posted on 29 September 2009 11:59
Two particularly horrific and desperately heart-breaking events of recent months challenge our beliefs about raising children in 21st Century Britain:
- The death of baby Peter, overlooked, abused, let down, killed by his mother
- The deaths of Fiona Pilkington and her SEN daughter, bullied, ignored, taunted, worn down to eventual suicide by repeated low level abuse from local youths
1 says we need tougher protection for our children. 2 implies we should be tougher on them. Just how tight should we hold the reins of our young people?
Or maybe we should ask ourselves what lies at the heart of both these tragedies…
Why do a minority of youths bully those they perceive as easy targets?
Why is a mother driven to the final ultimate act as the only way out?
Why were those closest to Peter his killers rather than his nurturers?
Lack of self-esteem? A need for significance, love, belonging? A need to exist, to be someone? The answers are surely complex and elusive. How tight the reins….