Bermuda’s way of dealing with rogue children!
25 02 2008Now people, from Saturday I have been hearing this news item on Jamaican news and today in the Jamaica Gleaner, about a Bermudian member of parliament, David Burch, who is convinced that when you have “bad bruk pickney” you must punish parents as it is the parents whose responsibility it is to ensure that children are socialised properly. The article goes on to say that the man doesn’t know if this is done anywhere else in the world, but it shouldn’t stop him from proceeding with this position. Yes, it sounds great on the face of it….and it sounds like something we should proceed with here in Jamaica. However, the problem with Jamaica is that the parents 9 out of 10 times probably can’t be found. But, this calls into question, the infringement on human rights. I mean seriously…..if I have a child who is wayward and I have tried my best in all MY power to correct the child and the child goes against the societal norm, what makes me eligible to go to prison? Also, there is this assumption that prison is the ultimate punishment. I wonder what the street person who wants to be shielded from nature’s elements would say? By the way, rent in Bermuda is astronomical that perhaps jail may be a better housing alternative for some. Wouldn’t it be better for the state to say “hey since you can’t raise your own kids, we will deem you as unfit and so we will have to throw your child into some sort of rehab programme where they learn to conform to our values”?
Every Sociologist (and anyone who has done a basic Sociology course), knows that the agents of socialisation are the family, school, church, media and peers. So how can the parent be blamed 100%? If one of the other tenets are stronger than say the family, doesn’t society also have some responsibility to the demise of the child? Yes, the family can control how strong/weak the other agents are, but to what extent? Suppose I have a child with a psychological or maladaptive problem, but I don’t have the means to recognise same or even have the funds (the poor usually suffer the most and are the least able to have this checked)to have my child diagnosed, should I be penalised as well? Has this been thought through properly from a POLICY perspective? I am hoping that the sentiments of one man won’t be the basis of a policy that could have long lasting negative effects. What’s your view? Think we should try that in Jamaica?
maybe if the parents cant handle the children they can apply and say take them away we’ve tried our best and cant be held responsible anymore. thats if they were to use this idea about punishing parents I mean.
Still maybe there is something to punishing the parents as well but then you might have to also look at not being so harsh when a parent cut the child tail wid liks cause the parent just covering his or her behind against future jail time
Jdid…I had to laugh at the last sentence….if you’re in your 30s like me you would remember teh days of a good lickin’ right? lol. But seriously…..let us say they lock up the parents along with their kids for bad behaviour….who gains? Does it mean that on top of going to jail you will have to do some sort of class or undergo serious reformation? I mean…there is thing that if you “do the crime, you do the time”…but when you have done your time…does it mean that you’re a better child/parent? What goes with it?
Let me tell you what I have a problem with…….people in the Caribbean have a way of dreaming up these things and have NO EMPIRICAL RESEARCH STATISTICS to say ANYTHING. It’s just another idea and because he has the “power” to penalise people he can! That is where I have a problem. Hanging has taken place in Trinidad and The Bahamas….there was NO CHANGE in the crime rate.
Undoubtedly,a very interesting post, extremely apropos and fitting for these troubled and afflicted times, addressing the inappropriate socialization and development of children in Bermuda by parents, resulting in sociopathic,roguish, and mal-adaptive children, wreaking contempt, indifference, mayhem, and havoc against the values of traditional, ordered, established, well behaved, and civil society of Bermuda. Intriguingly, the suggestions and possible policy responses to counter and abate the behaviour of such mal-adjusted children are the penalization and criminalization of parenting. In other words, parents need to be legally accountable for the behaviour of their offsprings, and if not accountable and responsible, the state will mete out and exact various forms of punishment on parents who are not able to manage, control, and psychologically administer their children.One is totally opposed to this strategy, plan or policy being implemented in a society like Jamaica.Several questions or issues come to the fore, such as the efficacy of punishing parents for the crimes or behaviours of their children.And ,are parental responsibility laws an effective means of tackling youth crime and anti-social behaviour, or should policies that strengthen the parents/families and improve parenting skills be pursued as strategies for preventing juvenile offending behaviour?Quite assuredly, nobody or no one wants to be a bad or for that matter failed parent, but not all parents have or possess the requisite skills necessary to be good and effective parents in terms of the socialization and development of their offsprings.Consequently,one is of the perspective that the state in question, whether Bermuda or Jamaica, should invest in educating parents who do not have the necessary parenting skills, or those that are not capable of improving their parenting skills, so that they can impact on the socialization and development of their children.Indeed, if both the parents and the state are interested in great children, it is mandatory and essential that they get involved in the lives of the children.Finally,the penalization and criminalization of parenting would be significantly skewed, resulting in a disproportionately large number of poor and marginalized parents, especially women being punished and possibly incarcerated.Certainly,such outcomes would only exacerbate the problem of socialization and development of children.Again,an interesting post.
[...] is the parents whose responsibility it is to ensure that children are socialised properly”: Jamaican Lifestyle hopes that “the sentiments of one man won’t be the basis of a policy that could have long [...]
Too many parents would love to opt out of their responsibilities regarding their children and its high time something drastic is done about it. That being said I believe that imprisonment of the parents should be dependent on the nature of the crime the child has committed and the degree to which the parents can demonstrate that all previous meaningful attempts to change the errant behaviour have failed. In the absence of that….well…!
Yes, but in order to prevent your kids from committing a crime one would have to have them under lock and key 24/7. That is not possible…..and who would care for the other children while their parents are in jail? Here is a follow up to the situation:
http://www.royalgazette.com/siftology.royalgazette/Article/article.jsp?articleId=7d82d3330030006§ionId=60
Intriguing questions you raised. I will have to think on it.