Family focus of crime fight
(CNS): After years of failing to consider the family situation of children in trouble, Michael Myles, the government coordinator for at risk youth, says that efforts are now being made to focus on the entire family in an effort to prevent kids from becoming criminals at the earliest possible age. Having headed up local youth institutions such as the former Marine Institute and the Bonaventure Boys Home, Myles pointed to past mistakes of taking children into care and then sending them back to the same unchanged environments. At a meeting in West Bay this week he revealed that it costs the tax paper around $150,000 per year to institutionalize a child in a home, and yet 80% of kids from Bonaventure end up in jail.
The long term issue of crime is one that the country has to deal with, Myles said at a police meeting held on Tuesday evening as part of the RCIPS gun amnesty road show. “Crime doesn’t just happen; it is cultured over a long period,” he said, as he pointed to the critical importance of the family and the need to intervene very early in the lives of troubled youngsters to stop them becoming the next generation of gunmen.
The environment where children are growing up is where the problems start, he noted, and explained that if government resources were used to address the problems of the whole family the community had a much greater chance of preventing a troubled kid from becoming a criminal. Historically, Myles said, the local authorities had been too slow to identify the signs of kids at risk.
He said right now the police were dealing with the kids that had passed through local institutions where, no matter how much good may have been done, they ended up in a life of crime. This, he explained, was because they were sent back after a year or two to the same families and places where the troubles had started or they had arrived too late to address their offending.
Myles warned that the school kids that were now being singled out under the new ministry BEST initiative for help were in many cases the children of those kids that had been in care. The new approach was focusing on the entire family as it was the only way, he said, to stop the next generation following the same road as their parents and ending up in the criminal justice system or dead.
In candid revelations about the issues being dealt with in the new programme, he said that he was encountering increasing amounts of inappropriate sexual behaviour by very young children that was most definitely as a result of what they were being exposed to at home. Of the 150 children in the school system that have been identified as needing help, Myles said, ten percent of them were displaying sexual behaviour problems.
“We have chronic issues with children as young as five years old,” Myles revealed at the meeting. “We are now trying to make sure we are very active in their lives almost from birth.”
He explained that there were an enormous amount of resources out there to help families with their children, whether it was a matter of child care, youth groups, or helping them with parenting skills but many families were simply not aware of or not capable of accessing the myriad services and support on offer.
What Myles emphasised was the importance of parenting and that the goal was to help the families of at risk kids be better parents rather than just focusing on the behaviour of the children. Myles said that for many of the children the problems were not yet that serious that they could not be addressed. In many cases, he added, it was merely a matter of better supervision and structure as well as the right sort of help to directly address parents’ needs.
The youth expert explained that children were not being placed on the ‘roster’ for the sake of it and there were several different categories that were used to indentify that a child was at risk. This, he said, included truancy, conflict at school, poor performance, problems with inappropriate sexual or violent behaviour and signs of mental health disorders, something the community didn’t like to discuss. However, he noted that there were several children that had low self-esteem and others suffering from depression. He said that of the 150 kids currently on the roster, they were dealing with a significant number of them.
Myles called on the community to help identify children that needed help and where possible offer support to children in their own communities as he said that collectively by helping families we would help to reduce crime.
Category: Crime
Here’s a solution. Education on where to get free birth control aka GT hospital. Allow abortion in the Cayman Islands or subsidize travel for the low income to travel to Cuba, Jamaica, Honduras or wherever to get abortions. Miami should not be an option as people may view it as a “free vacation”. Provide information on putting the child up for adoption. Problem solved all the unwanted children will either not exist anymore or will be with people that actually want them and will truly care for them.
You are forgetting religion in Cayman holds a tight leash on local morality at least on the surface.
Then someone set up a charity or solicit funding from the of the established charities. Rotary? Big Brothers Big Sisters? Or whoever I'm sure there is a current charity that is willing.
The womens clinic could do this under the auspice of providing pamphlets. While the law of having abortions in Cayman may not change providing the information on where to go and how to go about it should be available. Though this information is on the internet when women are scared it is difficult to find information when one is trying to survive.
