Just a Suggestion

In Trinidad, we are often preoccupied with the end result: people who commit heinous, drug related crimes or crimes of passion. The reasoning behind this is probably that, they did something to us, so we must 'do them back!' Should we not instead try to prevent the occurrences of such offences against society instead of prosecution or 'curing' the problem? Put children first. In my opinion, 'the family' is at the centre of everything.

I would like to put a focus on mandatory child-rearing classes as an option for crime prevention. It is unrealistic for us to think that we can stop all crime, but I do believe that we can reduce it by helping parents to better endeavour into childrearing from a place of love and sound childcare practices. A non-threatening model that can be implemented from gestation-(prenatal clinic visits), to postnatal care, even up until ages 5-7 (presently seen as a child's most crucial formative years).

I honestly do not believe that all parents set out to poorly raise their children. I will admit that there are also some callous parents whose main goal is to destroy their offspring for selfish reasons. We have to be mindful though, that there are those who do not know better and would benefit from helpful advice and information.

Are there any statistics that delve into the origins and family history of all our nation's prisoners? Would it not be of aid to us if we knew how many of these offenders came from broken or single parent homes, have histories of neglect and abuse? Which crimes are they most likely to commit? Researching these men and women in the prison system now can shed light on how we can prevent or at least reduce crime in the future.

There are countries that also implement the above-mentioned childcare initiative to better safeguard the world's most precious investment: our youth, our infants. The country that stands out most in my mind is Canada. It is my understanding that they work along with public & health institutions to make sure that from gestation onward, infants get the best possible care from their parents or guardians.

I understand that most of us are averse to all things sappy. Does anyone think of love as a solution to anything, except in the hours before dawn or after a carnival fete? Still love is and should be the origin. We worry about 'wah de police doing' all the time, but let us try to focus on what the parents are doing, what the teachers are doing, grandparents, aunts and uncles as well.

I will keep it brief, as I just wanted to bring this up as something we should think about, so think about it and please love your child. I do believe that in turn they will honestly love you too, want to do better in school and have a greater respect for their fellow man and society.