by Rachel Allison
Several days ago I was reading an article by Meg Mirshak entitled “Poor Parenting Leads Youth to Violent Crime.”
The article printed in the Augusta Chronicle upset me and I’m sure many other readers. Crime cases were cited involving children as young as 11. This particular case involved a home intrusion at gun point!
Another case: A 15-year old was charged with conspiring to kidnap and kill a fellow student. Her plan was to beat her “friend” with a crowbar!
A local judge said that the cases he is seeing in his courtroom are being perpetrated by younger children and the crimes are more and more violent.
Columbia County Juvenile Court Judge Doug Flanagan’s suggestion? “Parents need to pay more attention to their children.” What a novel idea!
May I add that not only do they need to pay more attention to their children, they also need to pay more attention to what is happening to the decline in moral values and the increased in-your-face media blitz that erringly persuades young and old that life is all about selfish, immoral and lewd behavior. Until we and our children are grounded with solid values, principles, and standards that help us see the decadent behavior portrayed in the media as the life damaging and society destroying behavior that it is, we can be subtly or aggressively brainwashed into believing the lies they promote.
It troubles me to see how quickly the decline in our society has taken place. If it continues to spiral downward at the rate it has in the past 30 years, my grandchildren are in for a rough ride to say the least.
The article quotes Superior Court Judge Wade Padgett as saying “
“Some of the things we are seeing are so violent that they can’t get a second chance,” They become true criminals not just delinquent juveniles.”
At the end of the article I began reading comments by readers. May I share the one by “literallyamerican.”
I visited a prison not long ago to see the guy who killed my sister. I was looking to understand what happened and why he would do something like that. When I sat there looking around at everyone in the room where people visit, I was shocked to see so many young men in there. It became apparent to me looking at their faces that for the first time in their lives they were experiencing what REAL boundaries are. I believe in punishment and fully realize that you have to pay for what you do, but in some ways it was sad because they had to come to prison to get that type of “parenting” that should have been done at home. I saw the same thing in the person I went to confront–he looked completely shell shocked.
I have often told my husband, “If we don’t take the time and make the effort to teach and guide and counsel our children when they are young, we will spend years trying to undo the damage that is caused by our neglect.
Tragically, apathetic parents, the media’s decadent influence on society, and a government that is doing its best to shut God out of the conversation, have created a perfect stage for creating children who, without boundaries or principled values can destroy their lives before they reach adulthood.