Parents need to take more responsibility of their children

Let's all get together and spend a couple hours talking about youth violence. Now, how big of a waste of time can that be for those in Sumter. It is now time to stop holding these get-togethers.

It is time to start bringing back the ownership of our communities. The first thing we need to do is attack the parents! We need to tell them what society is going to do to them when their children are not doing what is right.

Public school is a privilege, not a right. The taxpayer should only have to foot the bill for 12 years, not 14. Starting in the lower grades we need to ensure that each child gets the best that is offered. "No Child Left Behind" should be a parent responsibility, not a government program. Parents should be working with the school and the teacher to ensure that their children are doing their best. This means checking homework and helping with studying. If the child fails and it can be proven it is because of the lack of parental involvement, the parents pay for the repeated grade or class.

Truancy is a big problem here in Sumter. If your child is under the age of 17 they should be in school between 7 in the morning to at least 2:30 in the afternoon. Allow the police to detain all children under 17 between these hours and have the parent collect them from the police station along with a fine for failure to control their child.

A curfew is needed for all children under the age of 17. Eleven o'clock at night is a suitable time for all children to be at home with their parents. There is no exception. Children out after curfew will be detained and the parents will be fined.

If your child commits a crime, guess what, the parents will pay. If people have to pay child support for the children that they have and do not live with, so should parents whose children who are committed to DSS or incarcerated for a crime. The same rate the courts would evaluate child support to a father or mother in a divorce should be used on these parents.

Children under the age of 16 who get pregnant will be required to give the name of the father before receiving any public assistance. If the father is under age both the father and the mother would be required to attend an extensive parenting course paid for by their parents. If the father is considered an adult then rape charges would be brought.

Having a baby is not just a right. It is a responsibility to both the child and the community. It takes two to have a baby and they both should contribute to the raising of that child. It is time that we put the responsibility on the father and mother for our youth. The children of our communities need to be taught, at an early age, true morals and respect.

The federal, state, and local governments are not parents and should get out of the business of trying to be one. The government programs have all the feel-good attitudes everyone thinks are needed, but they don't work. We do not need another youth program or youth center, we need parents who want to be a parent. And if they don't want to be a parent they are going to take a big hit in their wallets.

MICHAEL W. BARRY
Sumter