Marycrest

Can better parenting make Englewood safer for kids?
Ran across this story on line. But it is a question for not only Englewood but most of our communities. Like I previously stated on last week, we have kids on our block that are under 5 yo playing up and down the street without supervision.
Some years back I recall DCFS stepping into families telling the parents that they were not permitted to phyically discipline (some kids need it) their children and in a few instances parents were arrested for doing so, also parents were told they could not invade a childs privacy (their bedroom in your house).
Parental guidance is a must for all children, there are parents/guardians in some cases that refuse to see the wrong and turn a biind eye to the kids hanging out. "my son is a good boy, he goes to school everyday", but is he a student at the school is actually attending classes or is he just hanging out.
Last summer when we had a incident in my community that resulted in a shooting death, one parent said "my son is going away to college, so you all can stop blaming my house for alot of the crime around here".
Now don't get me wrong I was so happy to hear that he was going off to school if he had needed a ride I would have taken him there myself, but unless the son is an Einstein, completed a 4yr university in 4 months he is still hanging out, business as usual.
What type of parent are you when you socialize and hang out in the club with your children and their friends?
I don't do "it takes a village to raise a child". I am not the parent to your kids you had them you raise them, I don't need the village because there may be a child molester in the village.
"I want to be friends with my kids", NO, I am the parent keep it real we will not party and hangout together, I think respect is lost when you remove the parent bar and lower it to the friend bar.

For the last 2 days my door bell has rang and each time it's one of the kids on my block, he has to be about 2 years old. He is outside with his older brother who is somewhat impaired. I have advised them to go home (I live in the middle of the block they live 2 houses off the corner). It bothers me because on today the toddler is pointing to my neighbors dog who is in the yard and barking. I told him to go home and not to go near the gate where the dog is because if he sticks his hand through the fence he is going to get bitten.
Why don't people watch their kids when they are outside, in my opinion these kids are walking post kids for a child molester.
When my children were young, I supervised them. I too have a child that is impaired. I have been living in my home 15yo and no one on my block can ever say they have seen my son outside unsupervised. And now that he is older he likes to sit on the deck so I have a camera's that monitor my yard.

In my community we once had a discussion regarding the Police Observation Devices (PODs), as always some pro's and con's. One of the major con's was the negative effect on property value, I was one of those people. But in the wake of violence since the warm weather has arrived, I am reconsidering my opinion on the PODs. But then as I think about it Who is monitoring the POD's that are already installed, apparently no one. According to the CPD they currently don't have the man power to have paid staff monitor the PODs so my question is "What do you think about PODs? Does your community currently have a POD? Since the CPD in under staffed would you consider volunteering for a community POD watch?