[Solved] Learning experience

Koka - did you see the Crime Stats on knife crime?

Found this table from those that responded as having carried a knife (see http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs08/hosb0908.pdf - table 2.7 - very boring but your post has been bugging me and so i had to find out.... so it says of the 3% of young people admitted they had carried a knife and of those : -

1. How often? Once or twice 54%; Three of four times 18%; Between 5 and 10 times 11%; 10 times or more 17%

2. Type of knife carried? Pen knife 46%; Flick knife 20%; Kitchen knife 12%; Other type of knife 22%

3. Main reason for carrying knife? Protection 85%; In case got into fight 8%; Another reason 7%;

4. Used knife to threaten someone? Yes 4%; No 96%

5. Used knife to injure someone? Yes 1%; No 99%

Now i am highly sceptical on the reliability of these stats...... why would anyone tell the truth about this.

BUT they are all we have and so given only 12% of those knives carried are kitchen knives..... NO i dont think we need to count the knifes in the kitchen draw.....

Obviously we have no idea what the other type of knife is and lets face it you might well be willing to answer honestly if you were just carrying a pen knife....

The question is what can a father do to affect this? And what has led to all this in the first place? Lack of role models? Lack of things to do for young people? Breakdown of the family?

Recently I told my children to empty their school bags before leaving for school early one morning (one is in year 10 and the other in year 8) Boy oh boy ...i got so much flack for making this decision. It ranged from the question of trust, to not believing in them then there is the question of respecting their privacy and all what not. Well, I have satisfied my conscience at least they now know that dad can ask to check their bags and would think twice before doing anything silly. I am not their father to win points or get favours I am there to make sure they are safe and at least try to become a proper person in the society

I can understand their reaction - nobody likes to think that they can't be trusted or believed and teenagers can be very private people so they would see this as an invasion of their personal space.

Perhaps a general discussion about knife crime would be beneficial and to find out their views etc. After all there have been various cases highlighted in the media recently involving teenagers and knifings - you may be surprised by what they have to say. Of course we all want to keep our children safe, but like all things that young people might be into, such as drugs, alcohol, underage [censored] etc, keep the lines of communication open.