Gary's views

Gary's weekly views

Each week an article by Gary has appeared in the Plympton Plymstock and Ivybridge News in South West Devon. The articles are published here

NEW LIFE

Last week we went to Germany to cuddle our first grandson. Weighing in at a healthy 10 lbs 5 ozs, I have already chalked Jonathan-James (to be known as JJ) down for Ivybridge 1st xv when he comes of age! Mother, father and son are all doing well and we give thanks for this new life. (The only downside is that I am now married to a granny).

But as I walked him around their army quarters trying to get up that last stubborn bit of wind, I pondered on what will become of him. In part the genes and chromosomes with which he was born, as with any new baby, will help to shape the adult that he will one day become. But in part, the influences on his young life, as with any baby, especially from his immediate family, will also mould him – for good or bad.

There are no guarantees in parenting and it is a hard slog, whether there are two of you or just one. But whether we like it or not, the influence of that early family input will largely determine whether a baby will grow to become a menace to those around him or not.
If my postbag is anything to go by, even in the allegedly leafy suburbs and quaint Devon towns that I represent, anti-social behaviour is on the advance. I am increasingly confronted with problems involving neighbours from hell, tenants who trash a perfectly respectable house, binge drinkers and drug addicts, graffiti artists and litter louts, aggressive youths who gather on the street corner.

There seems to be a significant and growing minority who behave badly and we are all getting sick of it. More police, more CCTV, more gimmicks from government – none of it seems to be curbing this alarming trend.

We need to tackle the root of the problem. Which is surely that far too many children, when they are very young, are not taught to behave properly. To respect others, listen to adults, sit still, keep their fists to themselves and moderate their language. Is it really any more complicated than that? I recognise that there are other influences at work: through the TV, Internet and peer groups at school, but surely none compare to the early formative years in the home.
The challenge for policy makers is to find ways of intervening more effectively at an earlier pre-school stage. The search is on.

posted by Nigel on Thursday, August 12, 2004