Women if you don't really want to have children go to GT hospital and get yourself the free birth control that is available to you. If something happened and you are in a position where you are pregnant and you don't want the child, go and get the first level abortion pill. Your friendly doctor can provide you that much. If that doesn't work or you go too late, then you are going to have to take that trip overseas. Canada is another option in addition to what was mentioned above. A flight on WestJet is cheaper than flying to Miami. I don't know of overall expenses (hotel, procedure, general expenses), but it is another option.
How many women really want 3-6 kids with different men? Not many and yes there is a moral issue there, but if there were options, these women wouldn't be in the position. Providing education on how to prevent these things can help. Already have one kid women go get yourself the coil or mirena, you are covered for 5 years. That is 5 years of no worrying that you will get pregnant! Think of how much money you have just saved by not having another kid. Think of all the fun you can have without being bogged down by your kids that you don't want anyway.
Ladies, do it for yourself and the poor child that is growing up neglected.
I completely agree with you and was not trying to be an obstructionist. It would be ironic that the religious authority might be against birth control or abortion but have little to say about sex outside of marriage.
Another issue is unpaid child support by these men who will play but not pay.
Send them to a psychologist. No, wait, call a social worker. No wait, send them to space… Guess what folks, it "don't" work. Spending an hour or two a week with one of these professionals is not going to straighten out a kid – not when the kids goes back and spends 99% of his time in ghettoville with dead-beat gangbangers and their gangbanger worshipping part-time mammas. The Cayman Islands had all it ever needed to build a successful society, but it wasted it all – it is now a true Caribbean nation!
We're fighting a loosing battle.
Obviously, tts the parents who needs the help.
Why would you try to correct a child's behavior and then send them back to the same "damaged" environment that created the problem in the first instance??
This type of correctional method makes no sense, unfortunately.
Not until the parenting is addressed, there will be no change.
Mr. Myles have identified the problem "Myles pointed to past mistakes of taking children into care and then sending them back to the same unchanged environments."………… If Govt sincerely cared, they would actively seek to correct this growing concern and problem.
I think what is significant is not the comments but total lack of public interest in the event at which they were made.
The meeting attracted an audience of about 20 people but that included two uniformed officers and at least two media representatives. I don't know what percentage of the population of West Bay actually attended but it was a pretty small one.
No wonder the island has problems – no one gives a damn!
There are handsome men in the courts daily and 99% of them are Caymanian. I honestly wished these young men regardless of which household that they are from, would look in the mirror and make a decision that 'my lifestyle is going to be a positive one'.
Mr. Michael Myles is a wonderful Caymanian that is trying so hard to make a difference with these young people, but he cannot do it alone. He is not Mother Theresa, therefore, we all need to collectively assist him. We can all start by beating our kids when they are wrong. Somebody has to do the beatings and if is not us as parents, then the kids will beat us when they are older, because the BEATING/BELTING must take place, one way or the other.
I am apaper Caymanian. My kids were raised in a middle-class settings, with a lot of love, belting and death threats from me, their mother. Some of my kids got more beating than the others, only because some needed it more than the others. They were some that taught it was cool to steal the neighbours bike or property. Whenever I will notice these foreign items in my home I would line up all of them and start beating until one break and say who stole the item. Then, I will have that thiefing son of mine put these items in my vehicle and we will return them. This also included stealing candy from Foster's Food Fair. Then the Ganja smoking started with some of them. Again, Mommy's favourite slogan will echo, "I bring you in this world and I will take you out, and drag your body up to the police station".
I never feared any of my children, because I drove fear and love in them from they were kids. Today, I have GOOD professional children who are all adults. NOT one of them are confused, they just know right from wrong. Bottom line, you need to beat/belt your kids from they are young to prevent all this madness that is taking place. On another point, I had no problem with the neighbours or teachers scolding my kids, that too helped mold my children. We all need to unite and help each other. To this day, I have no problem speaking with a teenager who is on the wrong path and as hard as I speak to them I always get a respectful response. Just give them an opportunity and show them that you care. If not we are going to have these little rebels rise up on us and take over the country. The signs are on the wall. READ THEM. The kids have guns, the police have none, they rob and shoot whoever they feel like attacking. I am glad I did my part with my kids or they would have been a part of this problem we are faced with today.
