Responsibility

by Mike

Being a teenager in recent times means being in the spotlight as the media seem to have taken it upon themselves to highlight a lack of morals and rule breaking from them.

It is shocking when you consider the acts that have taken place and those that are said to have committed them, but maybe we are doing what we always do as a society and constantly pushing the blame somewhere else.

Cries of ‘my child would never do that’ can probably be heard in many housing estates in Britain and Ireland as we speak. Are we in denial as to what we let our children do when we are not around? I think so. I believe right now the parents of the person who shot Rhys Jones know that their son/daughter has done it but have yet to come forward. Maybe that can be looked upon as cowardly or just a normal reaction in today’s society in relation to parenting.

I cannot imagine what Melanie and Stephen Jones are going through, especially for Mrs Jones as Rhys died in her arms. What would make them feel a million times worse would be the fact that someone knows who committed this crime and for the reasons of not being a gang creed or simply that they are a family member that they would not confess to the authorities and help to take away some of the hurt and pain that exists.

Maybe it’s just an indication of how we are and how we deal with the younger generation. We let them do what they want, instead of helping them to develop for adult life. A recent survey by Charity Addaction found that at least 20,000 young people in England are currently being treated for serious drug or alcohol use and that Britain had more drug users aged 15 to 16 than any other European country.

Add to the fact that another survey, by the Sleep council in Britain, shows that a third of 12 to 16-year-olds asked slept for between four to seven hours a night. Experts recommend eight hours and nearly all surveyed had either a phone, music system or TV in their bedroom, and two thirds had all three.

All in all it’s a case of giving too much leeway without tugging the reins now and again. How can someone be brought up properly without knowing right from wrong, without having some sort of discipline and also without having proper knowledge as to taking proper care of themselves?

The mind and the body react to all of this instances in different ways. Anger and depression can be two of causes of this and can lead to bad decisions being made simply because they know no other way.

Common sense needs to prevail and someone needs to step up and take control of their situation.

Tuesday, August 28th, 2007 and is filed under Love Thy Neighbour, Pain and suffering, Thoughts & Questions.