We need to protect our children at all times

There has never been a time such as this in my life – a time when children and adults are abducted on a daily basis.

Mothers like me are constantly anxious about the safety of their little people.

I go into panic mode when I get a call from a strange number and breathe a sigh of relief when I find my person safely at the school where he should be.

When he goes visiting on weekends, I am on edge. I am reluctant to let him out of my sight and that’s where I am – as a parent – better safe than sorry.

It makes me wonder, as parents, whether we are proactive when it comes to the security of our children.

I know some people consider my anxiety to be down to my overprotective nature, but I wonder if some people take to heart that we no longer live in safe times.

Go to any township and you’ll see kids as young as four years running around, carefree, with not an adult in sight. Older siblings carrying the responsibility of being the guardians.

Heaven forbid there is an abduction when the line of defence between the abductor and the four-year-old is a six-year-old.

Why are we, as parents, so lax in times such as these?

When I grew up playing until the streetlights come on in the dusty streets of Soweto, there was no threat. Things today are vastly different.

The element of stranger danger has evolved and while our children deserve to enjoy their youth to the fullest, more than anything else we should ensure they are safe.

I often wonder if I am too paranoid, or is it that some parents are just too relaxed?

Our parenting needs to evolve in line with the times. Unfortunately, our times are dark and murky, they are not child friendly.

Our watchful eyes over our children must never wander and they must never slumber nor sleep.

These are troubled times all over the world and we as parents need to be as protective as hawks. Mall bathrooms are no longer safe; play areas in restaurants are just as unsafe.

Can we be just a little more protective of our children?

Kekeletso Nakeli-Dhliwayo.

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