Children needs goals to strive for. It is foolish to give a child a car after high school, when this child knows not what it takes to achieve it. They need to understand that their parents property is not theirs, and therefore, they should work to obtain their own car. This would teach the importance of self achievement and personal pride.
Parents, please do your best and remember if talking cannot help start punishing your kids from now, and do not be afraid to use the BELT. Neither must you fear your kids friends. Some of my kids friends have turned around, some are still wayward, but I know that they all respect my home and I because I did not tolerate any foolishness from them while they were growing up with my kids. It works just try it. BUY A BELT!! By the way, I am now my kids hero.
You beat your children with a belt? A BELT? That's child abuse plain and simple. Anyone who can live with subjecting their own children to that kind of pain is sick: a sadist. And I bet you call yourself a good Christian too, right? Quite frankly, I hope your husband beats you with a belt every time you do something wrong.
Sad story, very sad.
Any abuse is a crime.
To say that beating a child with a belt is "child abuse p[lain and simple." is true. And it is a crime.
To then "hope your husband beats you with a belt." is to encourage domestic abuse which is just as much a crime as Child abuse.
That, to use your words is a " Sad story,very sad."
The comment "I hope yoiur husband beats you with a belt" is just rhetoric, thrown in to reinforce the point that this woman wouldn't want to be beaten whenever she made a mistake. Evidence on child abuse suggests that Carl Jung was right: "The healthy man does not torture others. Generally it is the tortured who turn into torturers."
well i don't imagine that there is a husband in the picture… but regardless, cows like you need to be put out to pasture. the poor woman did her best with what she could. stop imposing your holier than thou b.s. just because you think that you have all the answers to life's mysteries. and go suck on some sour lemon while you're at it.
I haven't got the answer to child crime, but I have read the research which clearly indicates that beating children with a belt does not work. Many parents beat their kids out of their own frustration because they can't cope as a parent. If you have to beat your children you're failing as a parent. Evidence has shown that children of beaters become beaters. Fortunately, corporal punishment is against the law in many civilzed societies, of which Cayman is, I'm afraid, not one .
I applaud your courage! Too many parents are afraid of their kids, too many others want to be their best friends. Well done! Signed, A non-Caymanian who thinks that all the latest psychobabble is what has contributed to the mess that we're all in!
I have read all 49 comments posted to this article and I am amazed how quickly we are willing to discard our children in the same manner we discard our appliances and used items to the garbage (instead of trying to fix them).
(a) Controlling the number of births – I do agree with access to birth control. I also agree with the right to have an abortion on this Island ( as I have had to pay to have one done in Miami- when my birth control failed me). The only reason abortion is illegal is a religious issue in Cayman. Maybe we should ask our Churches to reconsider their position on applying pressure on the politicians to make this choice illegal. However, I do not agree that society should decide who has children or not. The only Country in this world that has done that so far is China – a communist country!
(b) I notice the ease with which we would prefer to lock our children up – building a facility – paying thousands of dollars a year to run it – maybe for life – instead of the approach of trying to help them. Our children are not appliances like the kind we throw out and replace with a new one. The are Caymanians – just like you and I. If parents, society (abuse), the school system, mental health problems, learning disabilites are their problem – we have a moral responsibility to assist them. Not all of us are the miracle of child birth – born with all the necessary faculties to be productive citizens. Some of us from birth are born with deficiencies and shortcomings – ADD, ADHD, Dyslexia – to name a few. Some of us have been abused by parents and other family members, some grow up in drug-infested areas with no role models (uncles, daddy and mummy in prison and/or themselves in negative behaviour). With all the money we waste in these little Islands why not advocate to "waste" some of helping our children develop to be productive citizens and not "waste" our money on incarceration. Why not? Which waste is a better use of money – prison or the chance to help turn an at-risk child into a producitve citizen?
