The Daily Mail Online is reporting that, “Children who are hooked on computer games, the Internet, and mobile phones are to be offered help at what is thought to be the first dedicated technology addiction service for young people in Britain.”

Your Mandarin is not surprised by this development. It is far easier for parents to rely on someone else – namely the government or “professionals” – to raise and discipline their children than it is for them to do it.

An extremely revealing quote in the article is, “Mental health services need to adapt quickly to the changing worlds that young people inhabit, and understand just how seriously their lives can be impaired by unregulated time online, on-screen, or in-game.” And that’s it right there, unregulated time online. Where are the parents of these children? I put it to you that these parents never existed. Oh, sure these children have parents in the biological sense, but from a parenting perspective, they are orphans raised by “adults” that want nothing more than to be their friends.

With this absence of parents there is void to be filled to ensure that these children are nurtured and raised to be “productive” members of society. So sensing this opportunity, our progressive friends will attempt to step in and take over the traditional role of the parent. This may not seem like a big deal, but what we are witnessing is the destruction of the traditional family and its supplanting by the society (or government) as the family. In addition, the definition of a productive member of society will differ based on an individual’s political and philosophical perspective.

If you don’t take the time to raise your children and instill in them the values that you hold dear to your heart, someone else is going to do it and you may not like the results.

The Mandarin

The Mandarin, whose real name is 吏恆, joined the order in 1309, and introduced the Gormogons into England during the 18th Century.

The Mandarin enjoys spending time with his pet manticore, Βάρἰκος, or Barry (who can be found in the Bestiary). When not in the Castle…well, frankly, nobody is quite sure where he goes.

The Mandarin popularized the fine art of “gut booting,” by which he delivers a powerful kick to the stomach of anyone that annoys him. Although nearly universal today, the act of gut booting or threatening someone or something with a gut boot is solely due to him.