I feel I am treated well in the community I am from, but adults don’t communicate with me if I am in a group. I think that adults don’t talk to me because they have an idea that children in a large group are creating problems on the streets. According to The Children’s Society’s recently published inquiry the children they asked reported a lack of positive interaction with adults in their community. In a national survey of young people aged 14 to 16, only one in five (20%) agreed with the statement ‘My area cares about its young people.’
I think all young people get labelled as the same which makes it look like we are all doing something bad. So maybe adults should get to know the young people in their neighbourhood, instead of judging a book by its cover. But this might be difficult as even the government gives negative feedback towards young people. According to the same inquiry 29% of adults think that the Government’s attitudes to young people are mostly negative, with only 23% thinking they are mostly positive..
Adults should remember that they were once kids and have maybe had the same experiences themselves; such as not being heard or seen and feeling isolated.
Also I think parents have an important role which includes knowing where their children are at all times, telling their children that it is wrong to take drugs and drink alcohol and teaching them to respect people in the same wmay they’d like to be respected. Young people should be taught how to be a leader not a follower, how to become successful and a good citizen.
Recently we had an ex-gang member from New York come into our school to talk to us about why we should not take the journey he took. He said that he did not learn respect until he was in front of a judge, but by then it was too late. Everyone was touched by what he had to say. If people who have experiences of going down the wrong path share their ideas on why others shouldn’t make the same mistakes, this can hopefully make an impact on young people's lives.
About this story
This story was produced by Kamil Boriel, 12, and commissioned by The Children's Society as they publish the UK's first national inquiry into childhood - The Childhood Inquiry.
