THE EDITOR, Sir:
THANK YOU for space to express my views on "Parenting and the youth". Jamaicans are left in an abyss of despair for the many sad events that are taking place in our country especially over the recent days. Everything looks so dismal when we focus on the youth of today. We ask ourselves who will be the future leaders of tomorrow and will the daughters be able to find suitable husbands.
This all goes back to reflect on the parenting of these youth. What values were imprinted in the minds of the youth as they started to step into this world. Whom did they see as their role models and were the parents themselves role models for them to follow in their footsteps. It is indeed a challenge for the youth when no groundwork was done for them. They are therefore left confused and most times end up in danger. Parents are sometimes very selfish, looking for their own happiness and leave the children to fend for themselves. To depend on their own wisdom and in the end they find themselves in difficult circumstances.
We should now safeguard ourselves and our youth from the deadly magnet that attracts them because moral values have died and we are left haunted by this cancerous situation that is growing on a very high ebb in our country.
We need to pay more attention to our children, instil in them spiritual values, teach them how to respect the Creator, the law and their elders.
Many times if parents play their role effectively, this grief, regret and fear would not be so paramount in our lives today.
I am, etc.,
BARBARA DIXON
Braeton
St. Catherine
