Be considerate – and teach your children proper values

Madam – The days are getting shorter and the nights longer, a true sign that winter is upon us!

The sun rises later and sets earlier, and the working day usually gives way to darkness sooner than expected. Winter brings out the best in some people, and some people the worst. It’s heartening to know our community came together to aid those who were largely ignored by society – the homeless.

We don’t often think about how much it took to get a plate of warm food on our tables three times a day, or to have a warm bed to sleep in. Children these days, especially, take for granted all the things parents provide them, seeing it as their right yet not knowing the sacrifices that went into that simple meal.

My own children, although not spoilt by any means, may never know what it’s like to struggle and have to fight for your place in society and the working world.

We try to instil in them a sense of moral and ethical responsibility, but it is not always easy. When their friends go to school with the new iphone or must-have pair of jeans or computer and playstation games, it’s hard to explain to them that most times, these are luxuries the average household just cannot afford.

With the price of everything under the sun increasing, and yet salaries staying the same, it is becoming even harder to survive without having to worry about “keeping up with the Jones from school”.

I see it often when I go grocery shopping – how thoughtless some children can be, putting items into their parents shopping trolley without thinking about where the money would come from to pay it all. And then the parents, trying to remove the item without drawing attention to it, or else sacrificing (yet again) something from their list just so they can keep to their monthly budget.

The purpose of my letter I suppose, it to encourage children, and all Newcastillians, to be more considerate towards each other. Life is hard enough as it is, without making it even more difficult.

Wendy