THERE IS A saying, 'if you play with fire you're gonna get burned'. The statement most certainly applies to a story in Saturday's STAR where a test of murky river water turned deadly for several youngsters.
According to the story, 12 boys went to the river in the Linstead area in St Catherine, the day after Hurricane Emily had pelted the island with rain causing several rivers to become not only dirty but swell beyond their normal levels.
The boys tested the water by pushing their feet in but suddenly a section of the bank broke away and some of the boys fell into the water. Some of them managed to swim to the other side to safety, but somewhere during the course of events, Junior Forrester dis-appeared.
His body was later discovered by divers and he was pronounced dead. One would wonder why so many boys were at the river unsupervised, especially the day after a hurricane had passed.
Well children are quite inquisitive and that may have motivated them to test the waters although it was dangerous. But in this stage of their lives, children should be guided by principles and rules that ought to be laid down by their parents.
These children obviously should have been taught of the dangers that would have been present following the passage of the hurricane. Children live what they learn and we have to be careful what we teach them and how we guide them.
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