Protecting Our Children: Are We Doing Enough?
By Features Desk
Monday, September 18, 2017.
The recent attack in London’s Parsons Green Station has shown how much anxiety the British public is facing right now, but not just the fact is that it was near to a school, but also sources have claimed that the attackers were targeting school children deliberately may send alarm bells to any parent out there. The many mixed messages that this sends to us as parents begs the question but should we have a really let our children out of our sight, ever? The modern world doesn't seem to make it easy for parents to cope with the emotional onslaught that parents face on a regular basis now.
Are We Too Protective?
Red tape is seen as an essential part of society now, but some people feel that excessive stringent background checks, especially for those who have had past criminal convictions, means that it's even harder for them to get a job working with children. The fact is that now the law is trying to be fair and there is a vast amount of Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) barring representations, reviews and appeals solicitors fighting the corner of those ex-convicts who are just trying to retrieve a semblance of normality. As a result, the DBS that replaced the CRB can show a lot less information based on people’s previous criminal activity. And it's hard for parents to accept the fact that it is possible for children to be within a proximity to criminal activities. And as it's a human right for people to be considered for any type of job, even working with children, just as long as they’ve gone through the cracks rehabilitation processes. If they have, then are we, as parents, meant to get this person fired from their job because of previous criminal activity? Of course, that does depend on the crime itself, but it still brings up the question that if the DBS was altered to reflect people's human rights, then should we, as parents, allow them to perform their duties?
Are We Not Being Protective Enough?
Of course, the other side of the coin is that we are not doing enough to keep an eye on our children. As a result, a lot of people think like this, and this can result in an anxious parent. But is this the way to live our lives? The notion of wrapping children in cotton wool has been debated endlessly over the last few years, with the Internet becoming a hotbed for any type of crime. In the Western world, with the threat of terrorism upon us constantly, and especially with the terror threat in Britain at a serious level, do we need to take our children aside and to start preparing them for the dangers of the real world at such a young age? This can breed contempt and an ever-growing sense of fear among the community of young children, which isn’t a healthy way for anyone to be. But it's, unfortunately, a very real state of mind in the modern world.
From 16 onwards, we slowly start to lose our ability to protect our children like we could when they were infants. And as soon as your child's A-Level results come through, we cease to be the protected parent we once were, as they are off to university and are officially grown up, and able to make their own decisions. But in terms of how we as parents react to the news of another attack, it hits home quite hard, and we are going to be asking ourselves these two key questions.