1 Yet another perfectly predictable result of pervasive single motherhood. Without an appropriate role model in the home, young men cannot be expected to learn any number of valuable skills. And, having been raised by females who are either unattached or habitual tramps, what skills DO they learn? Dependency, entitlement and whining. No surprises here.

2 Okay, I'll bite. My son had a wonderful role model: his single mother. He's doing quite well as an independent, hardworking young man who holds a job, has his own apartment, and pays his own bills.

3 I've gotta somewhat side with Dave here. Young men definitely need some good, solid, male role models in their life. But this goes WAY deeper. It seems that kids today have absolutely no boundaries, no idea what respect is, and are so used to not being told "no" that they have no idea how to handle failure. I've got an idea, start giving stupid kids failing grades. Cut slow, un-athletic kids from the sports teams. And stop telling kids with crappy voices that they sound like angels.

4 Wow. Dave's comment is SO not a place I expected this to go. I don't think that this sort of behavior necessarily has anything to do with single motherhood. Wipe that argument right off the map. Yes, boys need good role models, and dads are important, but good male role models can be found in a number of places. Teenage boys are inherently stupid. I don't say it to be mean, and I'm sure your kid is different - but they aren't in a really great time of life. Most of them are obsessed with things like impressing their friends, flirting with girls, and lighting their farts on fire; improving their interview skills on the fly isn't something they generally think about. There are exceptions, and every kid has their good points. But for me, I find most people from the age of 12 to about 22 to be useless (family excluded). This is reinforced daily by whiny "tweens", annoying teenagers, and obnoxious young adults. Ann - it sounds like you have a good one. Great job raising a solid kid.

5 I do really admire Dave, because he must have some amazing psychic powers to have gleaned all that about this kid's upbringing from your account of a 30 second encounter.

6 garbage in, garbage out. as long as parents let the state raise their kids and plant their kids in front of a TV/computer and ignore them this is what we end up with....i feel sorry for them because obviously they know nothing else and they probably have 5 or 6 uninvolved parents/step whatevers from numerous marriage of their parents who are doing their own thing. This seems to be the story of the bulk of people under 25 that I talk to.

7 I get really tired of people constantly blaming the parents for crap like this. Yes, the parents pay a HUGE role in the kid's life and obviously impact them significantly, but as I said - teenage boys will be teenage boys. You can only hold sway over them for so long before outside influences start to take their toll. We can definitely blame TV, video games, or frat houses (it's more likely a combination of all of the above plus umpteen bazillion other things), I don't like the idea of heaping all the blame for autonamous human beings on their parents.