It's not always the parent's fault. Many kids just get caught up in things they can't control or are influenced to start running with a bad crowd. Now, this is not to say parents don't have authority or influence, but being a parent of 2 teenage boys, I can tell you that it's not easy at all. You are contantly worrying about what your kids are doing and are being influenced by. At the end of the day, you can only hope and pray that you did your job as a parent to steer them away from problems. Now, that being said, I have always thought that a certain level of intellegance, competency and wisdom should be required to have kids. You need a licence to drive a car, to fly a plane, to cut hair, but anyone no matter how stupid, moronic or incompetent they may be can have as many kids as they want.
Yeah, you did hit a nerve there: surely not letting people have children is completely immoral (EDIT: unless they're criminally insane etc.)- do you mean that social security etc. should be tighter? Or maybe have parents investigated regularly? Or children that have clearly been brought up without morals sentenced to having a life without their real parents? How would you do that? Give them to foster parents when they're 13? I doubt there'd be many foster parents availiable for them... Maybe you are right then, the way to stop it is at the source, but how do you test the parenting tests without the people taking it being parents? Would they practice with a fake plastic child? It'd be a lot more complex than getting a diving licence, even a pilot's licence. ch424
I'm a firm believer in a licence to have children. Or at the very least a system like China's "one-child rule". After all it's only the dregs for society that breed like bloody rabbits.
WTF where is this world going. i think its sick anouf to rape a 11y old but to film the whole thing........ i dont know what to say. poor poor world!
Hear hear! I'm sorry if it sounds contentious, and I'm well aware of the Eugenic associations of such statements, but I'm with Dad on this one (well, it had to happen some time, right Dad? ). Putting children in this world and raising them is the most complex, important and responsible job that you can do. Yet just about any chav can drop a baby into circumstances we would find quite intollerable if it concerned dogs (which is why we have an RSPCA here in the UK, but an NSPCC --think about it... And why in the US the FBI had a nationwide network to register stolen vehicles well before they had one to register missing children). It is being done on a daily basis. People who wish to adopt a child are put through all sorts of stringent tests and examinations of their lifestyle, finances, psychological suitability, personal competence etc. because it is recognised that not just anyone can be handed a child to look after. Yet if they can produce one themselves, all of that suddenly isn't necessary? Moreover as a clinical psychologist I can tell you that it is possible to assess a person and predict what sort of parent they will make before they have children --and with good accuracy too.
But how does society enforce an unfit parent's chastity? Murky waters. Better make parents responsible for their child's behaviour and any criminal damage caused, so they get hurt in the pocket. And do away with anonymity for young criminals. Name & shame.
You can't, really --that way eugenics lies. But unfit parents could be compelled to join (and pass) parenting classes, lest their child is taken away from them. Their parenting could be monitored over the years, assessing the childs social, psychological, educational and health developmental milestones. Screw up, and you lose parental rights over the kid. In fact, I think parenting classes should be integral to secondary education. I'd think that is sound policy in any case. However most parents will, by the time a child reaches its teens, have developed quite a learned helplessness in dealing with their little angel. It is that attitude that needs to be changed. They need to be taught parenting skills, but also be made to realise that they have ultimate responsibility and accountability. This is all theoretical, of course. In reality, the institutions that are supposed to make this happen would be as ineffectual and badly implemented as current health and social services, and education... You can but dream...
So true. Government-aided darwinism It's like the guy who is in jail for 25 years, finishes his time, and steals a car within a week. Clearly he's just failed at society. People who fail at society really shouldn't be continuing their legacy. Indeed, if you end up in the hospital for something utterly idiotic like trying to drink a flaming shot or other preventable idiocy, you should have your ability to produce children removed. Most of this does come back to the parents. Blame irrisponsible (sp?) teens like always; but I'm at the prime age to act like an idiot for no good reason and just have that expected of me, and I don't.
Well I'm not in a position to say really. I don't have nor want kids. It is not that I don't like kids. I do like them and I am in a position that I could have kids. I have a nice appartment, a good job and I recon I am a descent person. (Yes that does sound arrogant). But I just don't think I want the responsibility and that is why i don't think I am fit to have children. But think of this and don't call me a nazi: Human beings are a very funny and a weak race compared to all other animals on earth. - We are the only race on earth that breed just for the sake of it (not entirely true, but pretty close). - We are the only race on earth that breed so our offspring will take care of us when we get old (ever seen a bird take care of its parents?). - We can breed from the age of about 15, but wait untill we are 30 or older (as soon as lioness can breed it will). - We men do not have to fight off other men for a perfect mate. Don't tell me women like money, because in your prime years (16-25 for men) women prefer muscle and looks. It is when a woman wants to settle that they want a rich mate. - We don't need perfect genes. Even if you are physically or mentally challenged you can have kids. Dumb huh?
You all seem to be pretty keen on removing the child from its parents if they are not doing a good job. However, this does not stop the child loving its parents, and the removal of said child from the parents it loves could end up doing yet more damage. It has to be pre-emptive. I partially agree with most of the points that have been made, but the bleeding hearts of the world make it rather impossible.
No, I just call you incorrect. --yeah, which is why we are outcompeting the lot of them... "Weakness" is relative. I'll agree on the funny part but thenagain, have you seen some of the really weird lifeforms that this planet produces? No, we are one of two species that have sex for non-procreational purposes (the Bonobo chimp being the other). All species breed for the sake of it. It's what life does. It's how it continues to exist. No, but with the Jackall for instance, previous generations assist their parents in raising current offspring --their younger brothers and sisters, so to speak. Dolphins are also pretty altruistic when it comes to their older family members. -- unless you live on a sink estate in Britain, or a trailer park in the US. Again, it's all relative... Not true (I mean, SO not true). Men do compete, even if they do not lock antlers in the forest or something. If not physically (looks) then by the resources they bring to the table. The same goes for women. Research has shown time and again that couples generally match on physical attractiveness, socio-economic status and age. An average male gets an average female (not a "perfect mate") and vice versa. And don't confuse "settling down" with plain old making babies. When you're older you think of "setting down" and when you're young, you're just horny, but both scenarios produce offspring. The way nature sees it, if you can make it to reproductive age, you have made the grade genetically (this includes not only your 'fitness', but that of your parents in terms of the privillige they are able to bestow upon you). Now we have distorted this in the fact that we (moderately) look after those of us who wouldn't be able to fend for themselves, but that is why we are, supposedly, Human Beings, not mere animals. Whether you think that is a worthy ambition is up to you.
Is this a sign of the apocalypse?? I'm scared.... Hold me.... I'm curious to know where the term "happy slappers" came from.
