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Truant gangs and KidsTruant Gangs of children who get together intermittently are often made up of pretty ordinary kids who play truant on a one time dare, usually cooked up hastily over a week-end or at a get together. These children are very different from chronic lone truants, or gangs of children who are also habitually truant. Reporting Truant gangs and children is the best gift you can give a child and parents. Leave it be and the government will soon have our job as parents. The UK has already set in motion a law that calls for parents to pay a fine for chronic truants and even a jail sentenceif left unadressed. While some of us might feel that this is a good idea it is in effect the beginnings of the acceptance of government being our Big Daddy! The reasons for truancy, like children are very unique. Possibly for this reason it is easier to to tackle the problems of a lone truant, than the problems of Truant Gangs of kids. Each child within a gang has his/her own reasons for joining the gang in the first place and his/her own reason for playing Truant and to complicate matters, they also take on the problems and reasons of the gang as a whole. Splitting the Truant gangs gives a better prognosis for getting the individual children back into school as unlike loners, children in Truant Gangs don't want to be on their own playing hookey, it kind of sucks all the fun out of it. Like most things in life, prevention is better than cure. Addressing truancy very early on is more likely to get a positive result than ignoring it and allowing the behaviour to develop and become cemented into the persona of the child. Little kids aged between 5 and 7 years of age, who go truant tend to do this for reasons that are usually not too complex. Therefore some gentle but firm quizzing as to why they did not want to go to school on a particular day may well reveal that, either they were scared of the teacher, he/she didn't have the right pencils, didn't do homework, afraid of some of the other children, (being bullied) or just plain wanted to stay at home with mum or dad. These are but a few of the reasons why children bunk off early on in schooling. Knowing the reasons helps to sort the problem out, even if it means going and speaking to the teacher about the childs' fear and getting the teachers ideas on the matter. Parents and teachers together, are better equipped to help and devise ways of tackling the problem as a united force. It is unwise to just blame a teacher for a child that says he/she is scared without finding out all the facts first. Rather make friends with the teachers. Busy teachers may be unaware of underlying fears and difficulties of each and every child. Working together for a child maybe his/her saving grace. If the problem is breaking away from mom or dad, they need to learn or be assured that either parent will always be there to pick them up on time and that all the usual comforts of home like the pets, favourite games and toys will still be there when they get home. This may sound petty to an adult but for children all of these things represent continuity, structure and therefore safety! School is an upheaval of all of this and it takes time to get used to it. So reassurances of all these things remaining the same is important until they settle. However don't make the mistake of letting them stay home no matter how vulnerable the little angel looks. To do this sets the precedent at a very early and impressionable age. If gang of mom and dad allow it once or twice then children begin to believe that this bunking off is acceptable and that certain behaviours will grant them immunity from going to school. Just make sure for your own peace of mind that all is well at school and help to make sure that they have all the necessary items for school work. Always check that homework has been done everyday. Not doing or completing homework is the number one reason for children bunking next to not understanding the work which runs a close second. Some kids in Truant Gangs join up because they can't see the board/can't hear, and being with a bunch of kids who also feel isolated in some way or who don't fit in, is a whole lot better than being constantly pointed out as being the disruptive kid or as not engaging etc! It is important to understand that bunking off or playing truant, means the child now has to face the teacher and the other kids with the truth and this can be become a problem on it's own. The longer it is allowed to carry on, the more difficult it becomes for the child to face everybody and their questions. Hence what may have been a one off will suddenly turn into chronic truancy as the child becomes less and less able to interact and bond with the other class mates. It is always worth noting that every child is an individual and some children will walk out the house hopping and skipping their way to school with not a problem in the world. Another child in the same family may cling onto the bed legs, moms hair, the door handles and anything else that will delay the inevitable going to school bit. These liitle children may need a whole other style of handling. Do not be fooled however that all children who act this way are too sensitive and unable to cope with the outside world. Often such 'sensitive' children are very savvy and determined, knowing just what strings to pull and buttons to push. They have afterall, learned them well from parents expressions of pity and their body language just how to push and pull and for how long before the parent gives in. A good rule of thumb is to take