Last night, I attended a gathering of "grandma-agers". A topic of discussion was the recent flash mobs of teens, creating havoc, at a local shopping area. The newspaper had reported children, as young as eleven, being dropped off by adults and left to roam the area in gangs. The kids were there until the wee hours of the morning. One of them was a recent shooting victim.
As we continued to discuss the situation, we all related how we, as moms, had refused to drop off our pre-teenagers at the Mall. That was way back in the 70s and 80s. Every one of our kids had whined to us that "all the other kids are doing it." Well, each of us had been wise to that trick.
Here is how we solved the issue.
One mom said, "I asked for a list of names", and of course the child couldn't come up with a single one. Another queried, "Where's your money? You can't go unless you're going to buy something." While another said her kid could go, but only by herself, and that she would have to walk!
There, urban parents, that's your solution to roving gangs of pre-teens. Very simple. Keep them home and occupied. Don't contribute to the problem by escorting them to the scene of the crime.
The grandmas have spoken.
Good Lord. Aren't you amazed out how totally clueless your creations are? And, yet you continue to bless all of us. You have given us free will and the brains to figure things out. We should be thankful.
We are smart, but painfully unwise.
Guide us in what we do.
No comments:
Post a Comment