Too Strict?

This morning, I happened upon a reel by the parents of five children. These Korean parents have five rules for their children to live by, which are expected to protect and help them grow into responsible and successful adults. They have offered brief explanations for a couple of the rules, bringing clarity to anyone who might think their rules are too strict, and some of the reasons they believe these rules protect and teach their children:

1. No dating until college.
2. No crop tops.
3. No social media until 16. Reasons:
   1. Studies show a link between social media use and mental illness in teens.
   2. To avoid bullying and emotional harm, especially when they're still forming their identities.
   3. To protect their sleep, schoolwork, physical activity, and in-person connections.
4. No sleepovers. Reasons:
   1. Kids are unsupervised for hours and they can't ensure their safety.
   2. There can be peer pressure, bullying, and abuse from adults and other kids.
   3. Lack of sleep leads to bad choices and doing risky things they wouldn't normally do.
5. Church on Sundays.

The responses from people were alarming! The parents were called about every name in the book, accused of ruining their children, and more. People said they were taking away the rights of the children to make up their own minds about faith, the right to socialize with the opposite sex, and the list goes on and on and on.

Banning crop tops seemed ridiculous to many who apparently don't understand that modest apparel is not only beautiful but a way of building self-esteem, self-worth, and self-respect.

I was shocked. The biggest problem people had, surprisingly, was church attendance! Several responders even said that they could go along with the other rules but draw the line at church attendance. I couldn't believe that some parents said that their children would NOT attend church – they didn't want them to be "saved".

In cultures such as India, Korea, Japan, China, and Africa, etc., children are raised with strict rules and expectations that are respected by the children. Unfortunately, most of those who commented on this particular reel would find that way of raising children totally disagreeable.

Among the 7,224 responses/reactions, a mere handful agreed that the main reason our kids today are rebellious, difficult to handle, and make poor decisions is that there are no enforceable boundaries and no respect for rules or authority. They have too much freedom at ages when their decision-making ability is not mature enough to make wise choices.

I belong to an older generation where rules were meant to be obeyed, whether we (as kids) agreed with them or not. My parents were strict, but they were loving. I didn't date until I met my husband (I was 19 and he was 26; we married 9 months later). I never went to a school dance or prom. While I wasn't the perfect daughter and sometimes challenged their wisdom and authority, my life has not been ruined because I lived in a controlled environment, which included church attendance (which I loved). In fact, when I was in my mid-to-late teens, I attended church even if my parents didn't. And, from the church and the example set by so many of the adults, I learned to love God, the importance of obedience, and to serve wherever and whenever possible. I did NOT lead a boring life, even with boundaries and rules!

So, what are your thoughts? Are these parents too strict? How would you have responded to this reel (see: https://www.facebook.com/share/r/16qTcmEo4Q/).