Feral kids.

I’ve always felt that important though strong family ties are, teenagers are more influenced by their friends after a certain age. Over the years there have been mods and rockers, skinheads, all generations have their groups. Children are herd animals and will do anything to fit in. My own son went through a brief phase of spraying graffiti. We talked him and his friend through it and as far as I know it did it not happen again. He is now a wonderful dad of two and holds down a good job and is in a stable relationship.

Chardy

David49

However you enforce standards and discipline it has to be done, because if you allow the small things, swearing, insolence, stealing sweets, children think they can get away with the serious indiscipline.

All any of us can do is make sure our children are well behaved The government could enforce standards in school, but the won't because there are no votes in it

How would the government go about enforcing standards in school?

It would mean putting sanctions on parents to enforce good behavior and support schools, unless that is done any effort will be wasted.

I would be stunned if a Labour government does that it would loose a lot of votes

The sheer number of youngsters behaving so badly in these huge groups is worrying. Maybe it actual water cannons but surely a good soaking would deter them. Police and passers by could film them and upload the pics! That would make a change.
The poor shop staff must be appalled at being placed in such an awful position.

David49

However you enforce standards and discipline it has to be done, because if you allow the small things, swearing, insolence, stealing sweets, children think they can get away with the serious indiscipline.

All any of us can do is make sure our children are well behaved The government could enforce standards in school, but the won't because there are no votes in it

How would the government go about enforcing standards in school?

Sorry twaddle my post should have said mid 70’s, not 80’s.

Cossy

I attended Primary School in the sixties and Secondary School in the seventies, in Essex, there certainly were gangs.

Remember the Krays?

I remember in the 50s watching Teddy Boys strutting around after dark, from my bedroom window when I supposed to be asleep. They had knuckledusters, bicycle chains and knives.

And then of course there were Mids and Rockers in 1960s.

Allira

There were girls too, some as young as 13!

There always were girls/women in gangs and they were just as aggressive as the men

There were girls too, some as young as 13!

Allira

Why bring race into it?

From pictures and videos the youths looked white and black.
Feral behaviour does not belong exclusively to one group.

It happened in Birmingham too, fuelled by social media.

That's what I wondered. I couldn't understand why race had anything to do with how the police react.

Parents are responsible for their children, not teachers or the police, they should be held to account.

Why bring race into it?

From pictures and videos the youths looked white and black.
Feral behaviour does not belong exclusively to one group.

It happened in Birmingham too, fuelled by social media.

Indeed. From reports I’ve seen, mostly white kids.

Some people just can’t help themselves, can they?

Trouble on the streets, must be foreigners 🙄

Silvershadow

Growing up in the 60’s and 70’s there were fights amongst groups of rockers and skinheads but they were fights amongst themselves. They did not, to my knowledge, storm shops en masse, wreck them, terrorise people in them and cause mayhem. People need to study the photos to see these perpetrators. It’s obvious to most who and what the cause is. The police are terrified to touch them for being accused of racism which is always a get out clause for bad behaviour. Nothing will be done. Of course there might be an enquiry….

Why would the police be accused of racism, when many of the feral gangs are white British?

Jaxjacky

The film Quadrophenia illustrated damage caused by Mods and Rockers, usually seaside resorts and included damage to police vehicles.
I was aware of weed, LSD and heroin in the mid 80’s, we lived semi rurally.

I was aware of weed earlier than that. I was a teenager from the late 60s and there was weed at the parties I went to. LSD and heroin were for rock stars.

mum2three

Now we are seeing the effects of all this liberalism. There have been riots in the past, but they were quickly controlled by riot police. Was it Boris Johnson who suggested having water cannon for just this sort of situation?
In short, they are doing it because they can. We have bred a generation of savages. If they behave like wild animals, treat them accordingly. Round them up and put them in a secure enclosure. Make the parents pay to have them released.

Boris Johnson bought three water canon from The Federal German Police and had them refurbished at a cost of £320,000; they couldn’t be used as their use was illegal and they were sold for £11,000 for scrap.

Btw, teachers are paid to teach! Everything else should come from home!

Of course, most decent teachers these days (and in the past) did/do so much more than just teach.

