Well, this is very timely…I’ve just been debating these very things with my husband as we walked our dog - and come to very similar conclusions. This morning, I’ve been picking up litter and sorting out some issues resulting from the anti-social behaviour of a group of teenage boys who have recently moved into new housing near us. We are lucky to have lovely woods to walk in on our doorstep - in which they are literally digging up the paths to make bike ramps, damaging trees in the process & endangering walkers (including our 93yo neighbour) when they race round blind corners at speed as we try to enjoy our walks. This morning’s litter results from a Domino’s order placed by them to my address. It seems they waited for the delivery guy across from our house after I’d sent him away saying we hadn’t ordered pizza & then ate it in the woods & left the rubbish outside my house.
This is an escalating issue in which I am trying to engage all parties. I’m actually pleased the lads are on their bikes, playing outside & trying to build things rather than closeted in their rooms online looking at goodness knows what. But there’s no understanding that this is a shared space. I’ve tried engaging positively with them, asked them to take their litter home & not to damage the trees, to be mindful of other users of the space - to no avail. They say they have nowhere else to go - and I have sympathy with that. I’ve tried engaging with the Borough & Parish Councils & local MP about the lack of leisure facilities & activities for teenagers - met with a shrug & a comment about there being no money. I haven’t even bothered approaching the parents as I suspect that would be met with another shrug, or worse!
I totally agree that this is a collective responsibility issue - but collective responsibility only works if we are all collectively responsible! It’s hard to know what to do - but I plan to continue to lobby my elected representatives about the wider issues & point to brilliant initiatives like Physiology First & Youth Shed (similar to Men’s Sheds) which are supporting teenagers with essential leisure opportunities & life skills.
Oh gosh that sounds like a really stressful living environment for you. It's hard isn't it? Well done for trying to find the best way forward. It's not an overnight fix, that's for sure. None of this is - but we have to keep trying to set it on a better path.
I have a lot of sympathy for teens today. School environments are hostile in so many ways, they have advantages we didn’t have in terms of material things but also so many more pressures, chief of which (Smartphones/Social Media) were unleashed on them without thought for the potential negative consequences.
Well, this is very timely…I’ve just been debating these very things with my husband as we walked our dog - and come to very similar conclusions. This morning, I’ve been picking up litter and sorting out some issues resulting from the anti-social behaviour of a group of teenage boys who have recently moved into new housing near us. We are lucky to have lovely woods to walk in on our doorstep - in which they are literally digging up the paths to make bike ramps, damaging trees in the process & endangering walkers (including our 93yo neighbour) when they race round blind corners at speed as we try to enjoy our walks. This morning’s litter results from a Domino’s order placed by them to my address. It seems they waited for the delivery guy across from our house after I’d sent him away saying we hadn’t ordered pizza & then ate it in the woods & left the rubbish outside my house.
This is an escalating issue in which I am trying to engage all parties. I’m actually pleased the lads are on their bikes, playing outside & trying to build things rather than closeted in their rooms online looking at goodness knows what. But there’s no understanding that this is a shared space. I’ve tried engaging positively with them, asked them to take their litter home & not to damage the trees, to be mindful of other users of the space - to no avail. They say they have nowhere else to go - and I have sympathy with that. I’ve tried engaging with the Borough & Parish Councils & local MP about the lack of leisure facilities & activities for teenagers - met with a shrug & a comment about there being no money. I haven’t even bothered approaching the parents as I suspect that would be met with another shrug, or worse!
I totally agree that this is a collective responsibility issue - but collective responsibility only works if we are all collectively responsible! It’s hard to know what to do - but I plan to continue to lobby my elected representatives about the wider issues & point to brilliant initiatives like Physiology First & Youth Shed (similar to Men’s Sheds) which are supporting teenagers with essential leisure opportunities & life skills.
Oh gosh that sounds like a really stressful living environment for you. It's hard isn't it? Well done for trying to find the best way forward. It's not an overnight fix, that's for sure. None of this is - but we have to keep trying to set it on a better path.
I have a lot of sympathy for teens today. School environments are hostile in so many ways, they have advantages we didn’t have in terms of material things but also so many more pressures, chief of which (Smartphones/Social Media) were unleashed on them without thought for the potential negative consequences.