Opinion www.guardianonline.co.nz
Monday, February 10, 2020
Ashburton Guardian
11
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Helping with the Ashburton Toy Library 25th celebrations recently were (from left) Rose and Andrew Falloon, Ashburton Mayor Neil Brown, councillor John Falloon, Anthea Moore, Sandi Wood (Advance Ashburton), Jim Armstrong (Menz Shed) and first toy library president Kim Ford. PHOTO HEATHER MACKENZIE 010220-HM-0281
Reasons to be cheerful R
ecently I had the pleasure of attending the 25th birthday celebrations of the Ashburton Toy Library. It’s come along in leaps and bounds in that time, particularly with the acquisition of permanent premises in the Triangle about two-and-a-half years ago. My first introduction to the toy library’s new premises was helping clean it for them to move in. In fact they were doing me a big favour – it was election day 2017 and not being able to campaign or really be seen much in public was playing havoc with my nerves. Pitching in with a mop and cleaning cloths was a welcome distraction. The toy selection is vast, and even for someone in their 30s, quite different compared to the relatively simple toys of my younger years. That change in toys has been mirrored in so many other parts of the society that our children today grow up in. Many of those changes are undeniably good. While some may long for simpler days before the widespread use of computers, smartphones
Andrew Falloon
YOUR MP - WORKING FOR YOU
and other devices, the internet has provided the single biggest advance in disseminating human knowledge since the development of the written word. Some advances are less positive. Children today are more likely to come to school affected by a parent’s drug-taking than before. Where foetal alcohol syndrome was once one of the more significant developmental challenges, teachers and schools must now also contend with a rise in the number of students whose mother smoked methamphetamine while pregnant. For too many children there’s other challenges at home. One of the reasons I became a White Ribbon Ambassador was my concern at the high and increasing levels – and severity – of family violence and harm we see
in New Zealand. Tragically we know that young victims of abuse are more likely to go on to offend themselves. A recent Government report showed that 80 per cent of child and youth offenders had experience of family violence. It’s a heart-breaking statistic, knowing that victims are going on to create further victims, perpetuating a cycle of abuse. At the toy library birthday celebrations I spoke to a couple of parents who mentioned a podcast series called Reasons to be Cheerful. Despite the significant challenges in front of our children, or us as parents, grandparents, or guardians of young people, we have many reasons to be cheerful. Advances in medicine mean many more children are surviving childbirth and childhood to become adults. Life expectancy has gone up by 10 years in the past three decades. Our schools are among the very best in the world, with an education system and curriculum that has moved with technology and pedagogy. Our
young people entering the workforce will be amongst the most educated that any generation has ever produced. Technology and travel mean that work can that them anywhere, to locations previous generations might have only dreamed, and in occupations and fields that we today cannot fathom. The challenges of drugs and family violence remain substantial, and in none of them do we have a solution. What we do have, at least, is political consensus that Government should do all it can to ensure kids grow up safely. There’ll always be debates over how to best combat both social ills, but starting from an agreed position is far more than many countries can manage. In an election year, we can at least be cheerful about that. The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the author and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions or strategies of the Ashburton Guardian Co Ltd or any employee thereof
Bringing it all together
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