IF there were a law that meant parents would be incarcerated for the criminal acts that their underage children performed, no doubt they would do their best to ensure that their children followed a straight and narrow path until they legally became adults (18 years old). Parents who tend to be ‘too busy’ to nurture and find quality time for their offspring would suddenly realise that it is only with their positive inputs that children stand a chance at obtaining a good outcome in life. They will finally realise once and for all that CHILDREN NEED ADULTS TO GUIDE THEM. But alas, there is no such law and when young children end up doing senseless, cruel criminal deeds, the type of care and protection they received from adults always comes into question.

Where were the child’s parents at the time of the crime? Did they know where their child was or what he/she was up to? Did they realise their child was capable of doing such wicked/illegal things? What happened to the child’s schooling? Was he or she even attending? (In Guyana, it is compulsory for children to attend school up to the age of 15.)
When children ‘go bad,’ society seems to blame the parents for not doing a better job and the general public are usually left to wonder, ‘why did they allow their children to go astray?’.

But some parents do not realise how much their negative behaviour or failures affect their children and the impact it can have on their child’s outcome in life.
For instance, child neglect and child abandonment can be devastating for a child’s personal development. To feel unwanted and unloved by your family for no fault of your own could produce a very angry teenager with very low self-esteem and very few morals or values. He/she might unleash that anger in the most unexpected way or take out his/her ‘pain’ on society by being rebellious, carefree or wild: totally beyond parental control with no fear of authority.

Without guidance, attention and affection, children who have been ‘hurt’ during their childhood, when left to their own devices (may indulge in adult behaviour and) could become juvenile delinquents. This is just an example of how a child’s personal development can be affected quite unintentionally through the things caregivers might have done or failed to do. Wherever parental skills are lacking, children suffer, their all-round development is affected and with little sense of direction they could end up getting mixed up in criminal activity.

ONLY ADULTS CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Calling all adults, Mothers Fathers, Grandfathers, Grandmothers, Aunties, Uncles, Neighbours and extended family members: we need to stay vigilant and pay attention to what is going on in the lives of the children around us. We need to keep our children on the straight and narrow path, keep them on track so they cannot go astray or get involved in wrong-doing. We must get involved in their day-to-day activities; find out where they are going, what they are doing, and whom they are with. It is not an invasion of privacy to double-check here and there, after all, they are ‘our children’ and we must not leave anything to chance. We have the authority to protect them by any means necessary: it is our given duty of care.

If you are concerned about the welfare of a child call the Childcare and Protection Hotline on 227 0797 or you can write to us at childcaregy@gmail.com
A MESSAGE FROM THE CHILDCARE AND PROTECTION AGENCY, MINISTRY OF SOCIAL PROTECTION