Coping strategies, intervention needed

LAST week two experts in their respective fields highlighted some disturbing statistics about what is happening with some of our young people.

 

Director of the Criminal Justice Research and Planning Unit, Cheryl Willoughby, revealed that the average first age of marijuana use is seven years old.

 

Her comments were supported by Registrar of the Supreme Court, Madam Justice Barbara Cooke-Alleyne, who noted that 44 per cent of those who come before her test positive for marijuana use, even though they were not brought up on charges for marijuana possession.

 

Additionally, Madam Registrar noted that the popular crime in young people has moved from wandering and theft in boys and girls respectively to assault. “Our youth are becoming more violent,” she said with great consternation. She also revealed that children as young as 11 can be brought before the Court, but highlighted the age of 14 and 15 as a time when children appear to be really acting up, thinking that they are men and women.

 

While these statistics are disturbing, we must appreciate that this harsh reality is hard evidence that has been collected by professionals. The question is, ‘What are we going to do about it?’

 

In previous contributions, I would have noted that children are a reflection of what they see, and what we allow them to do.

 

If we accept that to be true, we need to put our feet down and place our children on the right path.

 

Admittedly, it is difficult to treat the so-called troublemakers in the classroom, simply because there is no time for teachers to veer off the syllabus to out every single fire. However, I will suggest that what we see as children acting out is really a cry for help. If we turn our backs on them, are we prepared for what they will become a few years from now?

 

The reality is there are adults having children and children having children. Very few of them have any real parenting skills. This is compounded by the fact that many communities are turning a blind eye rather than seeking to help raise the children as was the norm not so long ago.

 

Notably, there are persons who describe themselves as “conscious” or “enlightened” and see marijuana use for medicinal or for meditation purposes. While there is still debate on whether marijuana should be legalised, let’s not pretend that the nearly 50 per cent of young people going before the law courts testing positive for marijuana isn’t a cause for concern.

 

Let us agree that all drugs have different effects on different people. Let us not force or allow our children to dabble in drugs of any kind, particularly if they are healthy. Let them be kids and give them a chance, which includes not having a criminal record.

 

Ultimately, we have to get to the root of the problem with a series of strategies and stop the problem before it even begins.

 

For this reason, we should support programmes such as the ‘In the Winner’s Circle: Making the Right Choice’, which gives these young students some hard facts about what they can expect when they go into secondary school. The transition for many can be rough and if they don’t know how to deal with certain situations, they can be easily led astray.

 

Additionally, as the professionals suggested, we need to teach children as early as possible about conflict resolution. Violence cannot be the only answer to a conflict.