There are so many things going on in the lives of our youths. They are faced with so many obstacles today that some of us cant even fathom. Especially our young males, whose minds are so corrupt that they dont even know which end is the way out for them. These young lives are falling apart daily with drugs, diseases, poverty, lack of discipline, lack of parental care, etc. They dont have even know of their child hood years because many are forced into the adult world quickly. Where are they headed today? What will be of their future? These are what we call our future generations....where will The Bahamas be when they are ready to take charge...not saying that they are not already!

How are we to teach our young males to be the head of the household/ respect of self, life, the fear of God, respect for women? Their main problem is dealing with Conflict. How are we to teach the young females to do the same and yet still know her place in society without getting lost in the mix of it all?

These are not just a generation of wipers but the generation with the lack of guidance and proper commnication in their lives. A generation who lacks love, real love. A generation whose future is bleak. Where will the Bahamas be in the near future with unsettled Youths?

Any ideas???? Do you believe the government is doing enough? Do you think we are responsible for this generation?

Good topic.

Well one thing I dislike right now is this 'thug culture' that is perpetuating the whole world & is influencing our youth here in The Bahamas big time. Every one wants to be a thug & glorifies the lifestyle.

I think bad parenting has a lot to do with this. Children these days don't know right from wrong. Good has become bad & bad has become good.

How do we turn things around? Good question. Going to church & getting saved? I don't think it's as simple as that. Beating kids is still not going to help. Everybody in jail got plenty cut-skin growing up. Some have told me it didn't make a difference but only made them angry.

We need to penetrate the minds of these youngsters somehow. I believe that is where true rehabilitation starts.

Any other suggestions?

i think it starts with education.... i know i know someone is going to chime in about educations starts in the home blah blah blah.... but my whole thing is that our current education system does not seem to expect anything good from the students... the curriculum is totally lacking and i honestly feel most people are just bored in school... there seems to be no real guidance... they say learn this and this and this because it's gonna be on your bjc or bgcse... not because it will help u to develop this kind of career once you've finished... or you'd be able to solve this or that problem of the nation with this skill... as a student, when you ask more on a certain topic the teacher more timez than not they say that it's not gonna be on the test so don't worry about it... well that might have been the difference between that student becoming a great marine biologist or a common crook... you never know what is going to be the spark that starts a fire of positivity in a person... i just feel like if more ppl felt like they were actually learning useful information they'd pay attention... then we wouldn't hafta have a national debate on whether or not the average grade for bgcse for the year was an F or a D...
also, it seems to me that it is fairly obvious to tell what a child is really interested in at a young age... so if they are interested in cars, for example, showing that person how physics and art and mechanix combined can take them from customizing a car to designing their own car from scratch... well i'm just saying they may take their classes more seriously because there is a vested interest.... guidance man... direction... if you sayin you kno what, being that tourism is our number one industry let's really break down what's going on for the students so that they can see what is what and where help is needed and where innovation is needed and what CAREERS (not jobs!!!!) are available in the field they can better prepare themselves for the workforce.... same with agriculture, fisheries, entrepreneurship... i think this is the reason now why everyone goes away to become a pediatrician but not too many pediatric uncologists round da place... or all these dern ppl hoo go away to become accountants and lawyers.... and then there are the masses who major in psychology.... sighz.... if there was a national plan in place that established national goalz that we all could work towards as a unit i think that a lot of these problemz simply wouldnt exist... '
my ideas, of course do not tackle the issues of growing up without a father figure and religion... simply because i don't know what would be the answer... i do believe tho, that education from this kind of standpoint would encourage ppl to be responsible and accountable, not only to themselves, but to the wider public and we all would reap the benefitz....

Thanks BW..... I believe that you are correct in penetrating the minds of the youths but how and by whom? This is where it needs to start. Also It is easier to said than to done.

When dealing with the children in the educational system....Children spend most of their times in school but as soon as they leave school they fall back into the slums, that came out of. They are engluf with matters and situations, stuff that goes on in their communities. It is not as easy as it seems to reach children who have been through a lot in the few hours they are out school.
The curriculum does connect what the children is learning to the outside world. But it is just that teachers are pressed to have students ready for those exams by the Ministry of Education.