(c) We are same Caymanians that in the next comment to another article will discuss why we have so many persons here on work permit? Maybe if we train our young people in these skills instead of locking them up it would better for Cayman. Less money spent on prisons, less sent back from the Island to foreign families, a work force that live here that can or would willing train others, among many other reasons.
(d) As the kind, hard-working, Christian community that we love to brag that we are as people – I suggest if ALL 49 plus me (50) of us joined a program and volunteered to help our youth we would substantially reduce the cost. If not let's spend some of our money (collected by the Government ) on our youth. We are going to waste it anyhow. Instead of a car, or a road or paying Civil Servants portion of their OWN pension (unheard of in any capitalist society in the WORLD) – let's spend some on our children!
I think they deserve a chance at the same wonderful life we have enjoyed here!
Being a single parent is not easy. It’s an insult to a single mother to hear a married one speak about “birth control.” You don’t have to be married to be a good parent. And being married is surely no guarantee that you’ll be a good one. Much of the time when a child of a “good family” gets into trouble, the family makes a call to a politician or contacts an attorney and the problem goes away. The children of less fortunate, less influencial parents go to prison.
Many single mothers struggle because the fathers of their children won’t pay child support, but here are also many married women in this country who are struggling to keep their children fed, too, because their husbands are spending all of their earnings on alcohol. She lives in shame because society thinks her family is a model family. The married mother uses her entire paycheck to keep the household going. This is having extremely negative impacts on children as well. One of the key problems with all of these scenarios is very poor “fathering.”
You should not be having children unless you have a J-O-B that will support you and your child. You should not have a child until you have finished your education!!! Also, you should not have a child unless you have housing that you also pay for (not your mommy or daddy), have your own health insurance, that you can pay your own electricity/AC bills, pay for your own food. If you can not afford those basic living expenses now and for the next 18 years, then you should not be planning to have a child. You should also be using birth control (condom) to protect yourself from STD's/STI's unless you are in a committed relationship (and a committed relationship does not mean a Friday nite session/booty call)! There should not be such a thing as a "mistake" because you are smarter than that!!
If you end up being a single parent at an early age and have to rely on someone else to support your child, then most likely, you did not follow the above.
Girls…carry condoms and use them. 99% of you carry lipstick (lip protection)….start protecting yourself from all the other dangers out there and create a life for YOU that is POSITIVE, LOVING, PEACEFUL!!
This is honestly a waste of time and money!
Look at it from this point of view most of those teenagers both boys and girls usually turn out worst they either end up pregnant and become single parents and or they becomes drug dealers and some times botha single parent and a drug dealer.
(95% of them are that today I'm sure everyone islandwide knows someone who was in that system and where are they today)
They are teens they will rebel some do and some don't what they need to do with that money is make them work and earn money make them see reality for what it really is meaning don't put on rose colored glasses for them too see out of so therefore they would hopefully see life in a different perspective or atleast we would hope so.
This is what I don't understand with GOVERNMENT they have the funds to do so many wonderful things for the country but because of IGNORANCE is why it's not being put into play and being dealt with for the people of GRAND CAYMAN,CAYMAN ISLANDS.
#StraightTalkBringNoFallOut! …
I have read the 20+ comments to this article and I challenge all those who have commented and others who have not to re-read the comments again. It is that attitude that has lead to the malfunction in our society – child, graduates, mental health persons and basically all dis-advantaged persons in our society. Beat them! Well unfortunately you can;t beat an abused child into a well behaved child .They got there from beatings. You can't beat a child with a mental health disorder into wellness – you need a psychiatrist or a psychologist to help them. You can beat a child who cant read or write into the abiltiy to do so. It our education system and parents who graduate to next level. I think I made my point. Like birth, child rearing and its results are nearly miraculous! You need the right environment ( growing up in poverty in drug selling area is an example), the right role models ( my Dad and all my Uncles are in prison – most times for minor offences), an education system that caters to ALL of our children ( not just yours), an intervention system that helps, a judicial system that works and MOST OF ALL A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD!
