Juvenile delinquency a National problem

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Juvenile Delinquency by FULVIO RIVERA AGUILAR. Commerce-I ... “Young Medical Intern Killed by Teenagers” ... “Victim of Mass Rape Died” ... “Son of a Millionaire Figured in Holdup Case” .... etc. etc.... THESE ARE SOME of the many tragic and sickening daily occur rences carried by newspapers with even young people belonging to good prominent families involved. Yes, juvenile delinquency has nowbecome such a great national pro blem in this land, so-called the bul wark of Catholicism in the Far East. With newspapers playing up teenage vandalism, crimes of teen age gangs, sex perversions of the young, the teenagers in the provin cial cities and towns are now aping the notorious criminal exploits of young hoodlums in Manila, Pasay, and Quezon cities. But let us ask ourselves: Why do they do these things? To be publicized, to be notorious. They are aping the juvenile delinquency exploits of young American screen actors, thinking that what the American movies show, must be the things being done in the United States. Juvenile delinquency is the result of trying to be great imita tors, making-believe it is nice to be dubbed as “tigas” and playing up the movies in the most westernized way they can fashion. It is the product of trying to follow up blindly everything that is “mo dern”. Ask them why and they will just say, they did it just for the fun of it or they feel like doing it. Blame whom . . . teenagers or parents? Educators, government officials, juvenile court judges, will tell you that parents are partly to blame for the waywardness of the teenagers today. And why are parents to blame ? Because they no longer stay home to rear their young properly. They believe it is fashionable for both husband and wife to work, leaving their child ren and house at the mercy of servants. Hence children learn to stay out on the streets, play hooky and become despicable streets ur chins. Or if parents stay home, they play cards and mahjongg, they gossip, they quarrel among them selves thus making home an obnox ious place to live in. At every or end of the day, they just greet their children with a pat on the shoulders and say, “hello kid,” “goodnight kid” etc. They forget that children need something more than a pat on the shoulders. Child ren need the warmth of a parent’s love more than the money they give. Parents must wake up to the fact that kids growing up don’t need luxurious provided by a work ing mother”s pay check, so much as they need a mother at home to keep an eye on them. Parents should stop attending night socials. They should stay at home and make church a family “must”. “The family that prays together, stays together.” Yes, if we are going to curb juvenile delinquency, we’ve got to curb it where it starts ... in the home. Discipline and guidance should start right at home when children are still below ten years old. This is the period when children obey their parents for fear of being whipped. But unfortunately, parents sometimes try to be modern by not spanking their children nor cor recting them when they do wrong. Or worse still, they think that they are being modern by spoiling and pampering their children with new clothes, money for movies, parties and cigarettes; they even go to the extreme of giving them liberty to stay out late in the night. A National Problem Parents should teach their children to enjoy staying at home. And of course, the home should have books and magazines to read. Parents should guide their children in developing good hobbies; mo thers should be big sisters to daughters, listening to their girlish problems; father should be big brothers to sons beginning to go around. Parents should attend school plays, organize picnics with their sons and daughters for the purpose of having fun together. Let us make these young people responsible by listening to their ideas, making them feel wanted, loved and cared for. Let us teach them to enjoy being alone with good music and good books; to think independently and to develop their own individuality. And most of all let us give them a share of the household chores. Having become a national pro blem, juvenile delinquency is also the government’s concern. There must be some means to overcome this social cancer if we are to ex pect good, law-abiding citizens after the childhood dreams of our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, in his “fair hopes of the fatherland.” The government must impose a strict curfew for teenagers. It must de vise means and plans to prohibit young people from going to movies that are “For adults only”, depict ing teenage hooliganism; prohibit them from going to bars and night clubs, from smoking at an early age, and give stiff warning to parents for granting their children excessive liberties. Thus we need enough policemen, moral enforcers to keep watch over wayward teen agers. Children are by nature percep tive. They easily sense what is ex pected of them and they are human enough to try to get by with doing less than what is expected. If we do these things to our youngsters, our efforts will not go to naught, and, with the battle half won, vic tory is in the bag. # Page Ten THE CAROLINIAN January-February, 1966

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1966

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In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

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