Another Child Lost
I am almost certain that Cate will have written or posted something about what this blog post pertains to as I know just how much this impacts on her. I have not had any opportunity to check what Cate may have written prior to post this…………………………
I’m a father to what is now days considered a rather large family. A lot of the time I take having children around as granted because they are always there. Although I am told by Cate to think about the safety of the children a lot more then I do. But being the pig headed male that I am, I tend to hear but not listen.
The past few months have really culminated this morning. Far too many times over the past few months the news bulletins I’m listening to or watching are carrying stories of children missing or being hurt or now all to often being killed. This morning while driving the children to school I was listening to news as I always do, waiting in hope for the story to come up of the 3 year old little boy that went missing from his home in Melbourne’s northern suburbs yesterday afternoon. The story came up and against all hope the little boy was found deceased by the side of a road 20 or 30 km from where he disappeared. Tears started to roll down my face from under my sun glasses. I was able to hide this from the kids as they chatted and played. “This just can’t be!”, not another one. Then another story followed of a 6 yo child that was found drowned in a dam at 12:30 this morning in NSW. Two more families destroyed, two more little lives gone, for what reason? I don’t know either family but I cried at their loss, what parent wouldn’t?
What is going on in this world? Little people dying by drowning in dams, at the hands of other children and even at the hands of adults… WHY? What has changed in the world that now sees so many children facing such untimely death? Have I had my head in the sand for so long that nothing has actually changed but now suddenly I’m noticing? OR Is it that we are losing more children in this manner more often they we use too and if so, why? And I say “we” as a parent, a parent concerned now for the safety of not only my children but all children.
I can not in any way imagine how the parents of all of these children continue to function with the loss of their children no matter how it occurs. The fear I felt when Charlie went “walkabout” with Jasmine last year was horrific, but he was safe, although given where we lived at the time, the outcome could have been significantly worse. While writing the post I keep having the thought, what has happened where the community helped raise the local children? I know that now days we don’t tend to stay in the same house for long periods, but when a family moves into a community, why isn’t it like when I was growing up? The “new” neighbours would quickly make themselves known and eye would always be watching out for the neighbourhood kids. When this occurred when I was a kid, I’m sure there were nowhere near as many child fatalities?
I am positive that there is nobody other then Cate and Myself watching out for our children…
If you have children, does the neighbourhood help you watch or look out for your children?
Rick
I think parents are the only ones that can look out for their children, children have always gone missing, never to return, it is not new, I think it is just more on the news. I suppose the only positive thing is that we all listen to the news and watch our children that little bit closer, even when doing day to day things.
Hey Rick, I hear you! I have been feeling exactly the same! We have a huge responsibility with our children and it just seems to me that people in general are more about ‘me’. My biggest fear is that if my husband and I were to pass away before the children were old enough to look after themselves. Who would look after our children? I know we have family and close friends and they would be cared for in some form, however, my biggest fear is that our children would be split up into different families because 6 is too many! Too many for who? To intrude on the elaborate lifestyle?
Re: the amount of childhood deaths. I have been feeling extremely vulnerable with every new death I too hear about. I fear when I occassionally allow my boys to enter the boys toilets without my husband accompanying them. I feel the same about my girls. I don’t trust many people now and I find that sad.
We are blessed to live in a very close community and we do look out for each others childrens, however, become very wary of anyone ‘new’ or a bit ‘different’.
Anyhoo, thank you for your heartfelt post. I can relate to much of it but I don’t think I can answer the questions…..
I think you have a point there, I don’t thing like this happen when we were kids, well at least not as much. Something, somewhere along the line changed the way communities behave. Yes it makes me very sad too.
Good post
Hi Rick
This is very true. I think the number of crimes, not only crimes relating to children, but all crimes are increasing out of control and I really think it comes down to the discipline that the children receive in their own homes. I think if we do not guide our children and show them both love and discipline then society just breaks down. Every weekend there are bashing and stabbings when people have gone out for a night “on the town” to enjoy themselves. Children are growing up too quickly and want and want more material things. What happened to families playing together?