Instead of throwing away our children, like we throw out our appliances because they need REPAIR, we need to STOP and HELP THEM! The reason we did so well is that our parents, uncles, grandfathers and neighbour shelp to rasie us – AND WE DID NOT HAVE THE CHALLENGES that our children today have and they were NOT successful with ALL of us! Can you imagine! Caymanians – grow a soul, grow some empathy for others that are not as well off as you, help each other and stop trying to get rid of us. The foreign labour market is doing that successfully. They don't need any help!
Am a single mother and my son will NEVER try to disrespect me. Parents need to teach there children that when their wrong their wrong and when they are right, they are right and go all the way to defend them.
The children are more expensive to care for than a prisoner, what a mess. If the government provide some of these parents with the money they are paying to take care of them, maybe and I say maybe SOME of these children will be better citizens in our islands.
The government need to make and hold these parents accountable for there child/children and thats when you as a government will see improvement.
What about BIRTH CONTROL?
Where does that fit into the discussion? What percentage of these poor children are illegitimate? Born to young single mothers with zero positive influence of the 'fathers'? Too many of our young people are having babies too soon. They are ill equipped to take on the responsibility of parenting. Yes you love your children..they are God's gifts etc…BUT the question remains: Are you in the position to give them the BEST chance to succeed in life?
When ill equipped young people attempt to raise children it is the children who suffer most…..poor school performance, low morale, truancy, poverty, disenfranchisement, life of crime.
Please dont think I am picking on young people…the message is the same for couples having more children than they can afford…it is time to take a look at the person in the mirror…..are you a parent with multiple children with multiple absent fathers? You couldn't have those lovely children alone…you shouldn't try to raise them alone…Men are you just a sperm donor or are you a father?
The rate of illegitimacy in the Cayman Islands is too high… people it IS possible to have intimate relations without bringing a child into this world! Practise Birth Control!
Teach the children about self esteem and the relevance of intimacy and true love…That part is a fantasy so the schools should provide real sex education for the kids which teaches them where to go to get free birth control. They should explain the optioins there are for birth control, the effectiveness and suitability for the lifestyle. Go as far as to explain where to go overseas (Jamaica, Cuba, Miami etc) and provide them a spreadsheet with the costs if an abortion is necessary eg price of flight, hotel and cost of the procedure itself etc.
Also provide them with a standard of living spreadsheet or presentation which shows how much money they would have with X number of kids and how much money they would have if they did not have any children. Add that with an increase in the level of education attained they will have a higher standard of living, if they so desire to have higher education.
Laying out the truth helps. Just be honest. Sex feels good. It's consequences of having a child means responsibilities for the rest of the parents life. Being a parent does not stop at 18.
We need better abortion rights too. This would be a long term crime prevention move.
A new study has determined that a wide range of over-the-counter pills such as aspirin, multi-vitamin, and Omega 3, 6 or 9 have previously unknown birth control effects.
Dosage is simple and easily understood – as written on the label of a bottle I saw in one of the Island's supermarkets today:-
"For use only by fecund females. Suggested use – one tablet when sexually aroused to be held tightly between the knees".
Unfortunately, any entrepreneur wanting to bring this product to the market would sell less than zero bottles in Cayman.
Do they get fingerprinted?
Whatever happened with that issue of the fingerprinting everyone?
If something happens and the police dust the area for fingerprints what do they match it to? The criminals in the system? What of the new breed of criminals aka kids? What of the transient tourist criminals? We did see the transient tourist criminals the other day with the use of poker cards as ATM cards.
Fingerprint kids in school at the beginning of the school year. Keep the records on hand. Fingerprint all locals and expats alike. If there is an uproar start with fingerprinting the public school kids….I may get a backlash from that comment but how many private school kids are being charged for crimes? Look at Northward and you will see that it is full of former public school kids that did not get the proper attention they deserved. Once the public system sees a child drop out or causing problems the fingerprints can be flagged as high risk. These fingerprints can be accompanied by photographs. The start of the fingerprinting program can be simple. It will be in the form of a student card for public school students who have to carry it with them at all times. It will be a government issued identification, that way they don't have to carry around a passport. It will have their picture, name, school they attend, age, fingerprint and home address. If a student is in uniform it must be presented upon demand. Failure to do so shall have consequences. The card should have the ability to be swiped so that the information on the visible part of the card correlates with what is in the system. That would make it difficult to replicate and make fakes.
