The charity Barnardo’s has released a poll showing over half the country thinks children are beginning to behave like animals.
Forty-nine percent of 2,021 people surveyed thought children now pose more of a danger to their peers and to adults with 43 percent saying something has to be done to protect them from youngsters.
Fifty-four percent thought children are beginning to behave like animals and 45 percent agreed that people refer to kids as “feral” because they behave that way.
Barnardo’s Chief Executive Martin Narey says it is appalling that people think that way.
What do you think?
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12 comments so far
Whilst we welcome other charities constructively carrying out research into youth behavior, it is irresponsible of us to allow the 11 million children and young people this morning to hear that 53% of adults think they are animals – is this really a positive example to set our young people?
Reports like this are catalyst in fuelling the hysteria and stereotyping about the youth of Briton today.
- Posted by Emma-Jane Cross, Chief Executive of BeatbullyingBy associating young people to animals you are only inviting controversy and creating news that unfortunately is to the detriment of our young people and society – no good can come from this.
I think it is an insult to animals - the parents bring up their offspring to be well behaved. It is the fault of bad parenting that creates these children without respect, manners and generally how to behave like a decent human being.
- Posted by susan jonesWhen adults refer to children as “animals” they mean that they are destructive and out of control. Animals generally are neither of those things and should not be associated with such behaviour in humans.
Children are a product of the home environment in which they are raised, and the majority of them are raised to be well-behaved citizens. The reason that a sizeable and growing minority of them are not well-behaved is that their home environment does not provide them with the necessary stability, discipline and example set by their parents which are needed in order to teach them how to behave properly.
The cause can be placed firmly with government policies which have vastly increased the number of dysfunctional home environments through single parenting and welfare dependency fostered by the insidious doctrine that anyone and everyone has a “right” to have as many children as they choose and to live off the enforced charity of other people.
The fact that this behaviour exists is not disputed, so instead of complaining about the behaviour of the children it would be sensible to address the cause. The way to do that is simple - vote out the people whose policies have created the problem.
- Posted by AndyTruly, our offspring arrive as animals. This statement may upset a lot of people but nevertheless, babies are animals and it is our task as parents and is our responsibility to train them to fit in the society that we maintain if trouble is to be avoided.
- Posted by JimboIt occurs to me that if people do what we expect and we lower our expectations of our children to these leve, then maybe we will have a pack of animals out there - according to the banardo\\\\\\\’s survey anyway.
Once again instead of taking the holistic view and going directly to the source of the problem, we have instead chosen to stereotype and then what, kill or put in a zoo, Isnt that what we do to wild animals?
Besides, I have never seen an animal throw a rock through a window,steal,etc.
This was a fruitless research if all it yielded was that 53% of adults think that children behave like animals. That is useless information to me or anybody out there. How does it help?
Here are a few things that Barnado\\\\\\\’s should perhaps research:
I propose we look at the short term gratification idea that is now ingrained in our society, i propose that we look at the fact that children are being actively encouraged to study the lives of superficial starlets, big brother contestants, pop stars and dubious public role models, instead of focusing on how they can fundamentally improve their lives and the lives of those around them, I propose we look at how many students today have any skills that they can transfer and utilise anywhere cif they find themselves in another part of the world, i propose we look at how a celebrity magasine with some glandular starlet on the cover can take precedent over vital legislature going thvrough parliament (thats for our adults), I propose we look at the fact that britain\\\\\\\’s manufacturing industry has dwindled to such a level that all children are being taught is how to go to school, conform and be prepared for a life of consumption and no produce.
Our family unit has been chipped away through all these factors and more, and without having done the research, it does still seem that the extended family of the school unit does not in the majority provide the stability that our children need.
Barnados should research these propositions and more and come back with these results.
Now that, is research that will be eminently useful.
- Posted by Ayodeji FraserSo more than half of all adults surveyed think that children are beginning to behave like animals. Amend that view to “SOME children behave WORSE than animals” and they’ve got a point.
But why? Look no further than the parents. And who created the parents? 45 years of “inclusive” irresponsibility sponsored by successive governments, with specific intent from Labour in creating its dependent Labour-voting underclass to replace the disappearing respectable working class and cowardice from the Conservatives in the face of the vested interests determined to retain the votes of that underclass.
So don’t complain about the “animals”. We all voted for them. Over and over and over again. And as Andy says, the way to deal with the problem is at its root. Vote out the people whose policies have created the problem and tell the other lot they will get your vote only if they will eradicate the underclass by re-introducing the concept of working for a living and providing the conditions which will give every school-leaver the opportunity to do it.
- Posted by PeterSo Barnardo’s Chief Executive Martin Narey says “it is appalling that people think that way” does he?
This is the typical reality denying ‘liberal’ mindset. 50 years plus of failed left-wing policy have brought western civilization to the brink of collapse and what this idiot wants is for the public to ‘look the other way’. Anyone who really seeks to get to the root of the problem will be labeled a ‘hater’ of some sort.
The veneer of civilization is crumbling.
- Posted by Wavey DaveyIs it really surprising that people think children act like animals when commuters, who are most likely their parents, act like animals. How many times a day in rush hour do you find that someone has just push in front of you, pushed you out of the way or some other act which lacks the basic manners I belive we were all brought up with? Yet we expect children to behave differently? I cannot see the reason for that belief. That said, I don’t believe children are animals, vile or anything else they were described as in the poll. I believe in general (and of course there are exceptions) that they are exactly what our society has made them and any reflection on that is a reflection, sadly, upon ourselves.
- Posted by Mark Dnow that the govt has allowed such a questionnaire out and we know what parents think of children, let’s hear what childen have to say about parents- esp those parents who are illiterate or uneducated and those who’ve got no time to say a nice word of encouragement and love, to give a hug or to correct and discipline their own children so as to give a better chance in life.
- Posted by ashIt is revealing that most of the comments reflect the view that the survey tells us something about the behaviour of children and the failings of their parents. The misleading headline to the article doesn’t help.
The point of the survey is that the majority of people in our society dehumanise children. If we think of them as wild animals, we will treat them accordingly.
I agree with Martin Narey - it is appalling that most of us think that way.
- Posted by BrianI work in a rural, South Devon town at night. My impression is that the sixteen and under group of children in the town of Kingsbridge, Devon are rude, obnoxious and criminal by nature, un-controlled and a risk to a structured society. The police are un-willing to deal with the issues and disperse at the first sign of a problem! Without doubt, Parents are to blame! The police fail society so Government need to rule on this issue!
- Posted by Andrew CWe’ve left it a bit late. The problem now is that the parents of the sect we call yobs now are yobs themselves and their offspring will in turn be yobs, just a few more degrees violent and vicious than the present lot. We should have dealt with it at least a generation ago.
Now there’s no hope. With teachers and parents stripped of any power of discipline what can they do? They can’t even defend themselves against their children without risking prison.
So I think it’ll get worse. The do-gooders now don’t understand what kind of hell they’re letting themselves and us in for, with their softly softly misunderstood teenagers tactics.
- Posted by Dane