 By Wanda Pew February 22, 2006
The courtroom was full of young people, my son was the oldest at 17. There were some there as young as 12. The children there were laughing and carrying on like it was an after school function, not realizing the seriousness of what they had done. Being part of the baby boomers, I have learned that most parents wanted to be their kids "friend", not their parent. I have seen the consequences of being a "friend" to your child opposed to being a "parent". I was a parent who demanded respect from my kids, but at the same time, if they were in trouble, they could come to me and they did not have to wonder if I loved them. None of us are perfect parents and we all make mistakes in raising our kids. It is our responsibility to raise our kids, not our community's. You are the parent and consistency is the key. Because you have to remind them that "you" are the parent, not them. I have seen wonderful kids come from alcoholic and drug addicted parents. On the other hand, I have seen troubled kids come from the best of parents who were there for them for their every need. My best friend's mother was killed by a drunk driver. We will not stop our kids from drinking or trying drugs in this town because it is too easy for them to obtain in one way or another. My solution for the parents who still have kids at home is to try to be the best parent you can be. Kids need rules and rules must be followed, which brings me to my next point. I have also experienced the high school here and was blown away with the relaxed rules that were there a few years ago, I don't know what they are now. How can a parent enforce restrictions for their kids if the schools do not. Such as very, very lenient dress codes for starters. I have seen girls wearing tank tops to high school, bare skin showing, guys with pants down to their knees, all different colored hair and outrageous hairstyles, cell phones and cd players in class rooms. How on earth will we teach our kids to respect others if they are not taught to respect themselves? I think the answer lies in the parents and the schools getting on the same page where our kids are concerned and both being CONSISTENT. Wanda Pew About: "A resident of
Ketchikan, mother of 3 grown children."
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