Dear Editor,
I am writing to express my opinion on the recent increase in cases of children being left unattended by their parents in poor hygienic condition and without food. This is truly a grave problem and one that demands immediate course of action to solve. There are several reasons behind the occurrence of these incidents and I would like to suggest some ways to avoid similar incidents.
First of all, the factor that contributes most to these cases is the parents. Sometimes the parents are forced to do so because both of them have to work to support the living. Single parents are even more hard-pressed because they have to do the job of two people. They may have to work for long hours as well so that they rarely have the leisure to take care of their children and their house, leading to the poor hygienic condition and the lack of food for the children. Sometimes the parents are simply irresponsible, and do not care what-so-ever that might happen to their kids. These people are usually habitual alcoholics, drug abusers, or gamblers, who are so broken themselves that they cannot – in fact they are unable to – bear the responsibility of raising a child. Most of the time they are either incoherent or just away from view and reach. As such, it is no wonder that the children are in such a pitiable situation.
Sometimes, the parents are ignorant or unreliable. They may be so young that they do not know how to take care of themselves yet. Or they may be mentally unstable or physically impaired that they neither have the proper means nor the physical strength to look after their children. These cases are becoming more and more common as youngsters nowadays are more open-minded towards sex. The children are left unattended because their parents have no idea about how to take care of them.
Secondly, the fact the there is not enough temporary child care service provided for the parents is another cause of the ‘home-alone’ children problem. As mentioned above, some of the parents do not have time to look after their children. Then it is essential that there is someone to stand in the position of the parents. However, the truth is that these services are either too expensive or too hard to find. There is a serious shortage in child care centres and this causes a major problem for the parents. If they cannot find a place to temporarily keep their children in, and they cannot afford to hire a maid, they will have no choice but to leave their children at home. The children will be left in poor hygienic condition because there is no one to bathe them and to clean the house. They will have no food to eat as no one has time to prepare some. Sadly, child neglect cases are the result.
Thirdly and lastly, as Hong Kong people have to focus on working hard to avoid losing their jobs, there is scarcely time for one to be on intimate terms with neighbours. A good relationship takes time to build and many of us just do not have the time. This leads to the indifference in people’s hearts. Working parents have less people to turn to in case of need. No wonder child neglect cases arise.
To address the issue, the government could open more child care centres to alleviate the stress of the parents. Courses about how to take care of children could be run jointly by the government and community centres in different districts of Hong Kong. These measures can undoubtedly dig up the roots of the problem because the parents can have a place to keep their children in for a short time. Moreover, inexperienced and ignorant parents will have a chance to learn all about child care. A hotline could also be set up by the police and Welfare Department for any reports of children being mistreated. The hotline should be widely publicized so that people know who to find when they witness such cases. The government could even provide subsidies for parents who are genuinely in need of financial aid to take proper care of their children. There could be social workers on duty in housing estates to keep an eye on the situation. The government could try to encourage harmony between neighbours so that busy parents can sometimes leave their children in the hands of someone they trust.
In conclusion, to truly care for the future generation, the government and parents have to pay concerted efforts and cooperate to solve the problem. Only through sufficient parental care can children be nurtured to be healthy in both body and mind.
Yours faithfully,
Chris Wong