Dear Editor,
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it”: a verse from Solomon, the wisest man.
The behaviour of the youth in our society is grave cause for concern. They do anything they feel, say anything they choose, with no respect for themselves or others. Our children are on a collision course going south and have long exceeded the speed limit.
In order to come up with a solution to the problem, let us first find the root cause. A child is born with a blank sponge mind and thereafter soaks up whatever he/she is fed directly and indirectly, hence the saying, “Children live what they learn.”
Parents are the first teachers they know, and herein lies the root of the problem we face.
It is firstly the responsibility of the mother and father to plant the right seeds. Parents have a point of duty to instill values and positive attitudes in their children. Next come institutions (school, church, etc), and finally the wider society.
The sad reality is that some parents have no values and very poor attitudes. Children absorb and mirror the indecent language they are told by their parents and the way they attire themselves. How does a teacher set things right when a parent will tell a child “If dem lick yuh lick dem back”?
The society has taken a stand-off approach to curbing our youth when they fall out of line for fear of being physically or verbally abused by their parents. Therefore a child can walk on the road in his uniform with his tie and handkerchief hanging out of his pockets, cap on his head turned backward, pants leg rolled up, and earrings in both ears.
Our children seem to be just floating around with no guidance, care or protection from the ones who should be looking out for their best interest. We must admit that we have failed our children miserably and should take the blame for the rot destroying our society. The $1.5-million questions are: Where do we go from here? Who do we turn to? How do we address the issue of unfit parents corrupting the innocence of our children? Should there be a parents’ development agency? There are unfortunately more questions than answers, so I call on the relevant people in the relevant ministries to focus on the root of the problem, the parents.
Happy Child Month.
Hezekan Bolton
h_e_z_e@hotmail.com
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it”: a verse from Solomon, the wisest man.
The behaviour of the youth in our society is grave cause for concern. They do anything they feel, say anything they choose, with no respect for themselves or others. Our children are on a collision course going south and have long exceeded the speed limit.
In order to come up with a solution to the problem, let us first find the root cause. A child is born with a blank sponge mind and thereafter soaks up whatever he/she is fed directly and indirectly, hence the saying, “Children live what they learn.”
Parents are the first teachers they know, and herein lies the root of the problem we face.
It is firstly the responsibility of the mother and father to plant the right seeds. Parents have a point of duty to instill values and positive attitudes in their children. Next come institutions (school, church, etc), and finally the wider society.
The sad reality is that some parents have no values and very poor attitudes. Children absorb and mirror the indecent language they are told by their parents and the way they attire themselves. How does a teacher set things right when a parent will tell a child “If dem lick yuh lick dem back”?
The society has taken a stand-off approach to curbing our youth when they fall out of line for fear of being physically or verbally abused by their parents. Therefore a child can walk on the road in his uniform with his tie and handkerchief hanging out of his pockets, cap on his head turned backward, pants leg rolled up, and earrings in both ears.
Our children seem to be just floating around with no guidance, care or protection from the ones who should be looking out for their best interest. We must admit that we have failed our children miserably and should take the blame for the rot destroying our society. The $1.5-million questions are: Where do we go from here? Who do we turn to? How do we address the issue of unfit parents corrupting the innocence of our children? Should there be a parents’ development agency? There are unfortunately more questions than answers, so I call on the relevant people in the relevant ministries to focus on the root of the problem, the parents.
Happy Child Month.
Hezekan Bolton
h_e_z_e@hotmail.com