A good friend of mine recently referred to himself as a “Taliban” when it comes to the values he instils in his young brood. To the uninitiated, the Taliban are a nasty group of Afghan individuals with pretty extreme religious views and a hatred for Americans and Christians.
My friend's extrapolated meaning was that there are certain issues over which there are no ifs or buts for the little ones – no matter how unreasonable he appears. The Taliban concept stayed with me as I watched in shock and horror, this week's trashing of London by the youth brigade. Since 6 August, rioters as young as 10 and 11 have been running amok in various cities across the United Kingdom of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but particularly in London — home to the 2012 Olympic Games.
The trigger was the fatal shooting of another young man by the police, but the “down with police violence” slogan quickly turned into “get-Plasma TVs-quick” schemes.
Rioters have been breaking shop windows, trashing High Street shops and making off with today's symbols of affluence and cool: iPods, smart phones, flat screen tellies and video games. A few older looters have had a keener interest in microwave ovens and booze. Curiously, they didn't loot bookstores.
A good friend of mine recently referred to himself as a “Taliban” when it comes to the values he instils in his young brood. To the uninitiated, the Taliban are a nasty group of Afghan individuals with pretty extreme religious views and a hatred for Americans and Christians.
My friend's extrapolated meaning was that there are certain issues over which there are no ifs or buts for the little ones – no matter how unreasonable he appears. The Taliban concept stayed with me as I watched in shock and horror, this week's trashing of London by the youth brigade. Since 6 August, rioters as young as 10 and 11 have been running amok in various cities across the United Kingdom of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but particularly in London — home to the 2012 Olympic Games.
The trigger was the fatal shooting of another young man by the police, but the “down with police violence” slogan quickly turned into “get-Plasma TVs-quick” schemes.
Rioters have been breaking shop windows, trashing High Street shops and making off with today's symbols of affluence and cool: iPods, smart phones, flat screen tellies and video games. A few older looters have had a keener interest in microwave ovens and booze. Curiously, they didn't loot bookstores.
How did the UK get to this point? There is the thesis that the youth are disaffected, just the way they are in South Africa and around the world. They hate school, fear for the future (as they see their parents struggle with the credit crunch and mortgages) and generally feel they’re not being understood.
I have a different thesis — close to the Taliban theory: some parents are too obsessed with being friends with their kids that they lose sight of what's really important: values. Since corporal punishment was abolished in the UK, kids as young as 8 often call Social Services even if they've just been scolded by an exasperated parent. Parents have in turn had to resort to “time-outs” and punishment corners.
While we were lucky to get a new set of Sunday Best as we grew up, today’s youth fully expect a Smart Phone, plus an iPod, plus driving lessons, plus a PSP (PlayStation) and/or Nintendo Wii! Or a brand new car. I’ve watched with despair as kids with serious money hire television crews to follow them around on their 16th birthdays.
The parents of this class hire certifiably famous singers like Beyonce or Justin Bieber (if you can call him a singer too!) to belt out a few songs for them and their pimply friends.
Today's adults have not done much to help their image, however. We steal everything from identities to votes, company shares and vehicles. There are also quite a few adult South Africans who give all of us a very bad name.
But there is no excuse for a child to be so bratty and talk back when talked to; or to scream as if she has been shot simply because she has been told to put her cellphone away at dinner.
The parents who pull their hair out when a teenager screams “I hate you!” before slamming doors in their faces, have only themselves to blame. So much for time-outs when she was three! What happened to good-old fashioned punishment? I am not advocating child abuse here, but c'mon! Take away the cellphone, television, PlayStation and all her friends. And dare her to sulk till kingdom come.
Once the law of the land has been set (don’t forget that you’re either the President or the Prime Minister of your household and the children – non-voting citizens), life will probably be a lot easier.
It’s possible the English kids who are currently embarrassing their parents have some good (and sociological) reasons for being so utterly obnoxious. But then again, they probably never got a good hiding!
•Sim does not believe in child abuse. Or time-outs.
