Byimana case is an indicator of bigger parenting challenges

SIX teenagers accused of hatching a plan to set their school on fire and executing it three times between April and June appeared before Muhanga Intermediate Court last week. The teenagers, all senior one and two male students, are aged between 14 and 16. The Byimana School of Sciences incident is just a tip of the iceberg of the growing parenting challenges. It is every parent’s nightmare to wake up in the morning and discover that your child is involved in such an act. The number of related cases involving school children is on the rise. Police has recorded several cases of school going children involved in drug abuse and alcoholism across the country.This issue has two dimensions. It should not be viewed entirely as an indicator of a problem with behavior of children today. It could also be evidence of society’s inability to develop adequate support for the family institution today which is troubled by economic difficulties, alcohol or drug abuse and violence. Disruptive family conditions may be the principal reason why more children are engaging in heinous crimes like burning schools. Apart from paying fees and looking at the report card, parents should monitor the conduct of children outside the school during holidays. Parents must take a bold move to follow their children beyond the school gate. What a student does out of school highly impacts on their behaviour. If a student is not well behaved under the close watch of parents, chances are that at school they might be worse. It is, therefore, important that parents keep a close eye on their children when they are out of school. As it stands now the cost of a parent not monitoring their children while out of school could be a painful expulsion from that dream school your child is attending or it could ruin the future of your child altogether.

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Byimana case is an indicator of bigger parenting challenges