I did my best as a parent and they turned out pretty darned good but not without bumps. Two were great the whole ride, one made me polish my parenting skills way longer than I'd hoped.

I tell you what, though. There's rarely a trip to the grocery that I don't see a little kid that I'm guessing is destined for juvie or worse.

My wife and I busted our butts to provide, because we could alternate shifts we almost never did child care, we tried our best to set the best example we could (being the best husband and father I could be was/is the biggest motivation I have EVER had)...and one out of three kids still had to work through issues as an adult. I THINK he's got his ducks in a row but I'm not taking ANYTHING for granted.

Good parenting is probably the biggest single factor but great parents can still produce sociopaths. We just have to do the best we can and hope to catch a few breaks here and there. Living in a great neighborhood in North Carolina has got to be a zillion times easier than raising kids in a sketchy neighborhood in Philly or Gary or Brooklyn or Compton.

But, then again, that has a lot to do with why I moved here.

Much like others have commented, my kids are waaaay better people than I was at their age.

Last edited by Smokey3214; 12/08/2012 9:10 PM.