"Kids Will Be Kids"?

I read this post from Paul Myhill last night and was convicted and saddened by some parents who are laying a very tragic and destructive foundation for their children. As Christians, we are called to teach our children to show mercy, because we have been shown mercy by God. Mercy is at the heart of the Gospel and should be the norm for all of us.

Here is a comment from his follow up post to the incident.

Paul Myhill:

It's easy to dismiss such things as "kids will be kids" and to even ridicule why I'm giving this matter attention but, as I stated in my prior post, our children is where it all starts. If you're concerned about how we treat each other these days, how we have little respect for one another, and how we continue to carve ourselves into little "us versus them" groups, take a look at how we lay the foundation of such ills by simply dismissing – and often supporting – how our children negatively interact (or don't interact) with one another.

I'm reminded of my visit to Rwanda where bloodshed that ripped apart a nation was largely dismissed by the West as "Africans being Africans," referring to the frequent tribal conflicts there. Heinous thoughts or rationalizations like this are simply not acceptable. It's not acceptable when referring to other groups. And it's not acceptable when referring to our children.

The Bible states that a nation of "fierce countenance" is one that "shows no respect for the old and no pity for the young." Are we now that nation?