Parental Supervision: Responsibility and Accountability

It's simple, parents, supervise your kids
By TOM BRODBECK -- Winnipeg Sun
Wed, May 25, 2005

After we all get over the horror and shock of a group
of young kids lighting a 10-year-old boy on fire in
Winnipeg's North End over the weekend, maybe
we can start talking about adult supervision.

Because that's what this story is really about.

I know a lot of people want to pin this ghastly act on the
"mean streets" of the North End, poverty, a lack of community
centres or lax youth criminal justice laws.

But that's the dummy version of the story.

Poor kids, their parents are low-income. If they only had more
money and a community centre that was open at 10:30 on a
Saturday night, these kids wouldn't be out on the street with the
scumbags, the muggers and the pimps. Or so the story goes.

I know it makes for good news copy, but it's pablum.

These are red herrings -- excuses people use to explain
irresponsible parenting. It's easier to blame something
institutional than to take responsibility for your own actions.

I'm not going to hurl blame at any specific parent in this calamity.
There's a child in the hospital who sustained some pretty bad
burns and I'm sure his parents feel awful about it. As a parent,
my heart goes out to them.

It's a horrible thing that happened.

But when I read that kids as young as nine were out on the
street after 10:30 p.m. without their parents and without any
adult supervision, my stomach sank.

What the hell are elementary school children doing walking the
streets late at night in the dark by themselves?

And where on Earth are their parents?

What is this, the Lord of the Flies of the North End where kids
just walk around playing with fire and fending for themselves?

Since Kasey Richard was allegedly lit on fire by a group of kids
age 11 to 14, people have been asking how this can happen.

It's not that complicated. It happens when you don't supervise
your kids.

It happens when children young enough to have favourite stuffed
animals to cuddle are left to explore and experiment on dark
streets alone without adult supervision.

They're kids. Young kids. Some of the children in this story
aren't even in middle school yet, for goodness sakes.

We live in a society where people automatically think there's
some kind of government system in place to look after their kids.

We want cheap, government child care for all.

We want public schools to raise our children.

We want police to protect our kids while they're walking the
streets.

We want tougher laws and maybe bylaws to prevent kids from
buying lighter fluid.

But you know what, if you're going to let your young children
walk around with their friends late at night without adult supervision
-- without even knowing where they are -- they will be vulnerable to
harm. You're putting your kids at risk.

No laws, police presence or community centres are going to
change that.

Step up to the plate, parents. Look out for your children. Teach them.
Supervise them. Discipline them. Know where they are. Because
they need you. They desperately need you. They want you to care
where they are at 10:30 p.m.

Without you, they don't have a chance.