Dear Editor,
Those of us who saw the lady in yellow deliver the 'smack down' to her ninja-clad tough-as- nails, rioting 16-year-old, will never forget the moment. In that moment, the international media delivered one solid lesson from the hidden curriculum of the school of life. It was a clarion call across the globe for parents to return to 'arms'.
This call to arms may not need to involve the method that was used by this Baltimore mother but it must involve the cultivated skill of parents to see their children. It must involve the refusal to turn a blind eye to what our children are doing wrong. It must involve parents ensuring that their children are in at nights. It must involve parents returning to leadership in their homes.
There is the well-known tale of the ugly duckling that also lends some perspective to this discussion. That duckling had some serious self-image and self-esteem (and possibly even behavioural) issues, because his parents were nowhere in sight and his upbringing was left to the ducks. At last, in the end, he was united with his swan-kind.
In our Jamaican society, we are paying the palpable price for persistently bad parenting. This is so as our young are often left to the ducks -- well probably more aptly to the dogs. The reality is that our children need leadership, guidance and good examples. They just need to be children with parents who care for and protect them. When parents abdicate their roles, the tide of terror is directed towards the tots.
The call to arms may need to be influenced by political policy that does more than 'free up' birth control and abortion rights for minors and their parents. It may demand intervention for underaged mothers, that sees a social worker guiding them through the earlier years. It may require mandatory parenting seminars in schools. It may need better State-run children's homes, incentives for foster care and easier adoption legislation. It may require stronger action against child molesters and delinquent parents. Whatever 'smack down' we put on child abuse and juvenile delinquency in Jamaica, it must be with the spirit and vigour of that Baltimore lady in yellow.
E M Smith
mrseviej@gmail.com
Baltimore 'smack down' a call to 'arms'
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Those of us who saw the lady in yellow deliver the 'smack down' to her ninja-clad tough-as- nails, rioting 16-year-old, will never forget the moment. In that moment, the international media delivered one solid lesson from the hidden curriculum of the school of life. It was a clarion call across the globe for parents to return to 'arms'.
This call to arms may not need to involve the method that was used by this Baltimore mother but it must involve the cultivated skill of parents to see their children. It must involve the refusal to turn a blind eye to what our children are doing wrong. It must involve parents ensuring that their children are in at nights. It must involve parents returning to leadership in their homes.
There is the well-known tale of the ugly duckling that also lends some perspective to this discussion. That duckling had some serious self-image and self-esteem (and possibly even behavioural) issues, because his parents were nowhere in sight and his upbringing was left to the ducks. At last, in the end, he was united with his swan-kind.
In our Jamaican society, we are paying the palpable price for persistently bad parenting. This is so as our young are often left to the ducks -- well probably more aptly to the dogs. The reality is that our children need leadership, guidance and good examples. They just need to be children with parents who care for and protect them. When parents abdicate their roles, the tide of terror is directed towards the tots.
The call to arms may need to be influenced by political policy that does more than 'free up' birth control and abortion rights for minors and their parents. It may demand intervention for underaged mothers, that sees a social worker guiding them through the earlier years. It may require mandatory parenting seminars in schools. It may need better State-run children's homes, incentives for foster care and easier adoption legislation. It may require stronger action against child molesters and delinquent parents. Whatever 'smack down' we put on child abuse and juvenile delinquency in Jamaica, it must be with the spirit and vigour of that Baltimore lady in yellow.
E M Smith
mrseviej@gmail.com
Baltimore 'smack down' a call to 'arms'
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