Prisoners should have a copy of DNA on file in addition to fingerprints, foot prints, photographs, hair sample, etc.
To implement this to the general public, in order to obtain a drivers licence you must provide fingerprints. There is a sector of the public that doesn't drive, however the fingerprinting system can be a gradual process.
Similar the voters ID card should require fingerprints.
These are a few ideas. It is a way to take back the island from the criminals. Yes start with the family and the children but what of the young adults and grown adults that are vandalizing the public?
What a complete & utter disgrace. Are you kidding me? $150,000 of taxpayer money per undisciplined, self-centered child? Can anyone please demonstrate to me what we as the taxpayers received as value for money?
It is a modern tragedy that these criminals-in-training can't be given a damn good hiding (as it was called in my time growing up) again & again until thry finally smarten up – and if that doesn't happen they get locked away for a long, long time from those of us who want to live a pleasant, law-abiding life in a peaceful society.
$150,000 could have given 10 ambitious Caymanian children $15,000 per year to go to college.
As a Caymanian taxpayer where would you prefer your money went? Whoever is responsible for this squandering of precious resources should be hung out to dry.
Please, no sob stories about misunderstood, dis-advantaged children – life is tough, get over it and get out there and do your best academically and stay honest – and stop defending the modern idea of a family in the Caribbean – an unmarried woman with children by multiple fathers – if you are a single woman with a low-paying job, you can't afford children, so don't have them & if you do, please do not expect me to pay for them. You want children? Find a responsible man, get to know him, marry him and have only as many children as you can afford to raise.
The people running Cayman have taken on all the socialistic ideas that have ruined Western Europe & the UK in particular. And our society is collapsing in the same way that those countries are.
Cayman faces a bleak future.
This is a good step in the right direction.
In addition to taking care of children after they are born, we need to make sure that they are taken care of in the womb.
Young women need to be educated on responsible procreation. Women need to know the effects of drugs (legal and illegal) on their unborn child. They must have access to birth control education and inexpensive contraception devices. When pregnant, they need to eat well for themselves and their unborn child.
Young men also need education regarding their responsibilities in the procreation equation.
Much crime stems from people who were abused in the womb. Many jail inmates started life with one or two strickes against them through no fault of their own.
Michael is a nice guy. He is not a "youth expert" anymore than countless other people. What is being said now that is different from what was said repeatedly by school principals from the early 1980s? Absolutely nothing. But in those days, according to the Education Dept (and one senior embittered lady from George Town in particular), Caymanian children did not "give the sort of problems" of other cultures and certainly "did not require social intervention from foreigners". In particular, she said there were NO problems at the primary school level, they all began when they entered the senior schools run by foreigners. She vehemently denied the views of teachers that there were identifiable disfunctional families providing generation after generation of criminal persons (racial profiling she said), something that is terribly obvious today in the media reports of murder etc, but I won't name names as CNS won't print them.
Credit to Michael for saying it like it is but of course we have been overwhelmed, since the early days of denial, by a sub culture of antisocial totally indisciplined kids who feel they are unaccountable to anyone to reign in their behaviours and who also feel that a well paying job is theirs by right of being a Caymanian.
you seriously mean for years they been taking kids into care then not addressing ANY home issues then sending them back???? DOHHHHH.
People, I think we are missing a few essential pieces of this puzzle of social AILE.
