Parents have been encouraged to offer a friendly environment for their children to ensure they feel accepted as a way of cushioning them against alcohol and substance abuse.
Speaking during the Judiciary Dialogue Day at Nyahururu law court premises, Peter Munyao, officer commanding Ngano police station, Nyandarua county, said unfriendly home environments and failure by parents to befriend their children have led many youngsters into alcoholism and substance abuse.
Munyao appealed to parents to always take time to have candid conversations with their children, giving them the opportunity to open up about the challenges they could be going through.
The OCS expressed deep concern over the recent loss of two lives in the Ngano area, where a boy and a girl aged 13 and 12 years respectively committed suicide.
“It is unfortunate that we are losing lives, while also destroying the future generations, simply because of not taking a keen interest on the changing dynamics of parenting,” Munyao noted.
He reiterated that children deserve their rights and, as parents and good neighbours, we have the sole responsibility of safeguarding the overall welfare of our children, expressing concern that most people nowadays have abandoned this collective responsibility.
“Even if the wayward children are not our own, they remain an integral part of the community and will continue to affect us, in one way or another, therefore we must show some level of concern,” OCS said.
Munyao decried that in the Ngano area, the majority of boys were engaging in alcoholism and substance abuse, urging members of the community to work closely with security apparatus to eliminate the vices.
On filing cases in court, the OCS lamented the high fees being charged and urged local law firms to be considerate in order to allow even low-income earners access to their services.
He also challenged the judiciary staff to dispense their services without favouritism to ensure fair dispensation of justice.
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