Have I got it right?

I have been challenged by my grandchildren over my post of last Sunday - OK they say, if the causes of the recent riots are so obvious, what are they, according to you?  Well, firstly, I only maintained the causes are pretty obvious - that doesn't mean I have any answers.  Secondly, it's difficult to talk about this without resorting to clichés.  "Lack of discipline" is a cliché, but that is the underlying cause as I see it - or maybe lack of self-discipline would be nearer the mark.  Each generation rebels against authority and its elders - that's human nature, but at one time there was a acceptance - however reluctant - that while you were home, your parents made the rules; while you were at school, the teachers were in charge, and when you were out and about, you deferred to the police.  And that is what has changed.  Today many parents daren't say "boo" to their children; in many schools pupils effectively rule the classrooms, and police no longer command any respect on the streets.  Why this has happened is perhaps open to argument, and like I say, I don't claim to have any answers as to how things can be changed, but the main reason for what has gone on seems to me to be blindingly obvious.