Children Burnt to Death!

It sounds like a broken record that plays over and over again. A bad song that seems to haunt you over the radio waves. Once again the heart wrenching news echoes in your mind, from the printed press to the evening news broadcast by the TV and the radio, "Children die in fire... parents left the children unattended." This happened so many times last year, the year before and the year before that, and yet it happens again this year. On Friday afternoon, of last week three (3) children, all under the age of ten (10) perished in a fire that gutted their home. After the smoke subsided and the fire went out it was discovered that these minors, were locked up in the house and left unattended by their mother, who went to a shop.

This has been happening too many times now and yet these parents can't seem to get a clue from incidents like these that they cannot leave such young children unattended! Most of these incidents occur in lower income homes, where these parents can't afford a nanny. But common sense aloe should dictate to these parents, especially the mothers, that you cannot leave such young, curious children home alone. Then again, as one of my friends always say, "common sense not suh common". In this latest incident the deceased children's grand uncle reported that this was not the first time the mother had left the children unattended. So obviously this sort of behaviour is common practice for this mother. Such action, too me, is just pure carelessness, despite of how dire the situation is that prompts parents to leave children at home alone.

Both my parents worked six (6) days a week when I was a child, and even though I had the benefit of my bigger sisters being at home for a while in my childhood they weren't home all the time as they had work too, and they left by the time I was ten. However, my mother ensured that I stayed with my adult neighbours who were home and if they were not I was off to work with her or my father or even my bigger sister. (Trust mi, dem days at work did boring!) Everyone's situation is different, maybe I'm being too judgmental, but leaving such young children home unattended even for a few minutes in inexcusable.

When are some of these parents wake up, get some sense, and stop doing such careless, dumb things? How many children should loose their lives due to the carelessness of the ones who are responsible to protect them? I hope this will be a wakeup call, but then again it happened so many times before, and yet it still happens, so that's just wishful thinking!