Jail may be the only way to teach parents their responsibilities
It may seem a touch Draconian, but if jail is the only way ultimately to remind people of their responsibility as parents, then let's do it. Of course, it should only be as a very last resort, and only in the right circumstances. You only have to look at some of the worst "pond life" daytimes TV talk shows to witness countless mums and dads who moan "I can't do a thing with him" when talking about their delinquent offspring. Well, if they'd done a better job of parenting, they would be able to rail in their wayward child - and that's no-one's fault but their own. Yet they whinge to the TV that they need the police to do something, or the schools, or the government. It's about time the "authorities" turned around and demanded that they should have been better parents, examples, guardians of their children. And hold them financially, morally and socially responsible. It should start with a new kind of family court, where the whole family is held accountable for a member's wrongdoing - and that would give experts and magistrates the chance to see where the family dynamic is going wrong - and try to identify the cause. Because the worst problems in our society could well be spoptted early - and school truancy is probably the first clear sign that a child is on the road to ruin. Over the years, I've interviewed a million mums and dads whose kids have gone bad. And I could guarantee that nearly every one has a couldn't care less attitude to schooling. They say things like: "Why should I make my kids go to school, it doesn't teach them anything!" or "playing truant never did me no harm". Yet we all know that education is the one thing that can best lift a child out of a poor environment. It's the one passport to individual success, and denying a kid their right to schooling is child abuse. For child abuse, we should first try to help - in every way we can - but ultimately society should get tough on those who continue the abuse. On this one, society should also send out a very strong signal, that persistent defiance of this fundamental human right will be punished. In most cases, thank God, truancy is a sign that a family needs constructive help. But in some of the hardest cases, it also needs punishment. But only for a few days and as part of a constructive package of measures!
