Is it Good to Teach Your Children to be Cynical?

[Keithianorak U]

I know a friend who is very cynical around his children. Every day he complains in front of his children about corrupt politicians and when he gets worked up after watching the news about some corrupt politician he always tells his children that to be successful you need to cheat and lie.

As a result, his children have become cynical themselves and this has had the effect of making them turn out amoral. They are teenagers who have sex freely, horde money, treat women like sex objects, and disrespect their parents.

Learning this lesson, I don't want to teach my children to become too cynical and pessimistic about the world. However, if they are too romantic or naive then this might be dangerous as well as they may be victims of cult leaders, real estate agents, and so on.

So how do I know whether I am being too cynical with my children?