MP Romou Pleas with Parents/Guardians about Minors Frequenting the Movies without Supervision | SOUALIGA NEWSDAY

SINT MAARTEN (PHILIPSBURG) - On Monday April 12th Member of Parliament (MP) Angelique Romou was approached about a statement made on Facebook by a citizen of St. Maarten, concerning an incident of indecent behavior of minors at the movies last weekend, the MP said in a press release on Thursday evening.

MP Romou being shocked by the news immediately contacted the citizen who wrote about the incident in order to get a clarification.

This prompted MP Romou to later meet with management of the movies to discuss the incident and subsequently spoke to the police to discuss how they could work together to curtail this behavior of some minor children attending the movies.

Movie management indicated that many under aged children were being dropped off at the movies without any sort of supervision and at times their behavior was indeed unacceptable. Some of the incidents recalled by movie management are of a grave concern as this type of behavior has serious consequences for the wellbeing of our youngsters.

The issue of large crowds of minor children loitering on the movies’ premises with some engaging in inappropriate acts was also discussed. The Police Force of St. Maarten has indicated that they will be cooperating to make sure that theses incidences are less likely to occur by patrolling the area more frequently especially on the weekends as this is the peak days for the Movies.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              There was a consensus that parents had to become more aware of their children’s whereabouts and also take their parenting responsibilities seriously and make sure that their minor children be accompanied by an adult to avoid inappropriate incidents such as these.

MP Romou is very concerned about the manner in which some minors, especially 12 to 14-year-old age group, were seen conducting themselves and is making a plea to all parents to be more vigilant and involved in their children’s lives. Parents need to continue to instill proper principals and morals in their children so that they could make wise decisions even when under peer pressure. “I want to also publicly state that this not an attack on our youth.

I want to even go further and commend our young persons that go the movies and enjoy responsibly. However, as a mother, Member of Parliament and someone who really cares about our young people, I feel it is my duty to also address negative behavior that can have a major impact on the lives of our youth. Some of the incidents shared by movie management really gave me a sense of urgency to make this public plea. I was also a teenager once and I know that teenagers want freedom but with freedom comes a lot of responsibilities and the consequences of such freedom can be unbearable for some. It is also the task of all parents and guardians to educate, encourage proper behavior, and to ensure that their children have respect for themselves and their community” MP Romou concluded.