NASSAU, BAHAMAS –April is Child Protection Month but every single day children depend on adults and
institutions to ensure their safety and well-being. Our collective responsibility begins with
immediate, tangible actions A few reminders are outlined below, based on observations
and real dangers our youngsters have faced, some fatally, with multiple deaths already
recorded this year.
The Beaches and Parks Authority must regularly inspect and maintain playground
equipment, remove hazardous materials, and keep facilities secure and usable.
Neighbors, police, and community members must also ensure that our parks are not
overtaken by adults engaged in gang activity, drug trade, and other toxic behaviors that
threaten the very spaces meant for children’s joy and growth.
We cannot afford to lose another child to unsafe playground materials or poorly
maintained facilities.
The Ministry of Education, along with the Ministry of Works, plays an essential role in
protecting students at both public and independent schools. The lives and futures of our
children depend on their unwavering commitment. As simple as it sounds, frequent and
thorough checks of interior buildings and exterior spaces on school campuses reduce risks
significantly. Every child deserves to learn in an environment free from fear, neglect, or
harm. If we fail in this responsibility, we are complicit in endangering the most vulnerable
members of our society.
When traveling by car, children must be properly secured in approved, age-appropriate car
seats and seated in the back. Reckless behaviors such as allowing children to stand up,
sit in the front seat, or roam inside vehicles must never be permitted. These common
practices significantly increase the risk of injury and place children’s lives in danger, so
adults must prioritize safety on every journey.
Communities must take action too, ensuring wells, septic tanks, and other hazardous
areas are securely covered, with emergency equipment readily available should accidents
occur.
At gatherings, vigilance is critical. Family and friends must supervise children closely and
avoid becoming distracted by lively hot topic conversations. It is easy to become
consumed in discussion and interactions, realizing too late that a child is missing or in
danger, especially on our beaches which lack lifeguard supervision.
Social Services must regularly inspect group homes, including unscheduled oƯ-hour visits,
to guarantee that wards of the state are protected and not subjected to some of the same
issues they endured in their original homes. It makes no sense to remove children from
their biological parents only for them to be mistreated by strangers. We must ensure that
only the most capable, competent, and compassionate individuals are hired to work with
our children.
School counselors, teachers, coaches, church leaders, and anyone working with children
in a professional capacity who suspects or witnesses signs of abuse must speak up and
report as mandated by the Child Protection Act. Knowing and remaining silent is
unacceptable and contravenes the law.
Children also need their parents to be patient and nurturing, never resorting to violence or
emotional abuse that damages their mental well-being. Do not tell them that they are
“stupid” or “no good like their pa”. Words like these leave permanent scars, limiting
confidence and causing lifelong trauma.
Leaving children alone to care for themselves or younger siblings is neglect. It is not their
job to raise themselves or your other children. They must be properly supervised by trusted
adults at all times. Never leave children with individuals whose behavior you do not fully
trust or allow circumstances that expose them to exploitation. Mothers in particular must
monitor interactions between their children and boyfriends or other adult men and pay
attention to how their children respond around them. We must protect our children at all
costs and break cycles of prostitution and abuse, not repeat them.
Authorities must ensure that jitney drivers uphold appropriate standards by not playing
explicit music or showing inappropriate movies on buses, so children travel safely with
their hearts and minds protected. As often as possible, children should be safely escorted
to and from home by parents or guardians.
We must also confront the growing risks children face online. Phones, tablets, laptops, and
social media have opened doors not only to learning, but also to exploitation,
cyberbullying, and predatory behavior. Parents and guardians must actively monitor their
children’s digital activity, know who they are communicating with, and set clear boundaries
around internet use. Children should never be left to navigate these spaces alone. The
virtual world is not separate from the real one, and failing to supervise it leaves our children
exposed to very real harm.
Government, private donors, and ordinary citizens must prioritize opportunities for children
to travel and gain exposure, especially when they work hard and aspire to compete
internationally. Our children should be focused on education and developing their talents,
not forced to loiter in retail spaces or on street corners seeking sponsorship.
Every organization offering activities for children must be closely monitored, and
volunteers thoroughly screened, with no exemptions, to ensure children do not suƯer the
atrocities others have endured in the past. It may be time for mandatory child protection
training for all individuals working directly with children before they assume such
responsibilities. Whether in youth programs, summer camps, extracurricular activities,
schools, or youth programs run by uniformed branches, those entrusted with our
children must be held to the highest standards. All individuals working with children should
also be cross-checked with the sex offender registry.
Children who experience violations deserve timely access to justice, and the legal system
must ensure that oƯenders are held fully accountable for their actions.
Agencies must collaborate to ensure children are fostered or adopted promptly so that no
child ages out of the system waiting for someone to do their job. Ideally, children should
grow up in loving home environments, not group homes. There are still many good, law-
abiding citizens across our country willing to open their homes and provide a wholesome
upbringing, yet paperwork too often stands in the way.
Children need to be heard. We must listen to their voices, keep them safe, and eliminate
the notion that they are merely objects to be instructed without input. Child protection is a
24/7 responsibility, and every one of us must play a role. All children are entitled to the
basics: clean clothes, nourishing meals, the opportunity to attend school, and a quality
education. Above all, they are entitled to safety.
No matter how complicated the world gets, children should grow up unharmed, secure and
healthy, and develop to the maximum extent of their potential. Let us each do our part to
protect our children, because they are the future of this nation, and that future begins now
with every one of us.
Sincerely,
Maxine Seymour
Concerned Citizen
