It's natural human evolution. We start as sweet and innocent children. Then as we mature and grow we become jaded and cruel adults. It's the cycle of life.

People aren't born assholes, they learn from parents, so don't be an asshole when raising children

Couldn't agree more. Parents all think their children are made out of glass and can't handle anything slightly bad happening to them

I used to substitute teach and I still work at an afterschool program, but I'm mostly a public librarian now. 99% of the children I have a) crossover with from my various jobs and b) were God-awful in school/afterschool have parents so abhorrent that it actually changes my mind. One of my "favorite" stories from my subbing days was the time that a Kindergartner asked me why I was wearing such a weird glove, and I told him that my arm hurt and that the glove helped a bit. He nodded, waited until I turned away three minutes later, and grabbed my arm with both hands and dug his nails into my arm. He didn't quite break the skin (he was five, after all), but with my nerve damage he may as well have shot and stabbed me. It was near the end of the day, so I managed to hang on until school let out before I collapsed...anyhow, kid gets a week out and a stern lecture as well as being forced to apologize. Cue two years later. I'm at my new, spiffy job as a library clerk and am shelving in the children's section when someone screams "Miss Budx!" and throws his little arms around me. It's my little assaulter, and he is so happy to see me that he's giggling and almost crying. I awkwardly pat the top of his head and disengage him from me so I can talk to him. And before I can say a word other than "Hello to you too!", a morbidly obese woman comes barreling into the room, roars at me like a demon from Hell, and grabs the kid's arm so tightly that I guarantee there was bruising. And then she dug her nails into his arm, just like he had done me, and dragged him screaming out of the library. Last I heard, they had moved away. I still worry about that little kid.

Adults<Children<Animals<Plants<Dirt

Yup. Kids are waaaaaaaay better than adults.

I'm pretty sure every teacher ever already knows this.

It's the same here in the UK I'm afraid!

So many parents' behavior today is utterly deplorable. We require licenses to drive cars. Some people should have licenses to be parents.

Like father like son