|
Sports |
THE second day of the working week for most – and please, we have no wish
to get involved in arguments about when the week starts. We wish you a
splendid Chooseday!
***
NOT so splendid: The police in Lae have begged parents to keep a closer
watch on their daughters, following three sexual attacks on children in
the past few days. While we certainly agree with the message, we wonder
yet again what kind of parenting some of these adults inflict upon their
offspring.
***
IN some cases, once toddlers learn to walk, they’re virtually on their
own. Shooed out of the house in the company of other children scarcely
older, they wander far and wide. Parents take little or no interest in
their whereabouts or their safety.
***
IF anything goes wrong, then it’s the fault of the older children who are
thrashed as a result. It doesn’t seem to occur to the parents that those
older children are still children, and every bit as much in need of
parental love, affection and guidance as the toddlers.
***
AS these kids grow older, the gulf between parents and children widens.
Often, neither mum nor dad makes any effort to relate to their sub-teens
and later teenagers, who often get into trouble as a result. There’s
little attempt by some parents to take kids out, play sport with them or
even to be interested in their schoolwork or their school friends.
***
IF the mums and dads can’t accept the responsibility for bringing up
their own children, why have them in the first place? And why do so many
parents rely entirely upon organisations such as the Salvation Army, the
Scouts and Guides, church youth organisations and other community groups
trying to assist young people? Those clubs are intended to add to
parental support, not replace it.
***
REMEMBER the Rev William Spooner? He was the English don who had a way
with words and whose habit of getting them mixed up led to the creation
of the word “spoonerisms”. A sample: “Here comes a scoop of boy trouts!”
More of these gems tomorrow – in the meantime, work that one out!
***
– Dee Nesenolis
 
|
