A growing number of parents are spoiling their children "rotten" and are only paving the way towards a more selfish society.

This is the message from Minister of Youth and Sport Dale Butler.

As former school principal, and a writer who has specifically examined how to raise boys in Bermuda, Mr. Butler has advice to spare for parents today.

"Young people today have a lack of direction, firm direction. They don't have clear role models," he said. "Young men don't feel a part of the community."

Along with the crumbling of traditional communities, troubled young men are resulting from "the breakdown of the family, and the traditions of family whether single or a couple, including discipline and respect".

So many of these values have disappeared in the lives of the young men. Before an uncle, church members, figures in school would discipline young men when they stepped out of line, he said.

"We have developed a selfish society, instead of a communal society," he said.

In a more traditional Bermuda, "the young man was disciplined, praised and given a standard and told he could reach that standard", he said.

"Those (young people) who have gone wrong are in charge of their home, spoiled rotten. It's wrong," he said.

"Parents have the best intentions in sending them off to Disney World at four but it has proved to be wrong."

"I think parents have always had the best interest of their children at heart," he said. "But something went wrong in the black culture after the black power movement. Parents think: 'I want to make it better for my child.' "

A better life today means that parents "want to give them more and make it easier", he said. "They want to give them trips, They don't want to spank their children.

"They say 'I'm not going to spank my child or raise my voice at my child because that is emotional abuse'.

"But that type of discipline was a significant part of black society and 95 percent of us have survived it. Now parents are frightened to death of their children at a young age because they have been spoiled rotten.

"We seem to assume that giving them wonderful names, clothes and trips we will be making them good children," he said.

Parents are so focused on "giving children wonderful outsides" that they have failed to develop strong character, he said.

"We used to have very little on the outside but we were developed on the inside."

To parents he gave some advice: "Be consistent, be firm," he said.

"Children need TAPS," he said referring to the formula for parenting in his book. "It all comes back to time, attention, praise, and sacrifice. Whatever those words means in your life, then use it."

"Children also need LICKS," he said, referring to his second formula. "That is love, interest, caring, kindness and sacrifice."

Mr. Butler said each parent should develop their own formula.

In parenting, "you are going to reap what you sow, if you give and then demand nothing in return they will learn that they can be rude to their parents.

"Why, and the question that we need to ask, is that in white and Portuguese communities we don't hear about the same problems as in the black communities," he said.

"Is there greater community support, are they sending problem kids away or is it hidden and something we don't see?"

Turning to the generation that is coming to age today he said he is fearful for their prospects.

"Bermuda is raising a generation which is rejecting construction jobs, plumbing and other trade jobs," he said. "Young men have no interest in these fine jobs, but if they don't have the academic skills to apply for jobs in the international sector, then what are they going to do?

"We've lowered the academic expectations ... but we live in Bermuda where we've got high academic standards in the international businesses."

Bermuda has written off an entire generation, he added.

Mr. Butler said he was vehemently against the closing of the trade programmes in the Island's government schools to focus on academic courses.

"Today we are coming to reap what we sowed," he said.