The will of the parent

In Malta, the will of the parent is to be respected, no matter what.

If the parent does not want his child or children to be photographed during a school activity, there is the Data Protection Act to uphold the parent's claim. But if the parent sees fit to let his child or children dance, act or sing, wearing next to nothing in a public place, or on television, they are still in their right and there is no law to protect children from being photographed by all and sundry.

Most parents haven't seen fit to put pressure on the government to change the Act which allows 16-year-olds to drink alcohol. This is contrary to the laws of the European Union on alcohol consumption by children. And it is also in breach of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by Malta, which states that children are those persons under 18.

In cases where parents have abandoned their child or children for a number of years, the Maltese laws will easily uphold these irresponsible parents' claim to parenthood, without giving a second thought on how the child or children will be affected by this measure.

Another aspect of the will of the parent can be found in our education system. Most parents expect their children to be superintelligent and expect them to pass in all subjects. A case in point is the recent Junior Lyceum exams. Almost 40 per cent of students who sat for the exams failed and neither the Education Department nor any other institution bothered to assess how these students are feeling, how their self-esteem was affected.

This is a clear case of discrimination between students who are intelligent and those who are not, and all this at the tender age of 10 or 11. Small wonder that bullying and racism are problems which our society finds hard to eliminate.

In cases where children are portrayed in the media; in cases where children attend social venues; the Adoption Act; and the education system, all need to be amended so that the best interest of the Maltese child is observed at all times.

Our families need strict laws to help them raise morally sound children. Children are tomorrow's adults and the government is in duty bound to put children's issues first and foremost by passing these much needed laws.