Kids runing in front of my car!
I had a huge fright today. Driving in Tsepisong (very slowly as I always do there luckily) a really tiny kid ran straight in front of me and then up the road. I screeched to a halt. Waited till I could move and breathe again and got out to look for who was looking after him. No-one. And by then he had disappeared. Yesterday a little person was on the street in front of me as well running from a playmate who was throwing stones at her. I got out and got the kids off the road. Mom arrived from inside a bit after but my over 50 year old heart is getting a bit tested.
But really – why are little under threes being allowed to be near streets on their own? I know parents are working but not all of them – and as a parent it really should be your first priority to insure someone is keeping your child safe when you can’t. Urban communities are different from rural ones. Community ties are weaker, one does not really know ones neighbour as well as you think one does. I really believe that children under 10 should be supervised outside of their gardens by responsible adults
. They really should not be sent to the shop or school alone.
In a recent 702 Redi Thlabi show a social worker doing research on rapists said that sometimes ‘children were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time’. They were small and alone and no-one was caring for them so the rapist took his chance. Children are not necessarily made vulnerable by poverty but they are being made at risk by negligence.
Parents and gaurdians need to take more responsibility. I accept it is not always easy and too many of our parents are children themselves or else products of neglectful parenting themselves - but no child asks to be born – so those that bring them onto this earth MUST take care of them.
And responsible adults must responsibly make sure all the children in their communities are safe and report neglectful and negligent parenting to the social services.
We do need financial donations to help us to continue to work. We start our parenting classes soon! We really do want to have moms and tots and toddler groups going soon. Only through supporting parents to becoming more thoughtful, skilled and responsible parents will we really have safe children in our communities!