Most of the parents think that their responsibilities are over once they send their children to school. They fail to realise that there should have a constant watch over the movements of their children. Our experience and the reports that are coming up in news papers reveal that instances are many, where students leave their homes under the pretext that they are going to School or College, but they do not go to Schools or Colleges and instead they keep company with bad and unwanted elements and under their influence start consuming alcoholic drinks or harmful drugs; they gradually become addicts and spoil their future and career. Parents begin to know about this only at a stage when it becomes difficult to redeem them from this habit. Parents who send their children with great hope and aspiration get totally frustrated at the fate of such children. It has been said that parents also are to be blamed for the traps in which their children have fallen.
The parents also are to understand that they should be role models to their children. If the parents consumes alcoholic drinks or harmful drugs they cannot expect their children to be free from such habits. On occasions like festivals birth anniversaries, and marriages, liquor is simply poured out and this also will only help younger members to think that after all these are not evil. Recently we had a typical experience. On a holiday, a girl student had some convulsion. Madhu of Chaitanya hospital and Raju Antony of Co-operative Medical College Trichur, who are Shanti Samithi (peace organisation) activists, who used take regular classes to students of High School classes about the ill effect of alcoholic drinks and harmful drugs.
They met the girl and made enquiries and found that she with many other students used to purchase a packet of pickles for Rs. 2 from a petty shop and consume it along with their mid-day meals. Feeling suspicious about the content, they tested the pickles in the lab and found that the pickles contained harmful drugs. This pickle is used by a large number of students at their lunch. Samithi activists got their shop raided with the help of Police and authorities and they seized the items.
I feel that the parents and teachers should show some responsibility to see the children are not falling into this kind of traps.
