THESE days, our youths have become regular features of conversations, whether as a social talking point among persons and general gatherings; or in the daily reports of the media. These conversations reflect concerns about the conduct of today’s critical segment of society.

As would be expected, the ones making the judgment are mature-age adults parents themselves, grandparents and other family categories.
It is a fact that we are products of the era in which we were born. This inevitably means that we are going to be shaped by the characteristics that are the social template of the day.
For example, those in the chronological 50s and 60s, were born at a time when society was completely different from that of today. It was relatively quiet and orderly, where good old discipline was paramount, respect for elders non-negotiable, and rules of the home were enforced.

Of critical importance was the fact of stronger families, with both parents being together for the seminal task of the upbringing of their children.
Sundays were strictly for religious worship, followed by a trek to the Sea Wall and or Botanical Gardens. The creek and all those current weekend resorts were light years away. There were no televisions or telephones in homes…non- existent for the mass of working class people. Computers and cell phones were unheard of, much less Facebook and all the other accoutrements of the Information and Communication Technology.
Be it as it is, there is an objective reality that has to be faced when attempting to criticise the young segment of our society – they have been let down by the older members of society. This includes fathers and mothers, specifically.

It is ironic that those who at times boast of the good upbringing they were fortunate to have experienced, have failed to give such guidance to their very own offspring. After all, the ever-growing incident of broken homes where fathers mostly abandon their families, tells the sad tale of the psychological trauma and depredations that many of the current generation of children continue to suffer hunger, abuse, high school absenteeism, drop outs and teenage pregnancy. These are just a few of the psychological hits that families do endure when the home becomes dislocated.

If mothers then, as is mostly the practice, have to become the bread-earner, then, who is there to give guidance? Not even the much-relied-on extended family, since sexual abuse has become a sad fact in such relations.
Further, the conduct of many parents today, even if in a given family setting, leaves much to be desired. It is common for young children to daily observe the verbal and physical abuse of their mothers; fathers imbibing and being very abusive; and absenting from the home for periods, translating into days.

But this deterioration of the modern family is not only confined to the irresponsibility of fathers, many of whom continue to abandon their families. Mothers are also guilty, and are most notable for physically abusing their children.
How do we expect children to grow up in such an often contradictory family environment, much less being able to survive mentally unscathed? How do they make sense of the seeming, unending turmoil that surrounds them?

Ask many of today’s youth and they will lament the great disappointment they feel concerning their fathers and mothers, and adults in general. Many have had their cherished dreams shattered by unsupportive fathers. Many, too, have lived with scars acquired from such family trauma. And many, also, act out the hurt they have endured in ways that have brought them into conflict with the law.

Those who criticise should pause and ask themselves how well as examples have they shown their families; and how good as fathers, for example, they have been; and whether abandoning their homes meant also ending the moral obligation to contribute to their children’s continued material growth and development.
How do we expect our youth, those who have had such mental trauma, not be adversely affected, and eventually impacting on society in very negative ways?
As an aside, the social phenomenon of youth crime just does not occur overnight. They have their genesis in causative factors that have their roots in the social dynamics of society, often affecting the home.
But that is for an editorial at another time.