Social problems concern

East New Britain senior magistrate Samuel Lavutul speaking during the reconciliation ceremony between the youths of Malaguna one, Matupit, Nordup and Matalau villages in the Kombiu and Balanataman local level governments in Rabaul, ENB, recently. – Nationalpic by ROSELYN ELLISON

MOST parents have failed to start disciplining their children at an early age and that is the reason why communities are facing all kinds of social problems, East New Britain (ENB) senior magistrate Samuel Lavutul says.
“One of the biggest issue or problem on rise now is the young are getting married at a very early and tender age,” Lavutul said.
“I am dealing with cases for child maintenance daily, seeing young mothers aged between 16 and 20 coming to my court with maintenance matters.
“My appeal to parents is if your child wants to get married, do not stop them.
“Let them do whatever they like and they will experience the challenges of being a parent.
“To the young, if you are still living under the same roof with your parents and if you are still a liability to them, my advice to you is do not try to start a family because you will not be able to afford looking after your own family.”
Lavutul said this at the Kuragaga St Xavier Catholic church reconciliation ceremony of Malaguna one with Matupit, Nordup and Matalau youths in Rabaul last Thursday.
He told youths at the gathering that they should aim high, work and study hard in school to achieve their goal and then plan to have their own family.
Lavutul urged the youths not to create any more problems.