Parents, mind the children!
Nov 24, 2004
SIR— Most parents are too busy, especially those in the civil service and the business world, to go and see their children at school. I think it is important to visit your children and find out about their behaviour and performance at school.
SIR— Most parents are too busy, especially those in the civil service and the business world, to go and see their children at school. I think it is important to visit your children and find out about their behaviour and performance at school.
Because they are not visited, some children end up stealing. Sometimes they lack stationery.
Some Sundays in the month are the days to visit the children. I would advise that parents do not forget to visit the children and talk about various matters in their life at school.
Ismail Kalagala
Kawanda, Wakiso District
SIR— It is sad to always hear of children being tortured by their stepmothers and the women just get away with it.
Today you hear that a child has been starved to death or beaten to coma. The next day he is burnt with hot tongs and his leg broken. The list is long. And the argument for the ‘punishment’ is that a kid has stolen sh100 or eaten the vegetables.
These are trivial issues. What does a starving kid do if he or she is hungry? In the absence of anything to eat, a starving child can even eat human waste.
The victim’s father or uncle who is supposed to be in charge of the home and see that everything is all right, in many cases, colludes with the so-called wife to abuse the child. By the time the press publishes the story, the victim is either writhing in pain in a hospital or dead already. And the offender, who committed the offence is, in most cases, left to go scot-free. How can a woman do such a thing in your house and you the man just look on?
It is high time the law took up child torture seriously.
Joseph Olanyo
Kampala
Because they are not visited, some children end up stealing. Sometimes they lack stationery.
Some Sundays in the month are the days to visit the children. I would advise that parents do not forget to visit the children and talk about various matters in their life at school.
Ismail Kalagala
Kawanda, Wakiso District
SIR— It is sad to always hear of children being tortured by their stepmothers and the women just get away with it.
Today you hear that a child has been starved to death or beaten to coma. The next day he is burnt with hot tongs and his leg broken. The list is long. And the argument for the ‘punishment’ is that a kid has stolen sh100 or eaten the vegetables.
These are trivial issues. What does a starving kid do if he or she is hungry? In the absence of anything to eat, a starving child can even eat human waste.
The victim’s father or uncle who is supposed to be in charge of the home and see that everything is all right, in many cases, colludes with the so-called wife to abuse the child. By the time the press publishes the story, the victim is either writhing in pain in a hospital or dead already. And the offender, who committed the offence is, in most cases, left to go scot-free. How can a woman do such a thing in your house and you the man just look on?
It is high time the law took up child torture seriously.
Joseph Olanyo
Kampala