive rap lyrics to problems plaguing African Americans, particularly black-on-black violence and single-parent families.

And that is my concern. I listen to old school rap. However, the questions that I struggle with are: "Does the music that children listen to today influence them to do wrong?" and "Is it the main cause of bad behavior?"

Some say that rap music is a bad influence because the lyrics in modern rap music today might end up getting kids in trouble, or they might end up killing or hurting someone, or they might even end up in jail.

On the other hand, when you ask young people, they say that rap is a good thing because it lets them express themselves in ways they could never do verbally or physically.

The truth is parents have been complaining about their children's taste in popular music since at least the 1920s with the debut of jazz.

Heavy metal is full of violent imagery and misogynist sentiments – and for a while it, too, was under the cultural microscope as a cause for angry young teenagers to act out or harm themselves.

Recently, when I pulled into a parking space at a Dollar General store, I noticed three children in the car next to me. They appeared to be between the ages of 5-8 years old.  They were singing at the top of their lungs; “Suck my D#&*”, “MF N-Word”, Eat my P*%%#, “F%@* B&@#$.

There was no parent in sight.

A few minutes later, having left the store, a car pulled up next to me at the traffic light playing the same song blaring. It was the same kids with whom I could only believe was their mother who couldn’t have been much older than 25. All four of them were singing the song at the top of their lungs.

I’m sorry, but at some point we must put the blame or the responsibility for what our kids are listening to on the parent.

Unfortunately, there are far too many babies raising babies, and the current “Big Mama’s” are in their 40s and way too busy posting selfies on Facebook to monitor their children’s activities.

And you wonder why you get no respect from your kids.