I feel old because

I find myself starting sentences with "when I was young...". The news of the third graders who plotted to kill their teacher really bugs me. As the mother of a young child, I find myself more and more thinking how we got to this point? What are we doing or not doing as a society that produces children like this! I'm sure we have ourselves to blame and I'm sure it is a bunch of small things that collectively change a society but really, what is wrong with us? This morning I heard a story on the news about food additives affecting children's IQ. I always suspected that all of the processed refined foods available to us are not good but yikes! Between stories like these, the amount of violence on TV during children's viewing hours, the lack of church/community in our society, the disconnection that video games and the internet provide and the declining health of all of us, it makes me mental. I like to get all worked up about these issues but I know all I can really do is pay attention to my child, feed her healthy foods, discipline her when she needs it and pray for her future.