Youngsters on why adults fear them

Dec 7 2008 by Coreena Ford, Sunday Sun

CHILDREN have had a rough ride of late.

They’ve been described as “animals” who are running riot, they make adults feel unsafe to walk the streets and are generally out of control, according to those who took part in a recent survey.

Yet the same report — unveiled by children’s charity Barnado’s — says thousands take part in community work, act as carers and carry out charity work. The Sunday Sun thought it was time to give youngsters a chance to have their say.

We set up a special survey — Demons or Darlings? — to ask a series of probing set questions . . . and the results are just as saddening as they are revealing. We invited youngsters to tell us if they had clashed with figures of authority, how they spend their spare time, whether they feel they have enough leisure facilities and how they feel towards adults.

More than half of our young participants appear to have been treated unfairly and some have even suggested curfews and a revival of National Service as a way to break down barriers between the generations.

V 89.5 per cent say they can fully appreciate why adults fear children, and almost all are resigned to the way they have been demonised by society.

V Almost half have been moved on by police or figures of authority for what they believe to be no good reason.

V 84.2pc believe adults have become less tolerant towards young people, describing adults as “judgmental”, “over-sensitive” and “over-protective”.

Jonathan Ewen, director of Barnardo’s North East, said: “It is a great shame and a tragedy that some of the young people who responded to the survey seem to be so accepting of, and resigned to, the intolerance towards them.

“This intolerance, which is so prevalent in British society today, really does matter and it should be tackled.

“It is a terrible situation for the vast majority of young people, who are peaceful and law abiding, or who contribute to society, but who can be stereotyped as trouble-making just because of their age bracket.”

Here are the survey results in full, with comments from participants . . .

1 DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHY ADULTS ARE FEARFUL OF CROWDS OF TEENAGERS?

V YES 89.5 per cent V NO 10.5pc

“They feel vulnerable as teenagers are in groups and look intimidating.”

“Children are becoming more violent and have less respect for elders.”

“There is no need to be scared of teenagers! Teenagers are stereotyped and in my opinion it’s bang out of order. Not all teens are drug-taking yobs with Asbos and that’s where society is going wrong.”

2 HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ASKED TO MOVE ON BY POLICE OR ADULTS IN AUTHORITY, FOR NO GOOD REASON?

V YES 47.4pc V NO 52.6pc

“We weren’t doing anything serious but just talking. I feel adults only tell us to move on just to have a sense of authority.”

“I was told to empty all of my pockets on the way back from the shop. I had literally gone to buy a bottle of Pepsi.”

“Mates have been questioned about where they have been and who they have been with, just for wearing baseball caps and trackie bottoms.”

3 IS IT FAIR ALL TEENAGERS ARE GIVEN A BAD NAME, EVEN THOUGH IT IS ONLY A FEW WHO ARE CAUSING TROUBLE?

V YES 57.9pc V NO 42.1pc

“The majority of teenagers don’t want to cause trouble.”

“If the police were to stop me in the street and search me and ask me six million questions then I would feel that the system works. It’s not hurting me but could stop me getting knifed by some a*****e in the future. So go for it. I have tried to help old ladies across the street or with their shopping and they look afraid. It makes me sick. All I want to do is help.”

“I don’t like the fact that I’m treated like a kid who steals from a store even when I haven’t stolen anything in my life. Kids like me shouldn’t be put in the same boat as them.”

“It’s local authority mainly that causes some of the problems, like the police. Society maybe harassed, but us teens are harassed by authority.”

4 WHAT DO YOU THINK CAN BE DONE TO MAKE GROWN-UPS LESS SCARED?

“Bring back National Service. Put curfews in place from 8pm till 7am.”

“Bring teenagers and grown-ups closer together, as only the minority of teenagers are bad and I’m sick of being judged on others’ behaviour.”

“We need corporal punishment and some form of national service”

“More policing on the streets.”

“They should actually speak to children before judging, and perhaps more good publicity rather than focusing on the bad issues.”

5 WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF ADULTS?

“They are too quick to judge. As a teenager I feel like I am looked down upon by adults when I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Some need to grow up and stop thinking all teenagers are bad. They were teenagers once!”

“Judgemental.”

“Adults to me seem like very uptight people. They never listen to reason or to a kid’s side of a story, they only listen to other adults and don’t take kids seriously.”

“Immature, overjudging, over- sensitive, over-protective.”

“I’m going to comment on the ‘adults’ that are the parents of the chavs/pikeys/hoodies/whatever. They need to sort themselves out, because it’s actually them that have made their children like this. Parents have the right to say ‘you’re grounded,’ ‘’I’m kicking you out,’ ‘I’m taking you down the police station,’ ‘you’re not hanging around with them’. And yet they don’t . . . therefore the parents are mostly responsible.”

“I do have a lot of respect for people when I think they have respect for us, but that is hard to find. I feel as though people are intimidated walking past me in a street because of what I wear, it makes you feel angry because you have been stereotyped and we can’t do ‘owt about it!”

6 DO YOU THINK ADULTS HAVE BECOME LESS TOLERANT TOWARDS YOUNG PEOPLE? WHY?

V YES 84.2pc V NO 15.8pc

“More and more stories have been on the news about young people and gangs.”

“Not many kids get beaten up by an adult. The kids beat the adults up.”

“Because of the amount of crime on the news and the television which have been committed by others, they are becoming less tolerant of all youths, even those who are innocent.”

7 CAN YOU SHARE A RELEVANT EXPERIENCE WITH US?

“Playing football in the street was acceptable when they were young, now it’s classed as disruptive.”

“I was living in Barrow-in-Furness and it was about 9pm, and me and a few of my mates were sat on a wall when a police van pulled up. All three of us were questioned from everything from . . . ‘Who have you been with?’ to the question . . . ‘Have you committed any crimes?’ We ended up getting arrested for not being co-operative. We were released without charge. Is it because of what we wear? Or is it purely because of how we have been stereotyped? Society has lost faith in us and now we are losing faith in society and the system.”

8 IS THERE ENOUGH TO DO WHERE YOU LIVE? WHAT ACTIVITIES, IF ANY, ARE ON OFFER AND HOW DO YOU SPEND TIME WITH YOUR FRIENDS?

“I’d say there is, however, I tend not to go out as I’m often fearful of crowds. It’s not just adults it gets to.”

“Yes, there is quite a lot to do where I live because I play for a local football team and there are parks nearby to go to with friends.”

“There’s nothing to do where I live.”

“No, but I’m happy doing things for myself.”

“MetroCentre, shopping.”