Tony Blair tackles anti-social children "pre-birth"

[noxlumos]

What does everyone think about Tony Blair's latests idea to tackle "problem children" before they are born by threatening their young and unmarried mother's with sanctions if they don't agree to the Govt "keeping a close eye on them"?

[Goodsoulette]

We encounter just as many problems from public school children as we do council estate children, in my neck of the woods. The only difference is that the posh kids sound a little posher. I am an unmarried mother and now a single unmarried mother and I can assure you I dont need keeping an eye on. It really pees me off, I work hard, I dont sponge and my kids are polite.

[mimififi]

I agree, it is the atitude all over the country, not just in 'certain societies' that problem children exist.

I (as many of you know) worked in a secondary school and, don't get me wrong, it was horrible in the true sense of the word and I doubt I will ever return to school to teach at all ever again. One of the problems the children had in my school (apart from the government legislation for teachers and the apathetic management) was a big drugs issue. Strange for such a rural school.

Where did they get the drugs from? THe Rich kids down the road in the private school that used to bring them in at the beginning of term and sell them to all the thickies in the comp...

The issue of problem children in multi faceted. The problem old Tonus Blairus will provide will be all the parents that aren't really a problem being hounded and harrassed by legal do gooders and the kids that really do need watching such as the Climbie's will go unchecked as the social services don't have the time/inclination/courage to deal with them....

I fear for our society and in particular today's children and tomorrows leaders. What is the answer? I don't honestly know.

[noxlumos]

I believe this is the most offensive, bigoted, foolish and unhelpful piece of legislation ever to be suggested in the history of Tony Blair's long list of appalling freedom curtailing ideas.
Most young and /or single people are excellent parents and they do not need tarring with a very universal brush because TB has some new, strange, big brother like notion in his tiny mind. He really is verging on madness if he thinks that the answer to anti-social behaviour is to sanction and bully parents. What about people who parent their kids by alternative methods like my wife and myself? Would we have our kids taken into care because we don't want a health visitor instructing us on the structure the Govt would like to see in our household? Not everyone, single or married, accepts that the best way to rear kids is Tony Blair's way, in fact I, for one, am not impressed by the behaviour of his kid who was face down in a puddle of his own vomit because of an underage drinking spree.How lovely.It seems we must all aspire to have kids like that. No thanks, I'll rear them my own way and avoid all that if it's all the same to him and I'm sure 99% of young single parents feel the same way.
It seems to me he is saying "rear your child the way we tell you, or we will stop any money that we pay to you and make your child's life even worse", then if that doesn't work they will ultimately take the child into care. And do what with it?
Kids in care statistically are more likely to suffer from mental illness and end up in prison, so he'll actually be creating a whole generation of exactly what he was trying to avoid.
The man is a moron and unfit for office.

[Goodsoulette]

Eugenics would never work in practise anyway because nature always graduates back to the mean.