Charity critical.
Amazing isn’t it, we called for something to be done, residents on estates were virtually screaming for action, councillors and policing partners were pulling their hair out, all because of anti-social behaviour on our streets mainly from youngsters. So the government eventually introduced it’s “Respect Agenda” whereby a mix of contracts, instructions, parenting classes, and ASBO’s are used as part of an overall mix of measures to bring back some sanity to the streets. Councils all around the North East have been doing their bit (including South Tyneside where 91 parenting orders were issued since 2000), local communities have been working with Northumbria Police to build dossiers of evidence against the worst offenders, things were starting to look up.
Now we have a charity Parentline Plus criticising this approach saying that the exercise of “finger pointing” doesn’t help and it makes some people worry that they might be seen as “bad parents”, that support should have been available earlier!
Don’t listen to this nonsense, designed only as a cry for funding help no doubt, yes these people are bad parents, that is why they are being targeted by councils, police, and courts in an effort to get them to improve and change their ways. The advice support and help that they couldn’t be bothered to seek in the past was always there. It’s called parents, friends, neighbours, relatives, schools, social services, or Northumbria Police. The first phase in the chain of help is the acceptance of personal responsibility and the acceptance that you are trying to control your children, but things are not working out. Trouble is, some of these people are desperately short of personal pride and responsibility, their lives revolve too much around themselves, they don’t feel sufficiently “connected” to the rest of society, therefore it’s all our fault rather than theirs.
Sorry, but I think that Parentline Plus cannot see beyond the end of their noses, there is an abundance of help, support, and advice about good parenting methods, widely and freely available to those that really want to find it, so if the “finger pointing” needs to continue then so be it!