note of childrens overall attitude and behaviour to every day instances and their reactions to changes. For instance, how they behave at home in comparison with the outside world of friends and strangers. Are they only unhappy about school, do they settle quickly once you have left, (the teacher can tell you about this)? Or have they been happy at school but have suddenly had a total change of attitude? My grand daughter gets the hump when her creche minder is off and does not take kindly to replacements. She makes this very clear by becoming very clingy at home and attaches herself to my daughters leg like a Koala bear, which means mom has to drag her around whilst trying to sort out other tasks! My other older Grandaughter who does very well in school was quite put off at the beginning of a new school year knowing that she was to get a teacher that other kids had told her was quite stern. 'Mom' went to meet the teacher, to speak of her concerns and the end result was a child who finished the year with excellent grades and a lot more confidence. Any radical changes like this are worth taking note of and finding out the reasons behind it, even with older children. Knowing the reasons does help mom's peace of mind and gives mom and dad the opportunity to sort out small problems before they become out of control. Some reasons maybe simple and others more complicated. In general though most problems are easily dealt with when tackled early on. Talk to everyone who spends time with your children and you will probably find your answer. Always seek professional help when unsure as things such as lack of sleep, diet, not hearing and seeing properly can have a profound affect on childrens behaviour. ..................................................................................................................................
Truant Gangs that habitually duck school are generally comprised of young teens and a few younger children who start at around 10-12 years of age. The older children get and the longer the problem is left to fester, the harder it is to break the cycle of truancy as the reasons become more complex and therefore more difficult to deal with. Truant Gangs get stronger the more foot soldiers they have. They see triumph in getting more kids on their side. They start to identify themselves as a family and as protectors or protected members of the gang family. The by-product for children in a gang is the ability to hide from school and responsibility, through the support of the group. The longer children stay in Truant Gangs the more likely it is that they will isolate themselves from real family members. Certainly real family often become less important as the perception of the backing they receive from other gang members is deemed more supportive. Kids such as these without parental guidance, boundaries and structure will rail more and more against the social boundaries that they perceive as the last outposts of teen oppression. These boundaries being the feeble limits that the law and some parents so ineffectually lay down with special regard to under-age drinking, smoking, antisocial behaviour, vandalism, stealing, hitting, kicking, stoning and swearing at the elderly, younger children and anyone else they perceive to be in their way to obtaining liberty and independence. What Truant Gangs and members actually end up with, is a life ruled by joblessness, ignorance, very often an addiction to drugs and alcohol, and not least a police record. This is what they are fighting for because they are children and don't understand the consequences of not going to school. Any parent who is willing to watch this happen to their own child, has failed them miserably, as much as the government has for taking away parental rights of control over their children and the powers of control that teachers used to have within the class room. However this is not an excuse to sit back and let Truant Gangs interfere with our childrens future and their lives. The longer a child gets away with truanting the harder it is to get them back to school. For some chronic Truant Gang members, watching old class mates passing exams and moving on up the scholarly ladder, eats at their self esteem. Thus creating a tendency to act out more aggressively the longer the situation is allowed to continue. Although there maybe quicker and sharper methods of bringing Truant Gangs and unruly children to abide by family and social norms, and by this I do not mean beating ten shades of red into a child, that is abuse, there are other more refined methods that require careful structure and consistency. (I cannot and do not condone parents who feel the need to batter a child. In any childs life, very rarely do they need to be smacked and NEVER need to be bruised, no matter what the reason. I would however, never risk my childs life for lack of a smack on the behind, in other words, playing truant and being reckless, running into the road, persistently trying to find out where the water goes down the loo!, playing with fire, harming another child or parent by pinching or biting. Note that these are my personal beliefs and not those of any person featured on this site. No mother can be in all places, at all times and sometimes kids just have to know that certain things are out of bounds. We cannot remove all danger therefore we teach by which ever moderated method gets a fast positive result.) Of one thing we can be sure, ineffective parenting makes children feel unsafe, no matter how much they argue the point or try to free themselves from rules, structure and limitations. And this feeling of