Kids need guidance

So, a few days ago, police arrested a man accused of being a gang leader. They also arrested his mother and brother for being members of a criminal organisation, his gang.

His mother is a 53-year-old woman. She is my age, and that is what is alarming. So, you have a child, watch him form a criminal organisation, and then not only do you not discourage him, but you join him?

I have often held the view that my generation has to take a good chunk of the blame. Our parents were hard on us, so we figured that as a way to prove we are better than our parents, we should give our kids a free pass.

We let them do whatever they wanted because our parents didn't do that for us. We failed to teach them manners and encourage civilised behaviour and got them to buy into the ruse of instant gratification. Is that it?

There are a lot of good parents out there, and they all have one thing in common. They have discovered that parenting is hard work. Kids will push as far as you are willing to allow them to push, but, as a parent, you have to understand one thing. You are a parent first before you are anything else to your children.

Consequences needed

I have seen children disrespect their parents in public, and the parents' reaction would suggest that this was not the first time it was happening, and there were no consequences.

Now, I am not advocating that today's parents need to do like ours did and take a belt, a broomstick, or branch to their butts, but children have to learn that there are consequences for inappropriate behaviour.

This is part of the reason we have seen crime escalate the way it has. These young men and women grew up not understanding that there are consequences for misbehaving.

They think that they can get away with anything because we, as parents, allowed them to. I know, of course, that there are other factors that contribute to crime, but I am also aware that how we behave also contributes.

Woman leaves man, she dies. Man steps on another man's foot, man dies. Man kicks man's child, kicker is hit with a block to the head and dies. Man jailed.

All of these actions are examples of a lack of self-control and a lack of understanding that there are serious consequences for the bad things we do.

A lot of it, I believe, can be traced back to bad or weak parents.