Once children are messed up in the first five years, it's difficult getting them on the right course after that. I guess the future of the Bahamas wasn't and still isnt important to Bahamians. Or else things would have turned out more differently.

i think it starts with education.... i know i know someone is going to chime in about educations starts in the home blah blah blah.... but my whole thing is that our current education system does not seem to expect anything good from the students... the curriculum is totally lacking and i honestly feel most people are just bored in school... there seems to be no real guidance... they say learn this and this and this because it's gonna be on your bjc or bgcse... not because it will help u to develop this kind of career once you've finished... or you'd be able to solve this or that problem of the nation with this skill... as a student, when you ask more on a certain topic the teacher more timez than not they say that it's not gonna be on the test so don't worry about it... well that might have been the difference between that student becoming a great marine biologist or a common crook... you never know what is going to be the spark that starts a fire of positivity in a person... i just feel like if more ppl felt like they were actually learning useful information they'd pay attention... then we wouldn't hafta have a national debate on whether or not the average grade for bgcse for the year was an F or a D...
also, it seems to me that it is fairly obvious to tell what a child is really interested in at a young age... so if they are interested in cars, for example, showing that person how physics and art and mechanix combined can take them from customizing a car to designing their own car from scratch... well i'm just saying they may take their classes more seriously because there is a vested interest.... guidance man... direction... if you sayin you kno what, being that tourism is our number one industry let's really break down what's going on for the students so that they can see what is what and where help is needed and where innovation is needed and what CAREERS (not jobs!!!!) are available in the field they can better prepare themselves for the workforce.... same with agriculture, fisheries, entrepreneurship... i think this is the reason now why everyone goes away to become a pediatrician but not too many pediatric uncologists round da place... or all these dern ppl hoo go away to become accountants and lawyers.... and then there are the masses who major in psychology.... sighz.... if there was a national plan in place that established national goalz that we all could work towards as a unit i think that a lot of these problemz simply wouldnt exist... '
my ideas, of course do not tackle the issues of growing up without a father figure and religion... simply because i don't know what would be the answer... i do believe tho, that education from this kind of standpoint would encourage ppl to be responsible and accountable, not only to themselves, but to the wider public and we all would reap the benefitz....

man i was thinking baout that mahalia jackson classic "trouble of the world" as sung in imitation of life...oh the bitter irony of the Bahamian experience fro today's youth...

well one thing that I notice with today's children is that they are not given chores to do at home. washing dishes, sweeping & moping, washing the car, raking the yard, etc. these simple chores help to develope a good work ethic in children that would be very valuable when they grow up. and yes boys need to learn domestic chores as well, if not they will not be able to take care of themselves when they become adults. instead they will marry a woman just to have someone wash, iron & cook for them. that is so insulting to women.

not all children in the bottom are falling or failing. there are many eagles in the bottom who fly high. too many children just want to play basketball all day on the public courts. I see this everyday with my own eyes. sometimes I tell them to please give it a break & go home & find something more productive to do...like chores.

and whenever I see young boys wearing their pants half off their backsides I tell them in a very firm voice to pull up their pants cause no-one wants to see their hips. they always comply. that tells me that these boys actually want & need guidance & someone to tell them what to do. and it seems they really appreciate it.

I think bad parenting has a lot to do with this.........


Say no more....you've just won the $1 MILLION jackpot!!!!!!


We could cry all we want about the gov, and church need to do more, but this is where the rubber meets the road IMO.

...there seems to be no real guidance... they say learn this and this and this because it's gonna be on your bjc or bgcse... not because it will help u to develop this kind of career once you've finished... or you'd be able to solve this or that problem of the nation with this skill...

also, it seems to me that it is fairly obvious to tell what a child is really interested in at a young age... so if they are interested in cars, for example, showing that person how physics and art and mechanix combined can take them from customizing a car to designing their own car from scratch...

if there was a national plan in place that established national goalz that we all could work towards as a unit i think that a lot of these problemz simply wouldnt exist... '


Very good insights! I agree.

some one said education,

i have to disagree. it starts with the proper home enviroment and proper parents. plain and simple this is the problem.

i know alot pple say kids dont listen to their parents etc to a certian extent that is true but it is mostly false. n e child development specialist will tell u the first yrs of a child life is the most important. this is when u instill morales, values, and rules to live by.

during these yrs too many parents let their kids see them do stupidness and they let them watch a bunch of stupidness on tv. have yall ever heard young children say my mummy say, my daddy say u ever see them copy what their parents do. these r the yrs i am talkin about, that the time to teach not when they man and woman with corrupt mentality.

sadly i must say that this situation is a wild stallion that cant be broken i want yall to look at the people with kids these dys.

my only question i ask now is how did we get like this. when i say we i dont mean only the bahamas but all over. kids going on tv b slappin their parents, cursin out teachers, ask a kid to pick up after themselves and they rollin their eyes. where did we or should i say the previous generation go wrong?

