Mary Mitchell, Chicago Sun Times Columnist, Accuses Some Mothers & Fathers of "Ghetto Parenting"

Mary Mitchell, Chicago Sun Times columnist, sparks controversy by calling out some people of engaging in "ghetto parenting."

Have you ever heard of the term "ghetto parenting?" Chicago Sun Times columnist, Mary Mitchell, sparked controversy last week when she penned a column, entitled “Ghetto Parenting Dooms Kids: Deck Stacked Against Those Who Were Raised in the Streets.” I am sure that many people were offended by the phrase, but she is right. I am really tired of reading about the monsters many families have created by being less than good parents. That goes for black, white, Latino, you name it. Ms. Mitchell wrote, "I know some of you will be offended by my word choice. But ghetto parenting is the only phrase that can describe what is going on." She is absolutely correct and we are seeing the results of "ghetto parenting" play out on our television screens every day -- gun violence in Chicago, New York City, Baltimore, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Atlanta, Detroit, etc. Young thugs roaming the streets and inflicting violence on innocent people. They are literally holding their communities under siege.

Ghetto parenting defined:

Ghetto parenting is cursing around, and at, a child.

Ghetto parenting is brawling with your man or your woman in front of your child.

Ghetto parenting is letting your child roam the streets until somebody else’s mother has to tell the child to go home.

Ghetto parenting is putting your child off on friends and relatives because you want to hang out in the street.

Ghetto parenting is getting so hooked on substances that the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has to remove your children and place them with strangers. (Sun-Times)

I take my role as a parent seriously and I have never cursed at or in front of my children, done drugs, left my kids in the company of friends or allowed my kids to roam the streets. My children have a full schedule that revolves around school, all aimed to helping them reach their fullest potential. It is time people realize the damage they can do to their children by engaging in "ghetto" behavior in their homes and in front of their children. This isn't just about socioeconomic status. There are some people with financial means who engage in "ghetto parenting" too. It's just a vile way of rearing kids and it is bound to backfire and create monsters who will be introduced to the penal system at a young age.

Still, one has to ask, have these parents learned this from their parents? Some people are just a product of their environment and know no better. It doesn't make it less wrong or right. To echo the lyrics of a famous song, "I believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way." If we don't teach them well, then we end up with young people committing crimes, dropping out of high school and having children out of wedlock, for starters. The damage that is done in a child's formative years will follow him or her into adulthood and to their own children later in life. Parenting is an awesome responsiblity that must be taken seriously or the result will be Joran Van der Sloot, Demario James Atwater and many of the young people who commit heinous crimes who have been in the news.

Read Mary Mitchell's follow-up column:  C'mon, you know ghetto when you see it | Chicago Sun Times

H/T to Elaine Clisham for posting the link to this story on Twitter!