Along with better education and social systems, what about the REINSTATEMENT of LAWS THAT GIVES PARENTS BACK THE RIGHT to CORPORALLY DISCIPLINE THEIR CHILDREN IN THE HOME? Not advocating child abuse, but severity where necessary. If anyone with just a little bit of brain has noticed, we have had a MAJOR INCREASE in REBELLIOUS and DELINQUENT Kids here ever since the most common concept of mankind has been removed in the Cayman Islands following suit of the USA, England and other countries where these activist have managed to relabel ALL discipline as "Child Abuse", hence the removal of discipline and the condonement of rebelion and wrong doings. In effect, our Governments are now NURTURING the behaviours that are aiding in producing these criminals that are menacing our society today. In other words – "Spare the rod and spoil the child", taken from the good ol' book.
What about the REINSTATEMENT OF LAWS PUTTING REAL DISCIPLINE BACK INTO SCHOOLS??? I would have imagined that there are just a few PEOPLE with a little bit of brain who would have noticed the increase in violence and incidences of weapons being brought into the schools these days. Just take a good look at the statistics of 'BAD' we now have in our schools. In my ultimate opinion, this is a direct result of the removal of laws as stated above combined with the GROSS SLACKNESS of our system(Law Enforcement and Education Dept) coupled with the SHEER IGNORANCE to the very OBVIOUS root causes of the criminal behaviour we have today and the environment that fosters it.
Can anyone please tell me if what I am here is incorrect?
Can someone tell me how to wrap my brain around this ULTIMATE IDIOCY?
what about the REINSTATEMENT of LAWS THAT GIVES PARENTS BACK THE RIGHT to CORPORALLY DISCIPLINE THEIR CHILDREN IN THE HOME?
Spare the rod and spoil the child", taken from the good ol' book.
What about the REINSTATEMENT OF LAWS PUTTING REAL DISCIPLINE BACK INTO SCHOOLS??? I
If "YOU" "WE" do it at home then all is well in the world. no need for double jeopardy.
And if you have to punish at home and at school something is wrong at your house
I am so glad that someone will be really looking after the children again. However let us remember that some mothers are deadbeat as well. I know of a situation where the father is a model parent, he would give his life for his daughter and he also has great family support. She is so happy when she is with him, but the Courts has mandated that she also live with the Mother and that is a recipe for disaster. I think that the Courts should use better judgement in cases like this for the betterment of the children. Shuffling them from one parent to another, expecially when one parent is delinquent is no way for a child to live.
I agree, but the letter of the law permits the childs rights to have access to both parents whether delinquent or not. They are not bad enough to be unfit according to the law but they are bad enough that they will raise the next set of criminals.
This is a delicate situation as yes there are deadbeat mothers and fathers. However on this island it is seen that there are predominately deadbeat fathers.
Is there a solution to fix this? Social Workers visit and honestly assess the situation. Doing background checks on the parents and not just watch the interaction with the children and parents. What individual is stupid enough to do something that would hurt their chances while konwingly being watched.
So you are saying that the courts mandated the child live with the delinquent parent? Is that even possible? Or are you saying the mandated visitation is a recipe for disaster because the child is living with the mother rather than the father which sounds like a family member or close friend of yours? I have seen fathers which are great fathers, but only when people are watching…..
Exactly no more child shuffling! Drug addicted delinquent fathers/mother should not be entitled to influence the young
No child shuffling period. It does not help the child but breeds a whole new set of problems. Children, while resilient are able to easily manipulate as they play on the emotions of the adults and take advantage of the situation. I am obviously very old-fashioned, girls should be with their mother. What father is going to teach his daughter about the monthly cycle?
I understand and appreciate all the comments so far. We do have an issue with kids being exposed to drugs, sex and abuse on the island. I am a working mother of 1 and would love to help every child that is exposed to such, but I can only afford the one I do have as I am a single mother. I have no hard feelings for the father and my priority is the wellbeing of my child. Not every relationship is the same and one has to hope that you will raise your child with necessary tools and guidance so that when they get older they make the right decisions. Being a mother doesn't stop when they grow up! There are things you can do to bring that child back and if you have given that child the core foundation they can turn around with help and guidance. All is not lost with love and attention. As I wake up I tell my child good morning and I love you.
Have they not thought of child labour?
Our new partner China seems to be doing well with it!
