Yes, America the results are official. Our heart is not with our children. Thousands of kids have no heart for us either. Out of the abyss of evil, statistics show that juvenile crime, drug useage, teen suicide and gang violence are rising and pose a grave threat.
Ten million children in this country have no health insurance and six major bills before Congress, all aimed at improving the healthcare status of these kids, may only worsen their problems. None of the plans do much to correct the underlying social ills that cause them. The legislators charged with forging the future of our country and her children may very well snub the legislation aimed at helping them (the children.)
Are there any answers to the problems of child abuse, neglect, inadequate shelter and nutrition, substance abuse, scant day care facilities and perceived educational shortcomings?
GUEST COMMENT
Due to violence, children are robbed of their childhood, and then they come back to rob us. Journalists keep filing headlines of tragedy that reflect nothing but sadness for America’s children.
Where have we gone amiss in parenting and mentoring our children? We should be nurturing the socks off of them, instead America’s kids are scaring the socks off of us.
In one of the most wealthiest countries on the face of the earth, over 2 million American children are homeless and living on the streets.
Some children as young as nine years old have been thrown away by their parents. Where do children go when their parents throw them away? Kids have turned to gangs, violence, drugs, and all sorts of illegal behavior.
Who should the children believe in? Thousands have no positive role models, and no one to be a mentor.
Who are they suppose to love and respect? The answers to these questions are disparaging. So are the statistics that are being compiled while you read this commentary.
In 1995, according to the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse, nationwide there were over three million reported cases of child abuse and neglect. According to The National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information, the number of seriously injured children has grown at an alarming rate over the past decade. Many of the victims of child abuse come from families where spousal abuse is also occurring.
Society should be encouraging children to engage in positive activities and helping them to have a childhood. We are all sculptors and artists in child development: A young person’s life is in our hands. Children learn and model everything from what they see. Model for your child what you want your child to be; be honest and hard-working. They will most often do what they see their parents doing. Teach your kids by teaching natural and logical consequences.
Children need a significant other (someone) they can bond with. Someone a child can love. A person they can look to for security and guidance. Somebody to be their hero.
Parents are not here to meet their own needs. They’re here to meet the needs of their children. In order to be parents and grandparents, children have to know how to love. In order to be happy and well adjusted, a child’s needs have to be met now. Our actions today determine a pattern of behavior tomorrow.
Child development is priceless. Youngsters learn from us. We learn from them. Kids are charming, spontaneous, innocent and assertive. They should warm our hearts with their smiles, personality, and humor.
Watching them play should make everyone young at heart. Winston Churchill wrote: “We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.” Child development is giving today, so children can give tomorrow . . . as parents and grandparents.
Brothers and Sisters remember that what dysfunctional children and juvenile delinquent’s pay is priceless too!
In a juvenile hall, their faces show anger, their spirit shows defiance. Locked into the juvenile justice system, they face a lifetime of potential consequences. The questions that are not frequently understood: How did he or she get involved in the system? Where did America lose her heart with this child?
Robert Alan Wright is a freelance writer and lives in San Diego.
