And this is really a surprise?

Some parents are using letters from police concerning their children's late-night activities to get the courts to declare their children beyond parental control.

Director of the society's Youth Development Centre, Ms Carol Balhetchet, said: 'Some parents who have received the letters have come to us to ask what they should do. A few of them have been thinking of declaring their children beyond parental control and some of them have decided to take the letters and go to court to get the court order.'

One wonders if the escalation of the problem of teenage delinquincy has, perhaps a smidgen, a correlation to the decline of good parenting.

Gone are the days when parents would wallop the hell out of their kids if they found them cheating. Today, parents yell at the teachers for "allowing students to cheat". I mean, if we're really going to be a nation that sends the message to our kids that personal responsibility is really an illusion and the other person is always at fault, aren't we building a nation of citizen assholes?

What really yanks my chain is when the inevitable occurs, parents sit back and wonder, "how did my kid ever turn out so wrong?" like they didn't know.

Well, they should. In a flashback montage with cheesy 80s music, the parent(s) in question should remember the days that they glared accusingly at strangers for admonishing a child whose behaviour was out of control. Or ripped a new one for teachers who tried to discipline their children. Or gave in when their kids demanded more than they should have.

But, like all typical Singaporeans, they won't see. It won't be apparent to them because, like the values that they will eventually be handing down to their children, they won't think on reflecting inward. Because it's not their fault when their kids misbehave. It's the situation that the kid was in. It's not their fault when their kids do badly in school. Blame the teachers. It's not their fault when their kids start cussing and swearing. Blame the movies. Heck, blame everyone.

After all, it's the Singaporean way.

"You know, Mrs. Buckman, you need a license to buy a dog, to drive a car - hell, you even need a license to catch a fish. But they'll let any butt-reaming asshole be a father." ~ From Parenthood, eloquently delivered by Keanu Reeves when he still had flopsy hair.