Whats it going to take?

[Lux]

home.nzcity.co.nz/news/default.aspx?id=74489&cat=1005

Our children are dying horrific deaths, does a week even go by now where we don't hear of the murder, suffering and abuse of our children.

We need to look at ourselves as a society and really ask ourselves why this is happening! Why has it become that members of our society have stopped caring about life, why have some members of our society stopped loving their children?

This breaks my heart.

[sparrow]

Strangely Lux: I think we care more "now" as a society than we have in the past and this is why we are more, and more outraged by this behaviour. We need to implement programmes i.e. parenting courses for people with specific criteria of risk factors e.g. age, low education etc that are having children and in order for them to be able to maintain custody of children, they have to complete a course. It might not save all our children, but it would certainly help save some and give agencies an idea of who are "risky" in their area.

These stories gut me and make me feel physically sick.

[maire]

I agree Sparrow, education should be the first step.
The secondary school system needs to be thoroughly overhauled.
The present system is geared up towards furthering your education at tech or uni, leaving no choice for those who have no intention or ability to do that.
Given that many leave college as soon as they are legally able, they are leaving with very little education and more importantly none in the way of practical life skills.
I don't like to hark back to the "in my day" type mindset, but college education was a lot more practical then.
There were 4 courses available, Professional, General, Commercial or Modern. If you had no intention of going to university, you chose either Commercial or Modern.
Commercial was shorthand, typing book-keeping plus the usual English, Science etc etc. Modern was quite basic and you learnt household skills. Boys had a separate course where male type practical skills were taught. They didn't have parenting skills as school girl pregnancies were a rarity and frowned upon.
Now those courses would be entirely appropriate and should be part of the college curriculum, starting at Year 9.