LATINO PARENTS...'LET'S WAKE UP'!
Domingo Ivan Casañas
January 15, 2006
As a Latino parent I know that how we bring up our children will make them into productive citizens of this great country. There are too many activists, reporters, moviemakers and other that mistaken the Latino gang culture for the larger Latino culture or view the Latino social ills as if they were either the norm or the natural reaction to the Latino American predicament. As parents we have the responsibility to bring up our children with good morals, with God in their hearts, and with much love.
Many Latino children are in trouble nowadays. They are lost; they are at the crossroads in their life because many parents have stopped acting as parents. Tough love is needed at times in order to have this children realize the path they are choosing. If by age 20 this children are still in the wrong path statistics do not favor them because the majority of Latinos currently in the State’s prison system comprise of the 20 to 29-year-olds age group.
Many of today Latino youth due to their own alienation from mainstream culture tend to get involved with Latino gangs. Gangs are the default lifestyle for those who have fallen in the cracks between mainstream Latino and Anglo cultures. The answer to have our Latino children avoid the gangs is by having them hold onto their own norms and values. We must make them realize that being American does not mean that they need to forsake our traditional ideals and the bonds that give life meaning. We must reinforce the strong family and religious ties, as well as the healthy work ethic of the majority of Latinos, this are essentials to containing the destructive, deviant behavior of the few. For any community, two of the most important crimes fighting elements are its residents’ intolerance for anti-social behavior and its acknowledgment of the successes of average youngsters. Let’s not forget this.
Many programs are aimed at gang members in both the private and government sector. We need more programs with mission statements and local Latino role models to start up programs for our local Latino youth that are on track and want to keep each other on track with goals, enthusiasm, good morals and pursuing a good future for themselves. This is something that I do giving talks at the local High Schools.
It will also help combating Latino crime when both social institutions and the media first decriminalize Latino identity. There are several statistics put out by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics that gives us the following stats:
The Latino male child in grade 9 to 12 have the highest percentage of any other ethnic group ever having sexual intercourse, the highest 8th graders who have used illicit drugs in the previous 30 days, and the highest percentage of lifetime and current marijuana use among students in grades 9 to 12.
This is why it becomes so important for us parents to talk to our children, participate in their life, and check up on them in everyway so that we may stay on top of any possible future troubles. With love and God implanted in them, we will have a great chance to turn those that are on the wrong path and keep those that are on their way to being a positive part of our society in line. We must as parents fight against antisocial behavior. We must work together to help those that are on the wrong path. As a community we can do it! I am looking forward to continue my positive message and goal setting talks at the Junior High and High School level during this school year. However, it would be nice if we could start a special program that will help our youth conquer their goals and meet other Latinos in the community that are successful and that have made it. So wake up! And let's become the role models that we need to be for our Latino youth.
By Domingo Ivan Casañas
Many Latino children are in trouble nowadays. They are lost; they are at the crossroads in their life because many parents have stopped acting as parents. Tough love is needed at times in order to have this children realize the path they are choosing. If by age 20 this children are still in the wrong path statistics do not favor them because the majority of Latinos currently in the State’s prison system comprise of the 20 to 29-year-olds age group.
Many of today Latino youth due to their own alienation from mainstream culture tend to get involved with Latino gangs. Gangs are the default lifestyle for those who have fallen in the cracks between mainstream Latino and Anglo cultures. The answer to have our Latino children avoid the gangs is by having them hold onto their own norms and values. We must make them realize that being American does not mean that they need to forsake our traditional ideals and the bonds that give life meaning. We must reinforce the strong family and religious ties, as well as the healthy work ethic of the majority of Latinos, this are essentials to containing the destructive, deviant behavior of the few. For any community, two of the most important crimes fighting elements are its residents’ intolerance for anti-social behavior and its acknowledgment of the successes of average youngsters. Let’s not forget this.
Many programs are aimed at gang members in both the private and government sector. We need more programs with mission statements and local Latino role models to start up programs for our local Latino youth that are on track and want to keep each other on track with goals, enthusiasm, good morals and pursuing a good future for themselves. This is something that I do giving talks at the local High Schools.
It will also help combating Latino crime when both social institutions and the media first decriminalize Latino identity. There are several statistics put out by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics that gives us the following stats:
The Latino male child in grade 9 to 12 have the highest percentage of any other ethnic group ever having sexual intercourse, the highest 8th graders who have used illicit drugs in the previous 30 days, and the highest percentage of lifetime and current marijuana use among students in grades 9 to 12.
This is why it becomes so important for us parents to talk to our children, participate in their life, and check up on them in everyway so that we may stay on top of any possible future troubles. With love and God implanted in them, we will have a great chance to turn those that are on the wrong path and keep those that are on their way to being a positive part of our society in line. We must as parents fight against antisocial behavior. We must work together to help those that are on the wrong path. As a community we can do it! I am looking forward to continue my positive message and goal setting talks at the Junior High and High School level during this school year. However, it would be nice if we could start a special program that will help our youth conquer their goals and meet other Latinos in the community that are successful and that have made it. So wake up! And let's become the role models that we need to be for our Latino youth.
By Domingo Ivan Casañas
Print
Email
