Why can't parents be more responsible?

Parents, I have seen more than a few, especially in my work environment.

What I do not understand is that, if they have all the strength and power to give birth to their children, then why don't they have the strength and energy to discipline them?

I have seen some who have diligently briefed their children before they enter the library, on how they should behave. I have also seen those who have sat there and done nothing while their kids run amock all around the library. Still there are those (whom I think are the worst of its kind) who show bad examples by chit chatting loudly while their kids run amock.

Or perhaps, the concept of a library has changed so much that we would also need to change our expectations of them? From my perspective, the parents and kids have begun treating the library as a playground while some parents have even treated it as a childcare centre of sorts. They would leave them alone for half an hour, one hour, sometimes more, while they go and do their 'grocery shopping'.

I think it is really no fault of the children's as they are after all what they are: children! With such an urban environment as our country, there are less and less spaces for the children to run free. For me, we used to have kampungs and such. For them, they only have the playground downstairs or the water fountain at Bugis, and now Vivo City.

They are so full of energy that they need to let some of it out. As literacy is stressed upon a lot nowadays, it would be nice to be seen as bringing your child to the library (as opposed to simply going to the playground).

No, I don't blame the children but I am worried about what examples we as adults are showing the next generation.