....where did we or should i say the previous generation go wrong?

It is very difficult for parents to instill values in their kids when they don’t have them themselves. That is the problem! The mess some kids are in springs back to messed up parents, mostly. When these kids start having kids we will see more of the same, or worse.

It is very difficult for parents to instill values in their kids when they don’t have them themselves. That is the problem! The mess some kids are in springs back to messed up parents, mostly. When these kids start having kids we will see more of the same, or worse.

So true. In a nut shell our moral,social and spiritual compass is near a gigantic magnet!

It is very difficult for parents to instill values in their kids when they don’t have them themselves. That is the problem! The mess some kids are in springs back to messed up parents, mostly. When these kids start having kids we will see more of the same, or worse.


Well this is true but after the parents mess up it is left for the rest of us to do what? Because most of the times it is the rest of the people in the community or the Bahamain society who get to see the other side to these children. We are witnesses to what is happening today; kids having kids and believe in giving the kids the freedom and the things, that they did not have thinking that it will be better, when it is getting worst.

This is where most parents are in denial that they have brought their children up wrong. Many will never admit that they are bad parents.

Kids learn, not just from Mum and Dad, but from society as a whole. Kids need to know that their society cares about them. They must also know what will be tolerated and what will not. They need to know that there will be swift and terrible justice visited on the transgressor, and acceptance and even reward for those that follow societies rules. We, the society, don’t do that as much as we used to. We are to absorbed in ourselves.
Well this is true but after the parents mess up it is left for the rest of us to do what?
We need a focal point around which to rally. At one time it was the Church but the Churches (some of them) have now become part of the problem. Some are still fighting the good fight but they are few. Politicians seem to be to busy catering to our, and their, greed. And we the people have allowed our values to slip. We only seem interested in that which immediately touches us. Our society needs an upgrade, or better yet a rebuild.

I still think that religions could be the answer. Notice I said religions? There are many here. They need to come together, under one banner, to work together, to learn from each other and to present a united front. (We should also include some Atheists that have a concern for the kids and any politicians that have their hearts in the right place.) Religion still has power here, though often misdirected, it still has power. It has the numbers (people) and is still supported by many. Religion has a number of charismatic leaders both in the clergy and some devoted lay people. What we need now is someone to bring all these groups together and to get the ball rolling. I do believe that given a number of years, and it would take years, a new society built on common values - agreed to by all, could emerge.

It is true that the kids need leadership and direction, but so do the adults. Kids are but a reflection of the adults and the society adults have allowed to waste away.

Kids learn, not just from Mum and Dad, but from society as a whole. Kids need to know that their society cares about them. They must also know what will be tolerated and what will not. They need to know that there will be swift and terrible justice visited on the transgressor, and acceptance and even reward for those that follow societies rules. We, the society, don’t do that as much as we used to. We are to absorbed in ourselves.
We need a focal point around which to rally. At one time it was the Church but the Churches (some of them) have now become part of the problem. Some are still fighting the good fight but they are few. Politicians seem to be to busy catering to our, and their, greed. And we the people have allowed our values to slip. We only seem interested in that which immediately touches us. Our society needs an upgrade, or better yet a rebuild.
I still think that religions could be the answer. Notice I said religions? There are many here. They need to come together, under one banner, to work together, to learn from each other and to present a united front. (We should also include some Atheists that have a concern for the kids and any politicians that have their hearts in the right place.) Religion still has power here, though often misdirected, it still has power. It has the numbers (people) and is still supported by many. Religion has a number of charismatic leaders both in the clergy and some devoted lay people. What we need now is someone to bring all these groups together and to get the ball rolling. I do believe that given a number of years, and it would take years, a new society built on common values - agreed to by all, could emerge.
It is true that the kids need leadership and direction, but so do the adults. Kids are but a reflection of the adults and the society adults have allowed to waste away.


You said RELIGIONS why? Because how i see it, it is difficult for those of the different religions to agree on certain issues as it is now. And as i see it there are people who are having enough problems being devoted to their own religion so why would you feel that it would make a difference in this case?