Too easy to blame parents

EDUCATOR and social activist Professor Rhoda Reddock says while little attention is being paid to low income parents, they are consistently blamed for their children’s involvement in criminality and violence.

“On numerous occasions, members of the public, police commissioners and politicians among others blame parents for the problems of youth criminality and violence in society. The suggestion is often made that parents should be held legally responsible for their children's criminal activity and possible imprisonment as a result.

“Indeed parents especially poor parents are generally being blamed for not adequately fulfilling their responsibility but there has been little attention to the challenges parents face whether mothers or fathers in today’s fast changing society.”

Reddock made these observations on Wednesday at the launch of a National Symposium on the Family entitled “Supporting Families as the Bedrock of Society” put on by the Office of the Prime Minister's Gender and Child Affairs Unit, at the University Inn and Conference Centre, UWI, St Augustine campus.

Prof Reddock said that in 2013, there was a 20 per cent increase in school drop-outs in the Caribbean. In addition, she said, while the youth of TT are faced with challenges of social problems, there is the absent of a social infrastructure to deal with them.

Reddock said the burden of care resulting from the fall out has increase demands of the families, most of which are unequipped to deal with the problems.

“Blaming parents has been the response of from the community, from leaders, from everyone, parents are to blame. I want to say today that we need to do better than that. Parents, especially low income parents, are blame for the high level of criminality, violence in schools, homicides and gang violence.

“Many families are unable to deal with the ‘21st century’ parenting. Fathers are being blamed for not being present in the home, but a mere physical presence is not enough as fathers could be physically present and emotionally absent. More attention needs to be paid to the quality of the relationship between fathers and children and not simply on their presence.”

She said no support is provided to parents for the 21 century parenting which include parenting in the era of 200 US cable channels, in determine social media, overwhelming media violence school violence peer pressure for early and unprotected sexual activity, and heavy demand for consumer goods.