Paper value Society

What's wrong with having the ability to earn say 1200 a month? Actually nothing, because it means that at least someone is working to earn his keep. But society has segregated the bottom feeders from the mid-feeders and top-feeders. So as a mother, who has a teenager, it's tough to explain the harsh realities of life when he's 16 when as a mother, I have sheltered him from the same harshness for years!
We protect our kids from the ugliness of everything. Run to them when they fall at the playground, sit by them, when they are running a temperature. Hang on to them tightly when crossing the road. How do we then throw them out into society to face reality? I am not able to do that.

A lot of people say, let the army teach them some responsibility - which is a plus, not minus, since parents like me obviously fail at simple lessons in raising them. It's not that we over do our care and concern for them, it's just being a mother for as long as we can, without realising that at some point or other, we need to be cruel to be kind.

Actually, I know all that - but he, being my only child and the son, I have always wanted, is not making my brains see things in the correct perspective sometimes. This is a child, I have almost never spanked, once he was in kindergarten, because he never gave me enough reason to. This is the child who would say he was sorry, the minute he knew I was mad at him. This is the child, who never lied to me about anything - if he's the culprit, he would admit it when he saw me go bonkers.

I struggle when he doesn't spend enough time on his books. When yelling isn't part of my discipline (for years), then it's difficult to regress. So, I use reason and although the grades are inching up slowly, it's not at the correct rate.

I suppose, when we live in a society, which only values paper qualifications, then we have no choice. We need to grab some paper which will add value to our person, because being nice and well-behaved won't give us that good paying job.