Dear Christine,
Please allow me, through your column, to offer some words of advice to parents.
I am a young person who has monitored, watched and listened to young people over the years. As a guidance counsellor, I’ve had to deal with numerous cases and speak to them about their outlook on life. I often have to let them know that the latest cellphone, the five or so earrings in their ear lobes, the push-up bras they wear and the latest hairstyles do not make one a lady.
Here is what has been happening to our young people: some leave home on mornings with their school bags packed with extra clothes. They never make it to school. They visit the homes of men where they engage in sex, have tattoos done on their bodies – including on their breasts, navels and “behinds”. In other words, they expose their bodies to whomever they please.
They have their navels and tongues pierced and when it is close to 3 p.m., they return home – having never made it to school. In many instances they are videotaped and photographed engaging in sex. Their parents are kept in the dark.
What hurts me is that they do not check behind their children as they ought to. They want the children to love them so badly that they do not discipline them.
Men on the block and even those with white-collar jobs are sometimes part of these scenarios.
Christine, discipline of must start in the home. Parents should train up their children in the way they should go. Yes, the church has a role to play, but parents must take the lead.
– G.C.
Dear G.C.,
You do not have to convince me that what you’ve written is true. I am aware of some cases as well.
We all have a part to play in the lives of our young people, whether or not we are parents. However, let’s hope that parents become more vigilant when it comes to those who are in their care.
– CHRISTINE
