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In recent news, a shocking video of two young brothers (ages two and five) has surfaced. In Watauga, Texas, police found the video among stolen merchandise in the apartment of the children's seventeen year old uncle. The teen and his friend are seen laughing as the boys "fall around." Both held the joint and inhaled, as if the video-recorded session had not been their first. One of the older teens was filmed placing the marijuana cigarette in the younger child's mouth. The five-year-old smoked without assistance.
Providing drugs and/or alcohol to young children is unquestionably wrong in my view. I believe individuals have the right to choose whether or not they wish to experiment with certain substances later in life, after their brain cells have fully developed; however, this decision should not be made for them. The two and five year old seen in the video may or may not pursue a life of addiction in their subsequent years, but they are definitely more likely to use drugs later in life than other children who have not been exposed to marijuana at a young age.
The children's mother, who was supposedly sleeping in the back room during the pot-smoking session, should be culpable to some extent. When an adult chooses to entrust his or her children to another adult (or teenager), is it not his or her parental responsibility to be sure the caregivers will positively influence the children? If the mother was truly unaware of the activities in which her children were being involved, one would imagine her immediate reaction toward the teens would be negative. I am curious to learn whether the mother will held accountable in any way, as there are few, if any, justifications for complete inattentiveness in regards to one's children.
The seventeen and eighteen year old have been charged with third-degree felonies and the children are in the custody of child services. This event is distressing as it leads one to question the certainty of these children's futures. Now separated from their families and exposed to substances they may or may not have otherwise ever partaken in, one cannot begin to wonder where these children will end up in the future. This is not to say that these kids could not turn out to be "successful" individuals later in life; however, with their present situations taken into account, they already have a few strikes against them. The children may overcome their obstacles or conversely allow them to become an all-encompassing determinant in their lives.
