Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In follow-up to some of the statements that have been made regarding young people at risk in that 14 to 16 age group, I’d like to add my observations and comments, and question if our government could do more to support parents that are going through a difficult time with their teenagers.
Mr. Ramsay shared a story of a mother’s frustration. It seems that she can only sit by helplessly while observing her daughter making choices that may change the course of her life permanently, and not for the good.
First of all, let’s get the myth off the table that this only happens in someone else’s family, or to children of parents who must have failed in some way along the parenthood path. Young people from homes of all socio and economic and even religious backgrounds can go through a phase that can put their well-being in jeopardy. They are of an age where the parents have very few discipline tools at their disposal to counter this quest for control and seeming disregard for boundaries. I’m sure if we surveyed even the leaders sitting in this room today, some would admit that they put their parents through more than a few sleepless nights of worry, and to some extent this may be some rite of passage and no irreparable harm results. But for too many, these risky choices made in these tender years set a young person on a path of destructive behaviour and unhealthy choices.
As Minister Miltenberger expressed earlier in the week, there seems little that parents or authorities can do to intervene due to the rights and autonomy of a young person, the right to choose for themselves where they go, who they associate with and what they do. So what can we do as a government to support parents who fear for the well-being of their children and look to the social workers, police, teachers and other parents and this government to help support them help their child make it through these years intact?
Here’s how I’ve heard so many of these stories unfold. Little Johnny is a good student, an accomplished athlete, an all around good kid. Then comes the high school years, the peer pressure, the temptations and the next thing we know Johnny is out behind the school smoking dope with a bunch of his friends. Some may say innocent enough, but it is illegal and it can be the start of much worse things.
Some parents tune into it right away and it’s off to a strict private school, and for those who can impose this and afford it, maybe it’s a solution, but what about everyone else? Now the stakes are raised and there’s experimentation with harder drugs and excessive alcohol and the rebellion is in full swing. Now the problem becomes each and every decision being made in this downward spiral is made under the influence of impaired judgment and a sense of being invincible.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. Some kids will come to their senses and pull back. They find an appeal of such choices worn off and turn their attention to wholesome pursuits. But what about the ones who don’t, the ones entangled in a life of struggle with addictions? What can we as a government do to support the parents and caregivers through these years? I don’t think we can throw up our hands and say hey, you’re on your own. They are people with a right to their own choices, even if these choices are unquestionably bad choices.
I believe that we need to do more to support parents, maybe counselling, coping skills, the understanding of other parents who have been there, social workers specially trained in the management of these types of behaviours, training for educators who can detect early on and liaise with parents of children who are showing the signs of destructive behaviour, maybe even placement options, not necessarily foster care, but alternative care with programming to teach and help young people to set better boundaries for themselves.
Mr. Speaker, in question period today I’ll have further questions on this matter for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Kam Lake, Mr. Ramsay.
