Parents face difficulties in bringing up children in a neighborhood where drug abuse, crimes, and teenage pregnancy is the theme of everyday activities. Young men within these neighborhoods are the active participants in almost all the criminal acts. Unprotected sex dominates in leaving most ladies as single mothers and most men practicing serial fatherhood as in the case of David William. Teenagers are too immature to handle a relationship and take up the responsibilities of being a father. Therefore, they hop from one relationship to another to start over perfectly, but the results are the same; leaving mothers to raise the child without a father figure. However, these actions are as a result of the young men not having a father figure in their lives to guide them while they grow. They are brought up by single mothers who lost their husbands to either crime or drug abuse. The ideology of hopping from one relation to another hoping for something different and a fresh start continuously creates more mouth to feed without producing a bigger dynamic difference (Edyn &Nelson, 2013).
However, a new and better generation is flourishing among the children born of young marriages. Some fathers are beginning to take up the responsibilities of caring for their newborns and forsaking their previous chaotic lives. These men are adapting to fatherhood responsibilities because of the child. They find happiness that lies underneath the child. Therefore, they resort to carrying out the positive task of being a father to their child compared to negative activities of crime and drug abuse. In the case of Kervan, he claims that his child gives him a reason to live and abandon his previous life. Kervan recalls that if it were not for his child than he would be somewhere in jail. A child brings redemptions, something to keep a person to keep moving so that they can live a life different from that they faced when they were young. These fathers have realized that a life without a child is not one marked with prosperity and unlimited college degrees but one of either bad life, facing jail term or death.
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The society has a vital role to play in the lives of inner-city residents. The government can engage in the lives of the residents by setting aside funds to aid in providing education to the growing children on the dangers of drug abuse, criminal activities and teenage pregnancies. Early childhood education on the negative influence within the community impacts positively on the life of the child as they grow into adulthood. Even though many institutions both private and private has programs on abstinence and drug abuse, children living in poor communities need to learn more about effective decision making and the consequences of poor decision making.
The gap between the low-income earners and the middle class is increasing making the people leaving below the poverty line oppressed even further. The government is reluctant in addressing the social, economic difference between the poor and the rich thus placing the growth of young children as responsible adults in jeopardy. Implementing strategies that enhance interaction between government bodies, education personnel and, the parents and children from a poor background is the best remedy to care for the next generation. Similarly, the communities should promote the importance of carrying out family duties such as sharing meal and fun activities to strengthen the bond between the child and their parents.
Reference
Edyn, K., and, Nelson, T.J. (2013). Doing The Best I Can: Fatherhood in the Inner City. University of California Press: Beckley and Los Angeles
