Teen Violence

I will step aside from my usual blogging on personal and childbirth issues this last day of 2005 and look instead to something that concerns every parent, teen violence. As many of you know Toronto is mourning in the wake of an innocent teen who was slain during a Boxing Day shootout on Yonge street. I personally, as a mother of a just-turned-14-year-old, am concerned about the increasing violence we are seeing in teens today.

In my research, I found that Family First had commissioned Wirthlin Worldwide to conduct a survey of 500 youth between the ages of 13 to 18. The results might surprise you. They found that 54 percent of those teens surveyed agreed, "Violence in music and on TV encourages youth violence." Fully 66 percent of 13-14 year olds were even more convinced that it was a factor. Indeed, the vast majority of teens (86 percent) who agreed that violence in entertainment encouraged youth violence believe "There should be efforts to reduce the amount of violence in music and on TV." How ironic, as teens are by far the largest consumers of popular music and television programs that depict violence.

But that isn't all.

68 percent of our teenagers believe that "Youth are more likely to be violent
and commit crimes when their fathers are absent from the home." Teens also
identify strong marriages as a deterrent to youth violence. Overall 72 percent
agreed that "Mothers and fathers with strong marriages are less likely to have
children or teenagers who are violent and commit crimes." Young teenage boys in
particular seem to be crying out through this survey for a stable home life.
Fully 85 percent of males aged 13-15 surveyed said that strong marriages were
important.

Teens are incredibly perceptive and had solid answers to this dilemma too. Far from recoiling at parental authority and advice from parents, kids see them as an important part of the solution. Their top three solutions, in order are:
1. Parents who commit to marriage and stay involved in their kids' lives.
2. Positive role models who participate in kids' lives.
3. Teaching moral principles to youth.

Let us ponder the conclusion of the survey as we embark on a new year...

Youth violence is a scourge that speaks sadly about the present state of our
culture. But the attitudes of our children should offer us great hope. Far from
being nihilistic, self-absorbed, and operating in a moral vacuum, our kids seem
to have a better grasp of this problem than we might think. The teens we
surveyed identified the root causes of youth violence and several solutions.
Perhaps our first step in curing this cultural cancer is to listen to their
prescriptions.

Happy New Year everyone!!!