In the novel "Lord of the Flies", a group of schoolboys who end up on a dessert island, descend into primal tribalism, and savagery and killing becomes the norm.

 I had to read this novel over 2 decades ago now, as part of my English Literature syllabus, and even to this day I can remember wondering just how far beneath the veneer of civilised behaviour this savageness exists in some people.

 Well, in the 21st century, it seems that the beast within is far closer to the surface than even I had dared to believe. Just this week, 2 men have been murdered by "youths", both because they stood up to antisocial behaviour.

 Gangs of children, some under the influence of alcohol and drugs, are behaving in the same way that the stranded boys in the Lord of the Flies behaved when there was no "adult" guidance to enforce the norms of society.

 Today, the Chief constable of Cheshire, Peter Fahy spoke out against the alcohol fuelled yobs who so clearly think they have a right to behave in any way they feel fit, to the point of using physical violence and arms against those people who try to stop them.

 It is common sense of course, parents have a responsibility to nurture their children, but also to discipline them, and instil a sense of what is right and what is wrong. However, there is a minority of parents who have abdicated this responsibility, and an even smaller minority who actually condone their children's anti-social behaviour. The root cause of this is not alcohol, or drugs or the lack of facilities for children or even poverty, but lack of parental discipline, aided by a society that has become schizophrenic in what they believe is acceptable as a form of discipline and what is not.

 As a child, I was aware that if I misbehaved, then I was going to be smacked. This was not child abuse as some would have you believe, but a proportional response to bad behaviour. It did not leave me physically or mentally scarred, I have not become an abusive parent simply because I was smacked myself. I have not had to smack my children except on one or two occasions, and that was simply a gentle smack on the back of the hand. Perhaps I am lucky that my children are well behaved, or perhaps it is the case that respect for adults is something I drilled into my children for a very young age.

 In response to the comments of Peter Fahy, a "parenting" organisation came up with the mealy mouthed response that children behave differently when out in a group compared to how they behave in front of their parents, so parents can't be blamed for the antisocial behaviour. It left me wondering if I was still in touch with reality. Simply because your children are outside of your home, does not mean that you are no longer responsible for them. Being a parent is a 24 hour a day occupation, you don't clock out and hang up your responsibility simply because your children have gone out. You need to be aware of where they are and who they are with. How can your child come home drunk and you not know about it?

 Society needs to backtrack on how it views children and discipline. Children feel that they can behave how they want, and there is little or no sanction that adults can place on them. This needs to stop. Perhaps we need to be radical and introduce curfews for children past 9pm unless accompanied by parent or guardian, impose punishments for parents if a child is found drinking or drunk.

 How many more needless deaths will it take before society wakes up to the fact that children need to be nurtured but also disciplined?