Where are the parents?
Worried sick at home
Scared for their family
Afraid of the future ahead
Frantically searching for answers
Desperately reaching out for help
Holding on to hope
Missing the child they used to know
Wondering what went wrong
Stay strong imperfect Mums 💔
6 Replies
So many reasons behind kids on the streets, if this is what you're referring to. But let's not sweeten it because more often than not something is not right at home for this to happen. Some parents let their kids wander from a really young age so it becomes so normal for them its impossible to stop when it starts becoming a problem. Some kids have no respect and have no boundaries due to being ignored all their life so its impossible to keep them home when they start to rebel. Some kids come from horrible homes with addicted parents or abuse waiting for them so they would rather be out all day and night. I feel bad for the families that have done everything right but they are also the ones trying to work out where their kids are, they are ringing friends, asking school, asking police. They are actively trying to find their kids while so many others aren't.
Sometimes dysfunctional homes look like nice houses, parents with good jobs and kids that have everything they need. But scratch the surface, there is always some kind of toxic element present. I know parents who would say this, because they are completely unaware of how their narcissistic, selfish, entitled behaviour has created their little monsters for kids.
I'm not sure that's always the case ladies. I've known some wonderful parents who had kids go down a horrible path. My brother did. He also pulled himself out... But there was a lot of stressful years for my parents. Since we don't know the OPs situation, let's have a little faith and not kick someone while they're down.
I didn't read it as she was personally affected by this but maybe was seeing the usual "where are the parents" comment and was giving an alternative view. Yes it happens to normal families but more often than not, the kids wandering around getting into trouble and committing crime have something more going on. It's important to talk about all of the reasons that lead to it because ignoring it doesn't help. Youth crime is on the verge of becoming huge, let's not sugar coat it and pretend all of these kids are coming from loving, safe homes because most of the time they are not. Change comes from community outrage.
It reads to me like the poor OP was venting about being judged unfairly by people that know nothing about her. Hopefully that wasn't the case or some mum's just did it again without thinking about her emotional safety :-(
Youth crime and antisocial behaviour is at a a pretty alarming rate in many parts of Australia right now.
You really can't blame people for wondering where parents are and what they're doing!
People are scared and frustrated...
In my area, 12 and 13 year olds are regularly stealing cars and going on joyrides. A 14 year old pulled an armed robbery on a store 3 shops up from where I work, a 13 year old stabbed a retail worker for confronting him about shoplifting, hoards of kids between the ages of about 11 to 15 walk around with knives waiting for anyone to look at them the wrong way. They target other kids, the elderly, pregnant women, people with special needs with absolutely zero remorse.
You take your chances using public transport. I bus to and from work so I don't have to fork out a ton of money for parking. In the last 6 to 8 months, I've seen around 5 drivers be assaulted by these gangs (apparently we live in the stone ages where busses don't have protective shields for the driver), I've seen more fights than I could count, cops are often called - it's like a zoo honestly and trains are worse!
I grew up in a disadvantaged, low socio-economic area so I am painfully aware that a good majority of these kids come from dysfunctional homes, I am also aware that some of these kids are just living the thug life for the thrill, much to the horror of their loving parents.
I feel for any parent in that position, I really do but my sympathy is also limited given that my community is being terrorised by children.