This is in reference to the photo on the front of the Sun Journal (Jan. 7) of a man clearing snow off his roof while three young men are inside by the front window.

I brought up three children, and that would never have happened at my house.

There are issues with young people: They are lazy; they are obese; they have no problem voicing their opinions, loudly, clearly, and, most times, disrespectfully. They have cell phones, expensive video games, and all the latest things going, and yet, in that picture – what is that man telling those boys?

What would be the harm in making those boys help?

Most parents have to work to provide for their children. Why is it that the children don’t have to work at their age-appropriate capacity to help earn the things they want? The three boys in the photo were all 13 years old, plenty old enough to at least move the snow the man was shoveling off the roof.

I would never presume to tell people how to raise their families, but here it is in black and white – what I did with my children, right, wrong or indifferent… it worked. They are all self-sufficient, with good jobs and taking care of themselves.

Diana Smith, Oxford