Parents.

Without a doubt!

Yup!  My parents definitely saved my life when they flatly refused to allow me to buy a motorcycle at age 17.

Sadly, most kids today are blessed if they even have one responsible parent.  Our society has completely flushed the traditional family of a Mom and Dad down the toilet.  What was and still is God's ideal for what a family is supposed to be, has been thrown away by our government.  Children today, have no moral and responsible role-models to teach them values and right from wrong.  And what's even sadder, it's getting worse and worse every day.  These are facts my friends, not an opinion.  

I came from an Italian family. Sure we drank wine at the dinner table at 5 years old but they were strict otherwise. In fact, if we stayed out a little too late, they sent a MAFIA hitman after us!

Caught smoking, or, God forbid, take any illegal drugs? They knee-capped us or broke our fingers.

I really did come from a strict environment. But it was ruled by my parents common sense - a commodity too many, today, have lost. The kids and grandkids turned out spectacular - it's the great grandkids I worry about. We have two. God, help us!

I have no doubt my parents AND the good Lord saved me from my own stupidity plenty of times.......thankfully. Sometimes I'm surprised I'm still here. I did apologize to my parents for the hell I put them through as a rebellious teen. AND thanked them many times over for never giving up on me. It's shaped me into the person I am today. I do everything in my power to help my elderly,  dear sweet momma. God, I love her immensely. And I love my pops as much now as ever, RIP pops.

@perrone1 Tony, I have to agree with you.  I too are from an 100% Italian family, and could not thank my parents enough on how I was brought up.  Now I hope I have passed down to my 4 kids, and will see if they pass it down to my 3 current grandkids.

Posted by: @carsman1958

↑

@perrone1 Tony, I have to agree with you.  I too are from an 100% Italian family, and could not thank my parents enough on how I was brought up.  Now I hope I have passed down to my 4 kids, and will see if they pass it down to my 3 current grandkids.

The common thread here appears to be that back in the day most families had a mom and dad. My brother and I had a mom and dad who were never too busy to do things with us. I truly believe that I was blessed to grow up in a time where everything in my world was a kinder gentler place and that common sense actually existed. I never knew my dad's mom and dad because they died before I was born but my mom's parents were a big part of our lives for which I have always been grateful. RIP mom and dad, you were both a blessing to my brother and I.

@bob-jackman, well said, Bob! It was true for us, and it still is. 

It's a misnomer that there are no good moms and dads anymore. It's also a mistake to lump all young people together. We have many young folks in our church who have great parents and are themselves pretty decent kids. I can throw a stone in any direction in our town and hit a church that has similar young people in it as well. Our folks attended a youth conference in Boston last year, and they will attend one in Atlanta this year. There will be around 3,000 teenagers gathering for fellowship, worship, teaching, and fun. Those are not the only youth conferences around. We're sending a small group of teens to Romania this year. They will help teach a camp for gypsy children, an incredibly oppressed group in Eastern Europe. We go every year. We have been going since 2008. Every year, there is a new group who are excited to go. 

For those who want to complain about role models, George, it may be time to get out and be one.

My biological father walked out on my mom when he found out she was pregnant. I never saw nor heard from him since. I consider my stepfather my true dad as he was the one that raised me as his own. Something he didn't have to do, but I'm blessed that he did.💯😊

Wow, reading all your comments about growing up is making me re-live my years too and appreciate ALL my parents and both sets of grandparents did to spend their time with all five of us and ALWAYS be around when we needed them. 💕 to Lorraine & Ritchie, Grandma & Grandpa Skalski, and Laura & Frank Jakubczak.  
Steve

@100ford2003, I get it. We moved in with my grandfather when I was about 4. He and I spent a lot of time together, but I also had a lot of time with my folks and one of my uncles. I got my love for fast cars from my uncle, my impulsiveness and my high regard for my mom from my dad, and an incredible number of life lessons from my grandfather.

From the age of nine, I was sent away from my family every summer, which turned out to be a blessing.  I won't go into the passion-less existence of my childhood, where a father was as selfish with his attention as he was with his money, and a mother too preoccupied with her oldest son.  They did their best to 'mold' me, but even at a young age I knew I had to fight to keep my individuality.  When I was fifteen a stalemate came to be and I moved in with my math teacher.  It was unfortunate she died half-way through my senior year of high school, but her lessons have stayed with me.  She was evidence that it does take a village to raise a child, especially one discarded by his own.

I had friends who had parents who were involved in their lives.  Often, it was those parents who invited me up for a weekend to get away from home, one of which was my bf's mom, who drove fantastic classic cars.  I also had friends on the other end of the spectrum, including one very brave boy who was tormented in school for being 'different.'  What his tormentors didn't know was the boy's father was beating him regularly to 'change' him.  It was years later when he told me he wondered which one of us would run, first.

In spite of the challenges I have thrived and I truly believe it was due to the care and compassion of others, proving once again a family doesn't have to be solely made up of blood relatives.  Love nurtures regardless of the source.  

@gdh 

At the outset, I'm sorry for your early challenges, no, your early hell on earth. It's not supposed to be that way. But unlike a dog who knows nothing more than the attention of a beating, you, thank God, had the intelligence to move on and find, and I LOVED the way you succinctly term it - find the love that nurtures; regardless of it's source!!.