Ian MunroLast month, a 15-year-old Hawkes Bay schoolboy was sentenced to life in prison for murder. Most of us are held back by what American psychologist, Stanton Samenow, describes as ''an individual and mysterious mixture of morality, fear of consequences, personal responsibility and the ability to control aggressive impulses''. It takes a lot of hard work and modelling to establish the values of personal responsibility, empathy and consideration for others in our children. There's a desperate need to control every situation and a belief that life should accommodate their personal desires. How we approach life and the values we model will determine the number of teenage killers of the future.

Source: Otago Daily Times March 17, 2019 14:26 UTC