David49

However you enforce standards and discipline it has to be done, because if you allow the small things, swearing, insolence, stealing sweets, children think they can get away with the serious indiscipline.

All any of us can do is make sure our children are well behaved The government could enforce standards in school, but the won't because there are no votes in it

Yes I agree and it HAS to start at home, by parents, long before children even start school.

Instil basic behaviour standards, set boundaries, explain about rules and why we have them and clearly illustrate respect by giving it and expecting it.

Then once children get into school, support the staff, continue to monitor their behaviour.

If you cannot control a 6 year old, you’ve no chance of controlling a 16 year old!

Having said that, some kids get in with the wrong crowd, some great parents do have kids who get into trouble.

Magenta8

Grandmabatty

Those kids are the product of poor parenting, social media and years of tory cuts to the very services to help avoid this. It's not new, is it? Mods and rockers fighting in the 60s, punks in the 70s.

And the Teddy Boys of the 1950s with their flick-knife fights. I would hazard a guess that quite a few GNs were part of the 'worst generation of young hooligans ever' whether they were Teds, Mods, Rockers or Punks.

I was a hippy but sadly the peace movement didn't last as it became too associated with illegal drugs.

Hippies were lovely. but they were unrealistic about human nature, and that is why the Peace Movement ultimately failed.

The film Quadrophenia illustrated damage caused by Mods and Rockers, usually seaside resorts and included damage to police vehicles.
I was aware of weed, LSD and heroin in the mid 80’s, we lived semi rurally.

However you enforce standards and discipline it has to be done, because if you allow the small things, swearing, insolence, stealing sweets, children think they can get away with the serious indiscipline.

All any of us can do is make sure our children are well behaved The government could enforce standards in school, but the won't because there are no votes in it

Grandmabatty

Those kids are the product of poor parenting, social media and years of tory cuts to the very services to help avoid this. It's not new, is it? Mods and rockers fighting in the 60s, punks in the 70s.

And the Teddy Boys of the 1950s with their flick-knife fights. I would hazard a guess that quite a few GNs were part of the 'worst generation of young hooligans ever' whether they were Teds, Mods, Rockers or Punks.

I was a hippy but sadly the peace movement didn't last as it became too associated with illegal drugs.

Growing up in the 60’s and 70’s there were fights amongst groups of rockers and skinheads but they were fights amongst themselves. They did not, to my knowledge, storm shops en masse, wreck them, terrorise people in them and cause mayhem. People need to study the photos to see these perpetrators. It’s obvious to most who and what the cause is. The police are terrified to touch them for being accused of racism which is always a get out clause for bad behaviour. Nothing will be done. Of course there might be an enquiry….

I think we are seeing some chickens coming home to roost, namely the result of the neglectful treatment of children and schools during the worst Covid years.
Schools closed for months, and children without access to home computers falling behind and becoming fed up and disillusioned. Children stuck indoors and unable to socialise just when they needed to for their social development.
Teachers undervalued, more and more responsibilities heaped on schools with no additional funding. School buildings crumbling.
Lack of post-16 opportunities and scarcity of jobs for school leavers leading to lack of self worth.
What else do we expect?

There’s a huge difference between not using violent discipline and allowing children to do what they like.

Children, if done from the get go, can be punished and penalised, with the need to ever smack/slap/beat them.

An adult striking anyone is not acceptable, especially a child.

Children require boundaries and to understand right from wrong, which should happen in the early years of their life.

However, I also understand that when kids have two parents working full time it’s often difficult to always know what and who they’re being exposed to, but it’s still the parent’s job to do their very best!

Allira

^What the answer is, I don't know.^

Ban mobile phones, but by the time this is done, a whole generation of these indoctrinated teenagers will gave become adults ☹

Ban mobile phones, tablets and PCs ? Tik tok is available on all these platforms and possibly on some gaming consoles.

Hold the social media companies to account, educate parents and children, use parental controls?

Not too sure what the answers are?

My DGS is 11, he’s not allowed access to social media, he starts Secondary School in September, when he’ll be permitted to have his first mobile phone. What will happen it’s anyone’s guess, however, he has a good “real life” social and leisure life, plays football for a team, attends dancing and drama, is a scout, has friends over to play, maybe that’s part of the answer, parents allowing their children far too much alone and screen time.