Own street, Own Gang And Your Neighbours

Trying to raise children in a city is difficult enough without the added problems of children falling into the clutches of other less savoury gangs, whose only aim in life appears to be anything that will ease their boredom. This easing of boredom is usually at the expense of others who appear to be the most vulnerable and is excaserbated by alcohol intake. These days it seems that even grown men are deemed to be an easy target for groups of kids who have no compunction about attacking like a pack of animals. It is now imperative that adults take responsibility for their own children and for whole neighbourhoods to take back their Own street and rid their own communities of this feral plague. We need to adhere to a joint philosophy in our society that puts children first, and the desire to look 'cool' in our kids' eyes, in the trash where it belongs. The only street gangs should be 'ours' the adults, and the only rules, 'ours', the adults. We have to acknowledge our childrens behaviour, good or bad in our Own street, to begin to put it right.

I find the following quip, [author unknown] "It takes a village to raise a child", resonates deep inside me. It makes so much good sense. It is only a few decades ago that most adults in a town or community would keep an eye out for the children of their neighbours, friends and family. A couple of generations later, we have decided for some unfathomable reason that we don't need or want the help of all these people. And that being polite is a sign of weakness, that our elders have nothing of value to give to their own children and grand children, let alone to give to any child off of their Own street. Somehow the government has become responsible for everything, from educating our children about sex and deciding what age is relative for these teachings to teaching them the rules of society. Government justice teaches us and our children through lack of action, that there is an immunity clause for thugs, robbers, violators of all sorts and ages, drug addicts, lazy people who dont want to work, and drunks. This lesson is underpinned by the unwritten 11th commandment 'thou shalt not touch', the person who has robbed you, the child that has put a knife to your throat, the teenagers that are old enough to kick someone to death, but not old enough to take on the defensive action of the mugee!

We can live with this or we can, with the help of our neighbours, friends and family, take back our neighbourhoods, street by Own street. By a mutual closing of ranks we can make life very uncomfortable for the minority of families who, historically have made life miserable for the majority. Ironic isn't it.

We need first off to rid ourselves of the, 'it's got nothing to do with you' attitude. There is not a child in the world that has never put a foot wrong. Kids are kids, wonderful, amusing, often quite insightful and moving but, and this is a big but, they are still kids, not rocket scientists. They are inquisitive, sometimes to their own detriment, e.g. 'what happens to aerosol cans under heat', 'can I beat that train', etc etc. If you needed convincing, clearly these sorts of actions and other equally dumb decisions shows that they lack experience, foresight and a sense of mortality. This is as it should be. Children don't come out of the womb fully equipped with a manual on how to stay alive, rather it would appear that like young foals they have a death wish! Therefore they need parents, wise adults, teachers and generally all the help they can get, even your Own street 'curtain twitcher! Children ARE little 'Grasshopper'! Believe me, with five brothers, a son and a daughter, not to mention the numerous other children that have passed through my life, I have seen it all!

We absolutely do have the right to know who our childrens friends are, and we most certainly do have the right to choose who they hang out with. If this is uncomfortable then ask yourself if you would prefer to hear from the police, that your child has been involved in shop-lifting, or has been seen playing on the railway tracks, been found drinking, or worse yet to find out that your young daughter is about to become a mother and your young son, a dad??? Would you want to know that by ignoring all the signs, you have contributed to your child becoming a statistic, either as another teen mum/dad, or an addict, maybe even as a repeat offender for all of the above, or worse, being the one that never made it accross the railway line?

Get to know the parents of your childrens friends, know their addresses and phone numbers. Always make sure that any children playing at your house have their parents permission. This information may be vital to either you or other parents some day and you will be glad that you have it. By doing this you may find that other parents feel better about asking for the same information. The more people you get onto your own street page, the better. Children who know that their parents also know their friends parents, and have a pact with them to report any really bad behaviour, like truancy, drinking, smoking and hanging around with boys who do the same are less likely to get involved in this sort of behaviour. This is not to say that some of the childrens less than safe actions won't ever fall under the radar, but it certainly helps.

Always know where your children are and who they are with. Remember if your child gets picked up in a street gang that was involved in a serious crime, your son/daughter will be charged along with the guilty even if he/she did not participate.

Street Gang invest in kids

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