Re:Blame the parents. (Score 2)

It isn't these parents in particular, but the state of parenting in general.

We seem to view achievement through a keyhole - we see the honors student or the star quarterback as free-standing goals, but we block out the effects of the pressure to succeed and the sacrifices made. For too many kids, excellence in one area promotes deficiency in another (the brainy kid with no social skills; the footballer who beats up the brainy kid.)

What's missing is that we forget these are just kids and may not have the full set of tools to deal with life (most of the adults I meet don't either). We're not watching "the rest of the kid". There are signs if we open our eyes. Kids don't hang themselves, nor do they shoot each other nor do they exhibit other aberrant behavior without giving some warnings first.
The problem is, we don't recognize those warnings.