Thumbs up if you think child slavery is a good solution to prevent crime… And thumbs down if you dont grasp my sarcasm… Otherwise a LOL will have to do.
Doesn't the issue of the future of the children in this country hold any interest to you except for sarcasm?
Too bad, in the future stick to political stories where you can just bash someone.
This is an important issue for the future of Cayman regardless of what some people believe.
A smile a day keeps the doctor away. You just try it dearie and see for yourself.
One of the cultural aspects of this country which baffles me is how easily people are able to "throw away" members of the society who do not follow the rules and approved standards set down by tradition.
Throwing away children has brought this society to its knees and yet making jokes is what people respond with.
I suspect that historically shunning was an effective way to keep people in line in old Cayman but it no longer works, throwing away a child only leaves them vulnerable to gang and criminal life. Children with no love or value to life find life with no meaning for themselves thus killing is easy.
Go ahead make another joke, get a big smile out of this.
If they didn't really want these children they should have 'thrown them away' when they had their chance in the womb. A weekend 'trip' to miami would have fixed that or how about go the family planning clinic a5t the public hospital and getting free birth control. There are many options including ones that you don't have to worry about everyday. Pills, injections, Coil, patch etc, There are options instead of having children you don't want. How about preventing them in the first place?
I named my first son Pete.
I named my second son RePeat
They play this game every day:
Son #1: Knock Knock – who is there
Son #2 : RePeat
Son #1: Knock Knock – who is there
Son #2 : RePeat
Son #1: Knock Knock – who is there
Son #2 :RePeat
And they are not getting in any trouble!
Once again we're hearing "the talk"…..which is all good and well…..be interesting to see (a few years from now) if we have the will to "walk the walk".
It's well past time that these type of initiatives/programs are implimented!
The children deserve better….including addressing Mental Health education/needs….of the entire family/society.
Takes the kids away and put then up for adoption worldwide with families who can give them what they deserve. I have 4 adopted siblings in my family. Most Parents who adopt have the DESIRE for children. Perhaps can't have them or like my parents decided they wanted more but becuase they are so many children that need homes, they would adopt. Most people who want to adopt are financially sound. It affords the children so many opportunties, education a university degree. LOVE from someone wo WANTS THEM. Encouragement to be all they can be. Many people have kids but never wanted them, Can't even take care of themselves. Not only are they a problem for society but thet foster another generation of kids that are a problem as we know. We know kids are not born bad. It is not ones right to have children, it is a privilage. When the kids are adopted as babies they don't remember. If people think they will lose their children they will either get straight and be good parents or they will lose them which is basically saying they don't want them anyway. The kids are removed far away to another country with liitle possibility of the deadbeat parent(s) entering back into their lives. Kids deserve much better from the likes of what I see. How many of you have seen toddlers standing up between driver and passenger seats in a car, being smacked in the grocery store. Can you image what happens to them when no ones looking?
Unfortunately these kids do not only grow up in homes where the parents don’t want them but are products of divorce with mandatory visitation. There are instances where the dramatic change in parenting a loving caring parent which provides the care and support to the visitation of the other parent that only wants to see the child to piss off the other parent. I have seen instances where the child goes from living with upstanding mother with wonderful surroundings to deadbeat dad in drug infested surroundings. Nothing can be done, why? It is court mandated. The child then grows up accustomed to the drugs around, hits teenage years and wants to stay with dad because it is easier to get the drugs…How do you fix that one?
If the "better" parent has good qualifications and experience….maybe that parent should think about relocating off island with the child….It may surmount to a better paying job and better opportunitites for all involved.
The downside to that is it is leaving the garbage behind on this beautiful island.
Just a pity a few more people weren't present to hear these comments.
FINALLY someone has listened!
I totally agree with Mr Myles. The problems start at home. Husbands are so abusive to their wives and the children hear this all their lives. Some of them even tutor their children against their mothers. Children now a days are throwing blows at especially their mothers who plays the biggest part in rearing them. Mothers spend more time out than at home trying to help provide for the family. Other people are raising the kids, and trust me this is not good.