being unsafe, is one of the primary reasons that Truant gangs are able to attract those children who find themselves alone in an unstructured world. Playing truant is not safe in any way. Truant gangs can be found on railway tracks, playing dogems with cars, ( I have seen this with my own eyes) drinking down alley ways, shop lifting etc. Truant gangs are adding to a growing problem of poorly educated and unprepared school leavers year on year. The only lessons Truant gangs have for our kids, is how to walk the streets, lie, vandalise, cheat, steal, kill and prevent moral and vulnerable elderly citizens from enjoying the fruits of their own hard labour. Not even pensioners are sacrosanct or beyond being duped or mugged by kids and Truant Gangs. Even in the animal kingdom, parents do more than some of us to educate their young about the social structures of their particular groups, and in so doing save and protect them. A lioness will grab her young by the scruff of the neck and give a determined shake to show her cubs when their playing and biting has gone too far. (In no way am I suggesting you grab your child by the neck!) She will carry her Truant gang back to the den when they wander and are not old enough to look after themselves. She will even growl convincingly to make them stay. She is protecting her young with structure and boundaries and limitation. We can see social education and etiquette being taught to young primates by the members of the group. This etiquette is what keeps them from being harmed and keeps the group as a whole balanced and happy. We like to think that we are better than animals and yet some of our young are worse than hyeanas on a kill. It is time to wake up and take charge of our children and their upbringing. We are responsible for their social behaviour and their education. Children cannot be our future if we don't prepare them for it in every possible way that we can. Nor can they be the future when we expect so little of and from them. For a free e-zine on getting good exam results Click Here! Throwing more and more laws and money at problems such as this is not going to solve all the lateral problems associated with Truant gangs. Sometimes we need to sweat. The more we sit back and allow governments to solve our problems the more we hand over control of our lives and our childrens lives. For those parents who 'do', put out the extra energy to be involved in their childrens lives, they too may expect to find themselves under new government rulings that allow less and less parental controls and decisions. Already young under age girls are being given the after morning pill without their parents knowledge or consent. This is the governments answer to under age sex. And daily both sexes are still indulging at very young ages in unprotected sex. This, even though the age to teach children about a very adult topic is being taught to younger and younger children. Truant gangs of boys and girls are engaging in sex when they should be at school and are often doing it in their parents own homes with their knowledge. They will continue to do this for as long as it takes for parents to remove their heads out of cloud cuckoo land and start checking in with their children. Ask to see homework. Ask what classes they did on the day. Invite their friends over so that they are not an unknown quantity. If you even think that your child might be playing truant, have an informal meeting with the teachers. For older kids that are unwilling to get up in time for school, stop shouting and start doing. You have a choice of removing all the items one at a time that you set up in your childs 'hotel' room of mom and dad. (See Hotel Mom and Dad) ipods and mobiles are heavy bargaining tools for good behaviour. Don't hand them back after one second of good behaviour, make sure that it is going to be more permanent. A nice glass of cold water tends to get floppy unwilling teenagers out of bed! The fact is, if children are given good guide lines about what is acceptable behaviour and what is not at an early age the less likely it is that you will have to resort to any of these tactics later on. So dally at your own peril. Help put and end to gangs and Gang truants by making sure you know where your kids are. Some tips for getting children out of gangs; Find out why your child is in a gang in the first place. Rectify a safety issue by making rules and boundarys. A time for getting home and doing homework. These rules also give a child an out, as an excuse for not hanging around with the gang so much. Help with homework, this ensures that the child feels there is an interest and an expectation. (Praise in all the right places) Look for afternoon activities that will also limit time spent with a gang and gives the child another excuse for not hanging around with them. The more time we fill for our children the less likely it is that they will have time to form unhealthy relationships with Gangs and Truant gangs. Go shopping and help choose outfits that do not reflect colours of any related gangs. Slowly but surely reduce the influence of the gang and give strong, reliable back up to a child who has been caught up in one. Spend more fun time and family time with the kids. In cases where Truant Gangs really pose serious threat to lives and the future of children, find out if it is possible to move them from that school. See also if it possible for you and the family to move to another area. Even good boarding schools can be a positive option for older kids
Truant Gangs and Kids back to Gang of Mom and Dad
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